A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[memphis]

Poor Pebbles.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Poor Pebbles.

I feel for her but her baby will have a much better chance of surviving if Ana raises him. She's much more experienced and protective.

 

[PolarBerry]

Question, what substrate do you all use in your coops? I had pine shavings but with the dirt floor and heavy rain they were molding and soggy so I switched to sand. Problem is the sand I got isn’t like playbox sand, it’s coarser and when it gets poop in it then it turns into concrete... I can’t scoop single spots of poop but instead have to pick axe clods of crap-packed-sand out and it’s sooo stinky with the warming weather. Would straw be any better? I did put gravel down under the sand so should help it not be so wet during rains...

 

[duluthralphie]

Question, what substrate do you all use in your coops? I had pine shavings but with the dirt floor and heavy rain they were molding and soggy so I switched to sand. Problem is the sand I got isn’t like playbox sand, it’s coarser and when it gets poop in it then it turns into concrete... I can’t scoop single spots of poop but instead have to pick axe clods of crap-packed-sand out and it’s sooo stinky with the warming weather. Would straw be any better? I did put gravel down under the sand so should help it not be so wet during rains...

I use wood chips. The coarsest largest chips I can find. I am on sand so I seldom have to worry about mold. Mother nature wicks away the moisture as soon as it hits the floor/ground.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I usually use shavings but right now I have straw (it was cheaper last fall). I don't have a dirt floor though but I definitely prefer the shavings.

 

[PolarBerry]

I use wood chips. The coarsest largest chips I can find. I am on sand so I seldom have to worry about mold. Mother nature wicks away the moisture as soon as it hits the floor/ground.

I’m in Oregon where the sky cries moisture for most the year...

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I’m in Oregon where the sky cries moisture for most the year...

I take it you're on the Western side of Oregon? My brother lives in Bend and when we went to visit last summer we drove through endless miles of desert lol. Never realized how quickly and easily we could get dehydrated.

 

[Molpet]

I have hoop coops w a dirt floor. I do deep litter, flip it under the roosts, add more monthly until the door rubs and empty it in the late spring. I add dried grass and leaves and a little shredded paper. I collect leaves in the fall from town, on garbage day people put them out bagged... I get a lot of acorns in the leaves which makes the turkeys happy. I have to open them up in the run because sometimes people put weird things in there...or wet grass, which goes in a compost pile in the run... I did 3 pickup truck loads this year of bagged leaves... Some of the grass I get from my cousin if it gets away from them.. 2 pickup loads and 3 hayracks of loose grass from them last year... why they don't bale it, the dad used to and they bale the hayfields...
I pack the coops in the fall and store bags of leaves and dried grass under a lean to.
one year I had an empty coop... probably never see that again LOL
If I run out of leaves and grass I get a bedding that is shavings, fines and chopped straw, called 3 in 1 bedding http://www.bigr.com/farm-ranch/3-in-1-animal-bedding/231724.html
If it gets stinky in the spring I add barn lime or sweet PDZ to control the odor.

Question, what substrate do you all use in your coops? I had pine shavings but with the dirt floor and heavy rain they were molding and soggy so I switched to sand. Problem is the sand I got isn’t like playbox sand, it’s coarser and when it gets poop in it then it turns into concrete... I can’t scoop single spots of poop but instead have to pick axe clods of crap-packed-sand out and it’s sooo stinky with the warming weather. Would straw be any better? I did put gravel down under the sand so should help it not be so wet during rains...

 

[memphis]

Pine shaving. Not on dirt. Use my pooper scooper to pick up under their roosts. Pick up after my dogs...it came naturally for me to scoop turkey poop too. Little obsessive tho..

 

[rjohns39]

Folks, I have a challenge. Finally got all the girls in the convent and plan to start breeding this weekend. One of my black girls has an obvious infection near her left nostril (swollen and red). I'll post pictures as soon as they arrive at my computer, which could be a while. So for the challenge. During breeding I need the girls to be antibiotic free, so we're looking at sixty days... She doesn't appear to be in any discomfort, eats, poops, drinks and fights with the other girls like normal. Also fights for lap time. So I'm trying to gauge risk here. I want her temperament in my poults, but don't want her to suffer or needlessly endanger her life. Any and all thoughts welcome...