A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[feistychick]

Ralph - I keep telling you.... I'm sure your tickets should be there by now - get packing

Aurora - so pretty there! The snow here was just flying horizontally and drifting, nothing like the pretty puffy flakes you have

Feedman - can't wait to see pics of your new trio of bourbons!

Unbelievably, our schools were still closed today No snow coming down but it might have been icy .

 

[Bantambird]

We only closed schools once in the last 26 years, because of a freak ice storm. It can be blowing hurricane winds and be 40 below zero with crazy snow drifting and a ground blizzard, but you better not miss any school.

 

[stephcraig78]

Hey everyone I haven't been on in awhile so had about 10 pages of posts to catch up on. I was most interested in hearing your strategies on dealing with cold weather. I live smack in the middle of Missouri so I was glad to read a couple of you are also in Missouri. So they are saying temps will be in single digits tonight and next few days. I am very nervous about our birds. We have a very simple pen and coop. It's a square pen with a corner closed off to make a "house". They have a long roosting pole across the pen but haven't put one inside their house. So from what I've seen our Silkie hen and frizzle hen are the only two that sleep inside the house. The rest prefer to sleep on the roost pole. We have a nice layer of straw covering the ground and have put up boards to enclose the pen to help keep them out of the wind. There is a roof over the pen as well. My question is at what point should I consider a heat lamp or some form of heat for them? Or do they not need it at all? I've read there are certain breeds that don't handle the cold as well so can anyone tell me what breeds? Any help is appreciated! This will be their first winter and my first as a bird owner as well.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Hey everyone I haven't been on in awhile so had about 10 pages of posts to catch up on. I was most interested in hearing your strategies on dealing with cold weather. I live smack in the middle of Missouri so I was glad to read a couple of you are also in Missouri. So they are saying temps will be in single digits tonight and next few days. I am very nervous about our birds. We have a very simple pen and coop. It's a square pen with a corner closed off to make a "house". They have a long roosting pole across the pen but haven't put one inside their house. So from what I've seen our Silkie hen and frizzle hen are the only two that sleep inside the house. The rest prefer to sleep on the roost pole. We have a nice layer of straw covering the ground and have put up boards to enclose the pen to help keep them out of the wind. There is a roof over the pen as well. My question is at what point should I consider a heat lamp or some form of heat for them? Or do they not need it at all? I've read there are certain breeds that don't handle the cold as well so can anyone tell me what breeds? Any help is appreciated! This will be their first winter and my first as a bird owner as well.

from what I've learned, adding heat is huge no no. Not only is there the risk of fire but it can mess with the birds' ability to acclimate to the cold. As long as they have shelter from the wind, they should be fine.

 

[stephcraig78]

Thanks that's pretty much what I've been thinking. They all went through a light molt in late fall but none of them had any bald spots and now have nice thick covering. I have been mostly worried about the Silkie and possibly frizzle. But they are the only ones that actually get inside out of the weather completely. I guess it's mostly just feeling bad for any animal out in the miserable cold. I know wild turkey and birds survive just fine throughout winter so I just have to keep telling myself that.

 

[stephcraig78]

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[stephcraig78]

This is "Elvis" he's our only rooster and I just wanted to share a pic of him. He is such a goofy bird. My 12 yr old son likes to help feed and water the birds but Elvis has decided my son needs to be put in his place apparently and constantly jumps on his legs and chases him around the yard. Absolutely hilarious to see. I read all the stories about your turkeys and just wish mine were more approachable but they won't let me get more than a quick touch before turning and walking away from me. Maybe they will settle down as they get older.

 

[R2elk]

This is "Elvis" he's our only rooster and I just wanted to share a pic of him. He is such a goofy bird. My 12 yr old son likes to help feed and water the birds but Elvis has decided my son needs to be put in his place apparently and constantly jumps on his legs and chases him around the yard. Absolutely hilarious to see. I read all the stories about your turkeys and just wish mine were more approachable but they won't let me get more than a quick touch before turning and walking away from me. Maybe they will settle down as they get older.

No matter how funny you think your rooster's behavior is, you need to put a stop to it immediately. There should be zero tolerance for animals that attack people. You see no harm in it now but you won't find it amusing if he flies at your son's face and hurts one of his eyes.

 

[Molpet]

This is "Elvis" he's our only rooster and I just wanted to share a pic of him. He is such a goofy bird. My 12 yr old son likes to help feed and water the birds but Elvis has decided my son needs to be put in his place apparently and constantly jumps on his legs and chases him around the yard. Absolutely hilarious to see. I read all the stories about your turkeys and just wish mine were more approachable but they won't let me get more than a quick touch before turning and walking away from me. Maybe they will settle down as they get older.

when he get older and has 3" spurs that puncture or gashes your sons legs or face you will realize IT"S NOT FUNNY ...

 

[stephcraig78]

Yes I agree I say it's funny but I don't tolerate it. He tried this behavior with me too but I don't let it become a game like my son has. I have called his bluff so to speak and he no longer tries it with me. I think it's because he's smaller than me and my husband and is mildly afraid of the birds so Elvis senses his fear. I have tried to tell my son not to be scared and not run. Do you have any suggestions of how to stop this? He has done this to my 13 yr old daughter too but not as much. If you have any ideas please let me know because I don't want anyone being hurt or even being scared of being around the birds. Thanks