3-4 day old wild turkey chicks hatched by broody Silkie - now what?

[kimcurnow]

We found an abandoned turkey nest after mowing. I gave the eggs to my broody Silkie and 2 of 5 hatched. I separated the "mom" and chicks and for now they are in a large dog crate inside the chicken coop. I'm afraid to let them out! My chickens free range during the day, so I'm afraid if I let her out with the 2 babies some kind of danger will befall them. What should I do with manavSilkie and her 2 baby turkeys? Keeping them as pets, but should I separate the turkeys? Leave them all in the crate for a while?

 

[elibar90]

I would let her roam, but I am new so don't take my word.

 

[Gerbil]

Oh, wild turkeys.
I can't tell you too much, mostly my opinion!
Firstly, for future reference, wild toms can get nasty (To people and chickens alike). They are not anything like our domesticated ones (Although they can turn to) in my experience. Even raised in a loving home, when the season comes a calling, they can turn pretty fast. I am not saying necessarily every wild tom gets nasty, but all the ones I knew did. lol And they were not afraid of people in the least, that was the main problem. lol

Well, since they have already had plenty of contact with your chickens I guess it's a wee bit late to worry about that front. (Blackhead can spread between the two and is sometimes a scare. We've raised the two birds together for years without a problem, but for a few people it can be. Depends on where you are. - - That's more of a chicken to turkey disease, I am not so sure about the other way around, them being wild and all. Although they were hatched, so I doubt it's much)
I personally don't let our mammas and babies out with the rest of our flock, they get a separate pen. (We can't freerange here though, we'd lose the entire flock within a day!)

So many dangers are heightened when they babies are little, especially turkey babies... They tend to be, well, a bit slow. lol
I don't know what you have for predators over there so it's kinda of hard to tell what exactly they'd be facing, although I doubt the other chickens would pose much of threat. And while in the wild the babies would be technically be free ranging, their mom would be quite a bit larger and not so fluffy. Plus, turkeys in the wild tend to lose a few babies along the way, kind of as a population control!

I would build a little makeshift pen or something for them, just to keep them in till the babies are just a wee bit bigger. Once they start to grow though, not much will be able to stop them. (Predator wise) Especially when they can fly.

I am not sure on the separating thing, we've never had a chicken raise our turkeys before (Although it sounds adorable at the moment).


Also, check to see if you need a wild turkey permit to have them where you are, some states require it!
Someone else will hopefully chime in as well, I am far from an expert on the subject. lol

 

[MamaRoo]

http://www.infobarrel.com/A_Chicken_Raising_Turkeys

 

[markb816]

I have a 2 year old Eastern Wild Tom who is as gentle as a precious baby panda-kitten.
But of course he knows who the Alpha(me) is.
For me the Eastern Wild seem a bit tougher than there heritage counterparts. They survive better and smart enough to know and stay out of harm's way of predators.
If you keep them, they will grow on you. Eastern Wild Turkeys are surprisingly curious but very cautious. Mine are very tame and hang out as part of the rest of the flock.
I would make sure to keep them protected and away from the outside elements for atleast the first 8 weeks.


.

 

[kimcurnow]

Thank you Markb! I'm keeping them with Mama chicken separate from the rest of the group for now. 8 weeks sounds like a good point to let them explore a bit more with less danger. At that point they'll be free ranging with the rest and will know where the coop is for food so I'll worry less about Mama taking care of them.

 

[junkprospector]

no experience at all with wild turkeys, but you should definitely watch the PBS show - "My Life as a Turkey" - a documentary on a film maker who decides to raise wild turkeys