12 Red Bourbon turkey hatchlings!!

[Frosty]

I had a hen running loose with her babies, she joined up with a wild hen that also had a bunch of poults (wild hens little ones looked a little older). They all got along great and the babies were frequently intermixed, but at night the moms roosted in different trees and the babies were up roosting with their own moms. The wild turkeys learned to follow my turkeys in at feeding time and would all gather to yell at me to hurry up and fill the feeder. That fall I had to lock my birds up after an owl started picking off the turkeys in the trees (lost one of my almost full grown babies and a few of the wild ones).

 

[chickenannie]

wynedot, sorry that all happened. hopefully these will stay put better.

frosty, I love your story. turkeys are REALLY interesting, and different than chickens. we always thought they were dumber, but since my hens have been mothering, i'm changing my mind.

Mostly because i'm watching hens work in tandem with each other over nesting as well as raising the young ones. they have a lot of communication going on with each other beyond what I expected.

I had put a small barrier between two hen/chick families and have watched when the mommas are crossing over the barrier -- clearly to check out for example, did I lose my chick over here (always yes) and to put things straight. When all the chicks look alike, how can they tell the difference?