New to turkeys - what next?

Newtothehens

Hatching
Feb 12, 2015
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Hi all!

I am new to raising turkeys. I received 15 narragansetts from MM. They are just over two weeks old. I do have chickens. And I know about biosecurity. I have one brooder, a 4'x4' box I built for the the chickens back in March. It was cleaned out as best we could. Our resources are limited. The chickens are outside in electronet. I do not expect to mix poultry. I had always intended the turkeys to be on pasture. I have an extra set of electronet and a hoop coop. My question is - what next? What do I do next? How soon can I expect them to outgrow their current situation, and once outside, how best to handle their living situation? We are on ten acres in Michigan. I have seen personally fox and coyote on my property, and I have lost chickens to raccoons. So there are definitely predators. I am probably naive, but I just thought they would live on pasture like our meat chickens did. But I now see it is laughable to keep them contained. My goal is provide them the best possible life. So what is next?
 
Congrats on the turkeys!


Turkeys are very hardy once they are fully feathered. They will probably out-grow the brooder in a week, but do best kept inside until they are fully feathered, then can be integrated into the pasture. They love to perch up high, and should be protected from wind, rain and predation, but they don't need anything too elaborate. Once the turkeys are full grown they will be a force to reckon with for a coon, at least during the day. But make sure they can escape at night, when they can't see.

Best of luck!
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Turkeys are fragile for the first two weeks, then they start to take off, they are stronger and more curious than chickens, I let my turkeys run where my chickens are as I don't have blackhead in my soil, but I do watch that the turkeys aren't making trouble, we have a 12x15 turkey shed with 2x4 roosters, the 4 facing up. I use sand for the floor, and clean up droppings daily. Mine have a large covered run as they really get everywhere and will travel far, if you don't mind them on your cars, house, shed, or in your trees let them free range, otherwise keep them penned with supervision when they're out.

You'll probably need about 12x15 area for them pretty quick, my shed is just used for roosting, and to keep the feed dry, pen them up at night for sure until they look big enough to put themselves to bed. Turkeys like to watch and learn, they are hardy and entertaining. I will answer any questions you have, been keeping turkeys for 8 years. My poults spend their day outside , mine are 4 weeks, and have been outside for two weeks, they go inside a shed at night.
 

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