A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[duluthralphie]

Nope not just at a day old. I went and read the thread R2Elk posted.

My turkeys must just be weird, or I am doing it wrong.

 

[R2elk]

Quote:
Nope, it is supposed to work on all ages. All I am saying is that this year it didn't work on my day old poults. Last year it worked 100% for me on my day old poults. Last year's poults were incubator hatched and this year's poults were hen hatched, coincidence, maybe or maybe not.

I just used it as confirmation on a two month old poult that looked to clearly be a hen. She pulled both her legs up tight to her breast as expected while the toms either kicked or held one leg or both legs up or back.

 

[duluthralphie]

Nope, it is supposed to work on all ages. All I am saying is that this year it didn't work on my day old poults. Last year it worked 100% for me on my day old poults. Last year's poults were incubator hatched and this year's poults were hen hatched, coincidence, maybe or maybe not.

I just used it as confirmation on a two month old poult that looked to clearly be a hen. She pulled both her legs up tight to her breast as expected while the toms either kicked or held one leg or both legs up or back.

That is so interesting! I am going to go try it on one I think is a metro-sexual turkey.

Thanks

 

[feistychick]

That is so interesting!  I am going to go try it on one I think is a metro-sexual turkey.

Thanks

My silly question of the day - how do you get them on their back, is there a trick to it?? I tried to hold the babies on their backs (wanted to try this method - dying to know what they are), and they were squirmy little critters and I couldn't tell whether legs pulled in or kicked

 

[R2elk]

Quote:
Ralph, It is my experience that all of them will kick trying to get away at first and then settle into the the leg position of choice as soon as they calm down while being held on their back

Quote:
For the littlest ones, I hold them gently in my hand holding their little wings against their body. As they grow I cradle them between my forearm and my body. On bigger ones I sit down and hold them in my lap. They have always calmed down pretty quickly for me. I do keep a gentle pressure holding their wings to their bodies. As long as a wing is loose they seem to keep squirming.

Good luck.

 

[feistychick]

For the littlest ones, I hold them gently in my hand holding their little wings against their body.  As they grow I cradle them between my forearm and my body.  On bigger ones I sit down and hold them in my lap.  They have always calmed down pretty quickly for me.  I do keep a gentle pressure holding their wings to their bodies.  As long as a wing is loose they seem to keep squirming.

Good luck.

Thanks! I must not have been holding the wings against their bodies because we had all kinds of flapping and squirming - going to try this when I get home today!!

 

[duluthralphie]

Ahh, ,I never held them until they calmed down... I hated to upset them.

 

[memphis]

Has anyone ever made a hard boiled a turkey egg? I have to make some deviled eggs and was thinking about trying a turkey egg. How many minutes would you boil it?

 

[mountain mom]

Aha! I believe we have a solution....

I have always held until they stop the squirming. My daughter and I just did this a week ago, to see if it still held true.

Guess what. It did. Dinner and Banshee are toms, Tomahawk is clearly a hen.

Well, Dinner is physically obvious to be a tom. There is no turning the 25 or more lb tom upside down...
Banshee kicled like a crazy turkey
Tomahawk held her legs in

But also, at this point, we have obvious tom/hen traits. The leg business just solidified it. As well as guided us when they were a week old.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have JJ and Sidekick going inside at night!

They have been doing this since I made the new turkey area, so about 5 days. We had to walk them ( turkey trot) the first night but have went in on their own since then!


The lone hen refuses to go inside and flies to the roof peak. Ethel and the blue are still in their pen with babies.

Maybe I will get all turkeys inside this winter!