Turkenstein25's Turkey Talk for 2015

[K Epp]

Well I was down to 1 tom turkey. Rhett Butler my 4 yr old bourbon red. I bought two BR poults in April and they were doing great. Went on vacation and elderly lady who was watering my plants decided the more than capable 20 yr old vet tech I paid to farm set wasn't doing a good enough job. She over fed everything and messed with wateres so between moldy food and lack of water I lost both. I know she was just trying to help, but I'm still up set.

Yesterday I went to feed store to get two more BR to replace those and left with 2 Bourbon Red, 2 Slate, 2 Black Spanish and 2 Royal Palm. That bumped me up to 9.

Today I stopped to get Rabbit food and a Spanish was getting trampled. They sent it home with me. Now I'm at 10... Thank goodness the hobby hasn't looked in that brooder.

The latest edition is in with 3 d'Uccle so its little leg can get better. I'm going to have the entire Gone With The Wind Cast. LOL. I don't plan on keeping them all, but deciding which breeds I like the best and selling the extras.

I just love poults. They are so curious and friendly.

 

[chickadoodles]

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Congrats on your new poults! I also love poults and their friendly personalities.

 

[chickadoodles]

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Poults are like chicks in some ways. Then need to be put in a brooder and taken care of since they do not have their momma to teach them. Here is a link to some very helpful info on raising turkey https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/787208/turkeys-101-new-to-turkeys-what-do-i-need-to-know Good luck.

 

[Finnie]

. I feel like absolute crap and can hardly bear to look at them now.

That feeling sucks. I know.

I hope things start to turn around for you soon.

 

[MamaBear0128]

Hi Everyone~ Its been a few weeks since I've been by to see the goings on. I'm a first time turkey owner and well.....my turkeys are hilarious! Love them! For sure have a male/female. I had the privilege of seeing Johnny fan his tail feathers and dance around his lil gal, June. And oh my he sure does set my Rhode Islands straight! He'll have none of them entering his run! When they are let out, they fly over onto my shoulder and stay there while I work. They insist on playing in my hair and nuzzling in my ear. Is this normal turkey behavior????? They are growing quickly and we are now needing to get a bigger place for them. They have some peculiar behaviors. They follow me everywhere, are nosey beyond belief and have to know where I am at all times or they start making a very funny sound that I cannot explain. Once I come into sight, they stop the noise and get right under my feet. Anyways.....this turkey thing has been quite fun. OMGosh....I think this is what everyone calls "empty nesting" hehehehe!

 

[MamaBear0128]

Oh my Feathyr! I'm soooo sorry. When I got my first two turkeys, I had a bad experience. And I was devastated. I am still very new and bought two more a few weeks later. Since I am so new, I am afraid to offer any advice. I had no idea what the heck I was doing until I got on this website and saw a ton of information which really helped me.

 

[Feathyr]

I really appreciate the information and advice given; thanks, guys.

We've lost three poults - one to the aforementioned accident, the other two failed to thrive. On the bright side, the remaining twelve poults are healthy, drinking, and thanks to some chicks I got yesterday, eating. I think we're out of the woods for now!

 

[chickadoodles]

That's great Feathyr.

Welcome MommaBear to BYC and the turkey thread.

 

[Finnie]

When they are let out, they fly over onto my shoulder and stay there while I work. They insist on playing in my hair and nuzzling in my ear. Is this normal turkey behavior????? ... They follow me everywhere, are nosey beyond belief ...get right under my feet.

I'm new to turkeys like you. I got mine in February, and started reading about them, and this kind of thing is one of the "drawbacks" I read about. I didn't mind, it sounded cute to me. It is kind of endearing, but man, my one turkey who likes me the best can be such a pain! You may want to put a stop to the nuzzling in the hair and ears if you can. My turkey stopped trying to get on my lap once he got too big, but I have heard that some of them don't realize they are too big, and keep doing it. The main problem I have with my turkey is that he will NOT leave my rings alone. Any time I try to bend over to pet any of my chickens, wham! A bite on the ring finger comes from out of nowhere. I'm working on being dominant and teaching him that the hands are off limits, but he basically waits for any opportunity when I am not paying attention. (I refuse to take my rings on and off 20 times a day. The turkey will go before my rings do. If it comes to it, I will make a covered pen to contain him.)

Also, one thing to watch out for. Since they love shiny things, and eyeballs are shiny, when he is on your shoulder, you will want to keep your face averted, or else put on a pair of glasses of some sort. Cranberry was still quite small and sitting on my shoulder when he decided to check out my eyeball, and I can tell you, it felt like I had something stuck in my eye for three days. Knowing what a bird is capable of doing with their beak, I felt I was very lucky not to have had a more serious injury.

So yeah, they are very endearing and it's nice to be obsessed over, but it comes with its downside. We do love how our turkeys keep an eagle eye on all of our windows to catch glimpses of us in the house. They are SO nosey!

 

[chickadoodles]

I've had a couple get curious about my eyes and you feel it for a couple days. My turkey are a better watch dog than my dogs! lol