A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[Finnie]

I

Lots of posts to catch up on after I get busy for a few days.

Nice poults and tutor, Ralphie! Just the one, huh? Will you raise that one with the poults, or will it get switched over to a chicken brooder?


 

I have no idea where he will end up. Someday in a chicken coop, a pot, freezer or living at some other house..

Because of the weather here I had too many chicks in the house for a few days, ( by house I mean basement not a living area of an old farm house).

I had a small kids swimming pool  set up with some poults and chicks in it.  I got the area outside set up for them and started picking the chicks out of the pool. I had a dog gate over the top of the pool.  When I was picking chicks I noticed one or two jump on top of the gate.

I grabbed them and put them in the box to go outside.   I also had some chicks in the brooder the turkeys are in (in the basement) and picked the chicks out of it leaving it empty.  But I kept hearing chick noises..


I took all the chicks outside, I had a half dozen poults in the pool still and 18-20 in the hatcher, I should not be able to hear them from the brooder.  I was changing bedding and cleaning the brooder and I kept hearing the beeping....

Finally, I looked between some old boards and a poult and this chick was there. I picked them up, Put them in and informed the chick it was the tutor, which meant I did not have to go get one to tutor them.

I find they do best with a tutor. Turkey Poults are sort of are like liberal college kids. Cute and cuddly but not all that bright....

You sure that was the right chick to pick for a mentor? Kind of sounds to me like he was as dumb as the poult, getting stuck between boards. Just sayin.

 

[Finnie]

picking up my first turkeys ever this Thursday.  6 bourbon red poults.... can't wait

Welcome to turkeys! And the thread. You will love your turkeys! Just be prepared for them to be ridiculous, lol.

 

[Finnie]

Finnie need to empty brooders because my incubator addiction took over and I have full incubators.

Start hatching next week. For the next month.

Turkeys, pheasant, and quail.

120 turkey egg
200 pheasant eggs
240 quail eggs.

And still collecting when incubator space opens up. Will start some more

Well then maybe it wouldn't be so fun to bring new birds home. But if you found something really cool... Seems like it could hardly make much of a dent in your population!!

 

[duluthralphie]

You sure that was the right chick to pick for a mentor? Kind of sounds to me like he was as dumb as the poult, getting stuck between boards. Just sayin.

That would be considered a genius in the turkey world.

 

[MontainBourbons]

Disease is over for sure now. i got them some corid, all 12 of my chicks are healthy. Still sadly 20 died. That was too many for me. I am prepared for the next time though. Thanks for the help you all gave.

 

[JRNash]

Disease is over for sure now. i got them some corid, all 12 of my chicks are healthy. Still sadly 20 died. That was too many for me. I am prepared for the next time though. Thanks for the help you all gave.

One of the ways to avoid this is to keep them off the ground on wire. Let them get up to 4 or 5 weeks before they start getting on the ground .And most definitely keep the corrid handy

 

[JRNash]

Let me rephrase that. You will give them time to get stronger before being exposed

 

[rjohns39]

That would be considered a genius in the turkey world.

I have a friend who has a couple of sayings.... I didn't understand them until I started raising my own. 1) Turkey's between the age of 1 day and 8 weeks have but one mission: How to find a new and inventive way to commit suicide... 2) He uses 5 chicks per poult to teach them things like, how to get water, where to get food, what really is food and not bedding, here is the warm place, here is the cool place, etc.

That said, he was right--but raising them past the 8 week mark makes it all worth it.

 

[JRNash]

How do they EVER survive in the wild?

 

[JRNash]

Broodies