A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[Feathyr]

Duluthralphie - Will the toms continue to fight even if there are no hens present? Furthermore, what is the ideal hen-to-tom ratio?

(Thank you for putting up with my endless stream of questions, lol.)


mountain mom -

Sorry to hear that. However, it is probable that you have already had Mareks (MDV) in your flock.
Here is an interesting link about Mareks in varying species of fowl, including turkeys.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/neoplasms/mareks_disease_in_poultry.html

Based on my experience and research, culling is the worst possible step to take with a Mareks-infected flock. It's impossible to completely eradicate the virus - it lives in the soil, and anything and everything can transmit it. Your best options are to A: Breed surviving birds so that future generations will develop resistance; and B: make sure that your birds' gut flora is balanced.

Varying sources, such as the following one, explain that a birds' gut flora is closely related to their immune system.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1563569/

Quote:
I've lost several birds, of varying ages, both sexes, vaccinated and unvaccinated, to different strains of Mareks over the years. This year I introduced probiotics and supplements into their diet, introduced several new birds, and only one contracted the disease.

You may lose a few more birds to it, but if they're healthy your mortality rate should be low.

Off to bed. 'Night!

 

[Chaos18]

Feathyr, If you ever find a turkey that is not tame and does not follow people everywhere, let us know?

You obviously haven't met T-Bone. He is not wild but he definitely isn't tame and he generally runs the other direction when I get to close. He wasn't handled alot if any in his 1.5 yrs. Miss Cleo was the same way but was getting better......until she died.

 

[memphis]

Feathyr...good articles. Thanks.

MM...put down the beer & read Feathyr's post. It's hopeful!

Chaos. ..really? Remember I caught one turkey in rush hour traffic & ran the other down in a field of pigs. Neither were particularly thrilled with me at first either. But now are both lap turkeys. Their are both as friendly as can be. Ralph pulled JJ & Ethel out from under a house. Look how great they turned out. Bottom line, all is not lost. Look at Aurora & Adam! T-bone too can be your buddy & main source of poop on your deck! . If interested in cultivating a turkey buddy...I'm sure Ralphie has a class you can sign up for.

Fiesty! More pens is the solution to all of our problems!

Feathyr...here is my Bourbon Red lap turkey Annie.

 

[duluthralphie]

You obviously haven't met T-Bone. He is not wild but he definitely isn't tame and he generally runs the other direction when I get to close. He wasn't handled alot if any in his 1.5 yrs. Miss Cleo was the same way but was getting better......until she died.

What breed/breed is he?

I am sorry but at my age I have a hard time remembering the breed/color of everyone's turkeys are.

I really do not handle any of my turkeys except JJ and Ethel and the rest are tame, even if not holdable. ( if that is a word)


MM DO NOT DESTROY ANY CHICKENS!

I think Feathyr gave you the best advice. There is a woman on the Minnesota thread (not the surviving Minnesota thread the one named Minnesota). Her name is Lalaland. I think you should pm her. She has been dealing with Maraks for 4-5 years.

She said something very similar to what Feathyr said. I remember her saying we all have varying degrees of the Maraks virus/bacteria in our soil. Some birds are resistant too it, some not. The ones you raise from the start have a better chance of surviving. She gets turkey poop from me because it helps.

She cannot have turkeys herself because she lives on heavy soil and would most likely have blackhead in them.

She does OK or better with her birds, Sure, she loses some, but she does not lose them all. If I recall correctly she said younger birds are more susceptible to her strain than older ones. I gave her a creamer ( creamette rooster) a couple months ago, it is doing fine. She wanted the blue egg gene. I have heard rumors Creamettes lay eggs. I cannot prove it by my current creamette flock.

I do not think it will be as bad as you and your DH envision now..

Good luck

 

[memphis]

If I remember T-bone is a Sweetgrass. Aurora & I took the same approach. We both just spent close one on one time with said turkeys. I think we both just sat in their pens working on our laptops occasionally giving them treats. So Chaos. ..when you get your new birds, get a chair & hang out with them! They will be pooping on your deck in no time!

MM...read Feathyr's post and Ralph has a contact for you. DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR CHICKENS!

 

[duluthralphie]

Feathyr,, Answering your question, Toms will fight if they are all alone. They like to fight. Some of the minor stuff is fun to watch. Snood pulling contests are like watching the three stooges.
The more Toms you have the more the fighting seems to escalate in my limited experience. R2Elk is the one to ask, he is our thread turkey expert.
I

I know I do not pay much attention to their fighting and bickering any more. I know JJ is still the boss and they leave him alone or if he steps in the fight is over. I only pick up. hold and pet JJ, by doing so I establish I am the alpha turkey. Once in a while a young Tom will try to challenge me. I do not worry about it as JJ will defend me. Just as Sidekick defends JJ. They have a very tight hierarchy, or at least mine do. Moving up or down the ladder requires these constant little battles.

 

[duluthralphie]

Ralph - Are you planning to keep Ginger too? Or just JJ, Sidekick and the Lilac? From the pictures that I saw, I think he's a lilac. I couldn't find anything else that really looked like his coloring. I still think Penguin would give you great poults - you did say your DW hadn't put a strict limit on the birds yet.....

Thanks Fiesty...

I am still waiting on opinions from the rest of you and R2elk.

I am thinking of asking on Porters FB. I hate FB I only belong so I can play Candy crush and get free lives. I have a whole 3 people I get lives from.. So if any of you play candy Crush let me know, I am the most unposting person on FB.

I am not sure of the fate on Ginger. I will be running the calculator and seeing if he is worth keeping. Penguin is not, Everything he can make with my hens JJ can do. The lilac is only going to be kept because he can have 25% Lilac babies with my Blue red bronze hen. I am thinking lilac babies would sell well, and I would keep one or two for myself.



YOU others post your thoughts on my funny Tom's colors.

 

[Chaos18]

What breed/breed is he?

I am sorry but at my age I have a hard time remembering the breed/color of everyone's turkeys are. 

I really do not handle any of my turkeys except JJ and Ethel and the rest are tame, even if not holdable. ( if that is a word)

By that definition tgan he would considered tame but not holdable. He's not overly curious as to what I do in his coop or run. He's a Sweetgrass and the last of my original 4. Two passed within a week of getting them (I think unfortunately due to human error) and Miss Cleo (T-Bones Sweetgrass counterpart) died of a mysterious illness a week or two back. However in the upcoming weeks I do hope to get a couple royal palm/sweetgrass girlfriends for T-Bone so I can have way to many turkeys in the near future.

 

[Chaos18]

Memphis - you can have the turkey pooped deck.....I've seen the size and quantity of the ones in the turkey coop. They're almost as big as the ones the dog leaves for you to step in.

 

[duluthralphie]

When I let my turkeys out of the "Guinea Gulag" they all go crazy and will follow me wherever I go. If I go back in the house and come back outside they all run to me. I call that tame even if not holdable. Maybe we need more terms for tame turkeys, sort of like the 500 words or whatever the number is the Eskimos have for snow.