I don't claim to have any genetic knowledge, but I do have ample space, time and feed resources to make it a viable venture to work on a breed. I think at this point I'm going to look for another trio or two, something that is of stock other than McMurray's so that I can have something that will...
According to the ALBC the Jerseys were bred from Black Javas, Black Langshans and Dark Brahmas. According to the guy I got my birds from they only just started laying a couple weeks ago, so just under the 50 week mark. I don't know if that's a reflection of the birds or maybe due to the fact...
I got my White Jerseys last week. Ended up being from a different guy, and a trio. They're about a year old and originated from McMurray Hatchery. What kind of reputation does McMurray's have on their Jerseys?
I'll hopefully be getting my first set of White Jersey Giant breeding stock this coming week, 1 cockerel and 3 hens. No idea how close they'll be to the standard. My first year with them will simply be getting to know them and raising some/selling some, but I would imagine if all goes well I'll...
That's definitely not normal behavior! The pot is the right place for her to end up...quite frankly if you were to encounter that again I wouldn't wait so long until the body count got that high. A bird with that temperament has no place in a flock.
The broad-breasted bronze is a decent starting place to learn a bit about raising. I had them last year and was pleased with them. I would recommend a higher protein starter, around 28% to get them going for the first 4 or 5 weeks at least.
We have 11 breeding birds and they're getting close to the bottom of 30kgs (66lbs) of feed I made for them about two weeks ago. So I would say +/- 200 grams/bird/day (1/3-1/2lb). They're currently inside for the winter, with no ability to forage, so come summer time I would expect their feed...
I would say once they're fully feathered they'll be safe to go outside. At this time of the year it wouldn't be bad to have the option to bring them back inside if the weather where you are turns inclement.
Just watched the video. Not pretty. While I in no way condone the actions of the people I saw in the video, I take the source with a HUGE grain of salt. I personally don't trust these "Animal Welfare" groups as far as I can throw them. Is some of the footage staged? I wouldn't put it past them...
I had BB this past year and found they simply didn't have the desire or energy to wander far. Quite honestly, once they got bigger they'd move 20-30 feet at a time then needed to sit down for a rest! We're now accumulating breeding stock in the heritage breeds for next spring and I expect it...
Sounds like a saying I heard the other day...If a turkey is given a chance to die it will! The three basics for turkey poults are heat, food and water. Poults like it hot...in the high 90s. They need lots of protien, 28% and good water. They will need to be shown both food and water (dip their...
Another thing to consider is how you handle your feed. Is it stored in rodent proof containers? Is any spilt feed cleaned up right away? Have you removed all sources of food that the mice can feed on?
There probably are anti-biotics you could put him on to bring him back around again, but I think you'd find that between the prescribed length of time you'd administer the drugs and the required withdrawal period you'd be well past Christmas at this point. As for eating him as is without...
Is this just for winter quarters? I would think a pair or trio in each section would work alright. I'm not a huge fan of over-crowding birds, so I don't think I'd go much more than that in a section.
What kind of turkeys are you looking for? The commercial broad-breasted turkeys or the heritage breeds? Commercial breeds should be readily available at a good selection of feed stores, the heritage ones will be a bit trickier. I think I've come across one hatchery in my googling, thinking it...
This past year I had some broad-breasted white and broad-breasted bronze. They were free range, non-organic. Sold them for $2.50/lb, primarily to cover my costs and give me free meat. Next year we'll be raising heritage breeds, free range non-organic and will be going for $5/lb. From the various...
http://www.kellyturkeys.co.uk/kellybronze-turkeys-chickens-default.aspx?m=6&mi=105
This page is from Kelly Bronze Turkeys in the UK. According to it European rules for "free range" is no more then 2500 birds per hectare (1000 per acre) which seems really high to me. Kelly Bronze themselves work...