5 wk old BRs can fly how high?!

[columbiacritter]

Over the 6 1/2 ft fence I put around their new run! Now everyone is back in the basement brooder until I get the run topped this weekend.

 

[Adenium]

Good to know before ours get to 5 weeks.

My BR is definitely the most adventurous. She and the BO were the first to use the roosts in the brooder and love to hop up on the edge and explore. Little devils in training.

 

[columbiacritter]

I knew I was in trouble when the hen flew up and landed on my shoulder so she could try and eat my hair scrunchy. When the boys tried to follow her up I had to put an end to that before they try it when they are 20+ lbs!

 

[Adenium]

Hee hee. I know, I love the IDEA of them sitting on my shoulder but not the proximity to my face or the potential for future claws-landing-on-unprotected-skin scenarios.

 

[zekii]

Yes... any heritage turkey breed can fly especially when they are young & light, we started clipping our
midget whites right wing when they were 6 weeks old, and have clipped the same wing twice since.
They can still hop the fence but won't fly way up in the trees.

 

[frank53061]

My fence is 8 feet.

And at 12 weeks the buggers had found if they would go from the ramp to the second level of the coop and then fly to the top of the door to the coop then from there to the roof of the coop they could fly to a near by branch of a tree that the fence is connected to and this is with one wing clipped.

Who ever said turkeys were dumb?.
They find ways out and I fix or repair the problems LOL.
If I had the money to put a cover over it that would fix it but this is one big pen or run.
Have you ever attempted to dislodge a Turkey from a Branch 10 feet up by the way I going to cut that branch.

 

[HHandbasket]

Yes... any heritage turkey breed can fly especially when they are young & light, we started clipping our
midget whites right wing when they were 6 weeks old, and have clipped the same wing twice since.
They can still hop the fence but won't fly way up in the trees.

Thank you for posting this. We just got our first turkeys a week ago, and they are also midget whites, right about 6 weeks old. We were wondering about clipping their wings like we do with our chickens.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Wow! I knew they could fly but not when this young. It is a good thing we are planning to cover their run when we build it. All my other grow up pens are open topped and though I don't mind them roaming the farm, I don't want anything to happen to my babies until they are old enough to know how to take care of themselves.

 

[RedCanoe]

I am having the same trouble with my 6 wk bourbon reds.

I have been climbing the ladder into the trees every night to catch them and put them back in the coop. Will they eventually learn like the chickens or is the only real answer to pen them in and put a roof over them?

The whole point in raising a heritage breed is the we want some of the natural instincts. I would feel bad snipping the wing feathers, but it is taking me nearly an hour every night to get them to bed.

Does anyone have truly free range turkeys that come in every night?

 

[zekii]

Many folks don't clip turkey wings since they free range their birds, and want them to fly up into the trees to avoid predators.
We do let ours out during the day in an electronet run, but get them into their coop at night. They don't give us much problems getting into the
coop at night, plus we always intice them with a treat. A long pole also helps herd them into the coop.
I'm sure ours would be up in the trees if we didn't clip one of their wings.