Turkey as a Pet

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silkiechickens8

silkiechickens8

Chirping
Mar 27, 2015
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Hi,
I was thinking about saving meat turkey from slaughter and integrating him in with my chickens. Any advice? This ould be my first time owning a turkey but I always thought they were interesting animals. Plus I'm a vegetarian so he won't have to worry about being on the dinner table!
gig.gif
Any advice with any of this? Thanks!!!!!
 
I have 3 turkey's in with chickens and they do fine together a little hiccup here and there but nothing serious 1 is a tom and 2 are hens and one of my hens has taken to 1 of my ducks
 
check on craigs list in your area they might have something and check your local feed store they will have babies
 
I was wondering if silkiechickens8 ever found a turkey??? My daughter and I are vegans, who also wanted to save one from being someone's Thanksgiving dinner. We live in Minnesota, the largest turkey producer in the United States. I didn't think it would be difficult finding one little turkey ... Wow, was I wrong. I only wanted one, so shipping was out of the question (15 was the minimum order) ... decided to call turkey farms and auctions with no luck - everyone seemed to still be freaked out by the avian flu. I even had a few farmers even hang up on me. What was really eerie was driving up to a couple of "factory farm-type turkey places" ... They were all tightly boarded up with keep out/warning signs all over the place. Naive as I was, I thought I could just drive up to one of these places and offer to buy one of their poor turkeys. Haha wrong. I finally found a seed store 2 hours away that was willing to sell me only one. Anyways, it all worked out and I love my pet turkey! I hope you were able to find one!!!
 
mjbws said:
I was wondering if silkiechickens8 ever found a turkey??? My daughter and I are vegans, who also wanted to save one from being someone's Thanksgiving dinner. We live in Minnesota, the largest turkey producer in the United States. I didn't think it would be difficult finding one little turkey ... Wow, was I wrong. I only wanted one, so shipping was out of the question (15 was the minimum order) ... decided to call turkey farms and auctions with no luck - everyone seemed to still be freaked out by the avian flu. I even had a few farmers even hang up on me. What was really eerie was driving up to a couple of "factory farm-type turkey places" ... They were all tightly boarded up with keep out/warning signs all over the place. Naive as I was, I thought I could just drive up to one of these places and offer to buy one of their poor turkeys. Haha wrong. I finally found a seed store 2 hours away that was willing to sell me only one. Anyways, it all worked out and I love my pet turkey! I hope you were able to find one!!!
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Biosecurity is a big concern. You can't just have random people coming around after having stepped in who knows what. That applies to your flock, too! You don't want to unknowingly bring something home or give something to someone else's flock.

I hope you have prepared yourself for the heartbreak of raising a meat turkey for a pet. I don't think I could do it. I am so attached to my poults already, it would devastate me to lose them so young.
 
Where we got our turkeys they were raised with chickens. When we brought them home they didn't feel at home until I put two Buff Orpington hens in. Now there is only one hen left, but they get along well. My turkeys are a wild breed too.
 
SunHwaKwon said:
I hope you have prepared yourself for the heartbreak of raising a meat turkey for a pet. I don't think I could do it. I am so attached to my poults already, it would devastate me to lose them so young.
Click to expand...

Meat turkeys are incredibly friendly, but they aren't "built to last". They are designed to be BIG animals.

Have you (the OP, not SunHwaKwon) considered trying a heritage turkey, or something that will live longer than a year or two.

(PS, I am aware that some people have had meat turkeys around for more than a couple of years. Typically those folks have to keep their turks on a very restricted diet.)
 
Hi, Aust1227 & SunHwaKwon! Thanks for replying! Yes, I realize their lives are short lived. We'll be keeping her on a diet with plenty of exercise. The whole purpose of having a broad-breasted white turkey was to spread awareness to our friends, neighbors, etc... on how really gentle and sweet these birds really are. Many have absolutely no idea on the horrors of factory farming. I'm thrilled to say that Ginger is a total hit!!! Many people have said that they will be looking at turkeys differently, and won't be eating turkey for Thanksgiving anymore. I'm sharing a photo of one of the turkey farms we drove up to... Look at their sweet faces and how tightly packed they are. So sad. This is why we wanted to rescue one of these ...
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Hi, curious what her diet will consist of? I have a 16 week white holland tom we are wanting to keep around as a pet.
 

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