A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[stephcraig78]

Hey all! Just wanted to give a quick update on our little gang. We still have our two turkey hens, doing great and getting along nicely with the enormous Spanish black TOM! Have finally decided it has to be a tom. Gobbles frequently especially when the rooster crows. Has been full blown strutting big time for the girls. They have slacked off laying for awhile now so no eggs. My husband knows a guy with a rp trio they are planning to breed. They said if ours produce some poults they would like to trade babies with us so we can both get different breeds. Also our new rooster is doing awesome. He protects the girls but doesn’t get mean with us. He does play chase when we walk away but has never tried attacking us. He has one favorite silkie hen we call his wife. They grew up together and have apparently formed a close bond. They sleep in an old truck camper by themselves. We close the lid at night to keep predators out. Neither of them shows any interest in going in coop with the others. He breeds only with her so far as I’ve seen. She is now sitting on about 8 eggs. Not sure if they will actually hatch though. I wanted to ask you all about them. It took her about 10-12 days to lay them. And I’m not sure if she was actually setting on them during that time. How long can the eggs stay viable without her constant heat? She’s been on them for about a week now so at what point can I candle them? We are making plans to build a second coop/pen area to separate out the turkeys and Chickens finally. It’s gotten to crowded in the main pen. Plus I don’t trust the tom to not pick on or beat up the Chickens. I’ve included a few more recent picks for you all to see how they are doing. Thanks for all your great input and tips. You’ve helped us through our second year as poultry owners. We enjoy every one of them and every aspect of having them in our lives. Also happy to have great people like you all to share the love with.

 

[rjohns39]

I would probably candle a week after she starts setting on them, but I've never used a broody to hatch. Those are pretty birds you have there.

 

[memphis]

The only issue I'd be worried about with turkeys sleeping in trees & trucks is their exposure to nighttime predators, such as coons or owls. Turkeys are fine in cold weather....I think mine prefer it.

 

[R2elk]

Oh! Saturday we are goin to look at a pair of RP teenagers. Anything special we should be lookin at other than normal bird stuff for these two?

Make sure that they are only black & white. Any other colors are a flaw and are not actually Royal Palms.

 

[R2elk]

What's the ideal ratio for toms to hens? I've got 3 of each (toms and hens) and figured that two of the Toms would be Xmas dinner for my family and my in-laws family. Can one Tom cover 3 hens?

I prefer to keep at least 4 to 5 hens for one tom. Others have reported a single tom to be able to handle up to 10 hens.

 

[R2elk]

I'm zone 7 as well, and my turkeys have been sleeping on the stake rack of my 1-ton Ford. They don't want to go inside, and they're too high for coyotes or anything like that to get them. They've been ok so far.

You might be surprised just how high coyotes can jump. I have personally seen a coyote take flying songbirds out of the air at 8' high. Given anything to use for a boost, they can get much higher.

 

[rjohns39]

I prefer to keep at least 4 to 5 hens for one tom. Others have reported a single tom to be able to handle up to 10 hens.

See I'm trainable

 

[sfgwife]

Thanks!

Make sure that they are only black & white. Any other colors are a flaw and are not actually Royal Palms.

Thanks!

 

[R2elk]

Thanks!

R2elk said: ↑
Make sure that they are only black & white. Any other colors are a flaw and are not actually Royal Palms.

Thanks!

Of course this only matters if you really want Royal Palms. If you don't care what they actually turn out to be you may like the tricolors.

 

[sfgwife]

Of course this only matters if you really want Royal Palms. If you don't care what they actually turn out to be you may like the tricolors.

It really wont matter so much if we get poults from the tom with our bronze hens.... paul said he really liked the colors on them but i think just healthy birds are most important to us right now really. We wont keep them separated so barnyard mutt babies it will be. We have been lookin/talkin bout different varieties lately because i saw the porters mix they are offerin. From what i am readin if the rp tom is over the bronze hens we would get narry hens and bronze toms. That would be ok too. I love the looks of sweetgrass and slates so maybe one day we will get a few. For right now addin these two if we do will be enough for a bit. Gotta get a goat place built by spring.... cause we wants milks! Lol. And payin for goat milk round here ain’t cheap.