A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[duluthralphie]

Thanks, I will see if someone can take him locally. I don't want to see any more of my girls hurt. Should he absolutely go to a home with more females? Or would he be okay with a flock of just chickens?

Thanks all for the help.

He could very well kill hens. Toms are not fussy about who, or what they mate with..
I know some people find it hard to do, but I think you should consider a trip to Freezer Camp for him. Moving a bad tom is like relocating a raccoon, you are just giving someone else your problem.

 

[duluthralphie]

I am sure that you would not like my suggestion but I never pass problem animals on to other people. Placing a lone tom turkey with only chickens could be very harmful to the chickens. Placing him in a home with other hen turkeys could be harmful to those hens. If it was me, I would invite him to be the guest of honor at someone's dinner feast.

And again I should have read further before answering....Silly me!

 

[PolarBerry]

Anyone else use sand in their turkey pens? Being in Oregon it’s getting rainy and their constant in and outs of the coop is making the shavings disgusting and smelly. I’m considering shoveling it all out and utilizing the sand/pdz granule method over some gravel for drainage. The coop floor is hardware cloth over dirt and the shavings were fine during the dry season but I think it’s time for a change.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it? She may do just fine, but you may want to pick up a cheap incubator in case an emergency comes along.

Agreed! If she's doing great incubating, let her go! Once the babies hatch, depending on how good of a mother she is, you can choose then whether you want to take them and brood them yourself or allow her to do it.

Anyone else use sand in their turkey pens? Being in Oregon it’s getting rainy and their constant in and outs of the coop is making the shavings disgusting and smelly. I’m considering shoveling it all out and utilizing the sand/pdz granule method over some gravel for drainage. The coop floor is hardware cloth over dirt and the shavings were fine during the dry season but I think it’s time for a change.

I don't use sand but I've heard of people who love it and others who hate it. Is it the actual coop that is the problem, or the run? If it's the coop, you could use a board or pallet outside their door for them to basically "wipe" off their feet on the way in to minimize mud. If it's the run, is it possible to add a roof? Roofing our run was the best decision we've ever made. Even when it decides to rain all summer, it's clean, dry, fresh, and cozy in there.

 

[PolarBerry]

It’s mainly the coop itself. I think because the ground moisture is getting drawn up into the shavings it makes it that much worse. Everything here turns mossy or moldy in the winter so I don’t want to cause breathing issues. I’ve read about silicosis and also leg injuries from frozen sand but we don’t often get freezing temps and their coop stays warmer than outside by a few degrees. So main concern would be the silicosis, but seems molding shavings would be a more likely risk factor seeing how wet they are.

 

[stephcraig78]

Well fortunately the silkie hen that is sitting on the eggs is the “wife” of the rooster. They stay in their own pen inside an old truck camper. She is the only one that has a nest box in there. No one else goes in there. I’m gonna do a very thorough candling in a day or two and mark all the eggs I can tell are for sure good. She sure seems to be doing great. Doesn’t leave them for more than an hour at very most. As I was checking them tonight she would use her beak to pull them back under her wings and belly. She will have privacy to hatch and raise them as well. Very excited about it all. Was worried about the temps dropping here in Missouri especially at night but they felt very warm when I pulled them out. Will be watching her more closely though. Thank you for the tips!!

 

[PolarBerry]

Well fortunately the silkie hen that is sitting on the eggs is the “wife” of the rooster. They stay in their own pen inside an old truck camper. She is the only one that has a nest box in there. No one else goes in there. I’m gonna do a very thorough candling in a day or two and mark all the eggs I can tell are for sure good. She sure seems to be doing great. Doesn’t leave them for more than an hour at very most. As I was checking them tonight she would use her beak to pull them back under her wings and belly. She will have privacy to hatch and raise them as well. Very excited about it all. Was worried about the temps dropping here in Missouri especially at night but they felt very warm when I pulled them out. Will be watching her more closely though. Thank you for the tips!!

On cool mornings when I let my birds out and they shake their feathers sometimes can see a bit of steam coming off of them. Healthy birds stay nice and warm when kept dry and free of drafts.

 

[rjohns39]

As frustrating as they are... The brat pack is at least entertaining. They've decided the warmest place in the world is squished between two turkeys and the turkeys seem ok with it.

 

[R2elk]

It’s mainly the coop itself. I think because the ground moisture is getting drawn up into the shavings it makes it that much worse. Everything here turns mossy or moldy in the winter so I don’t want to cause breathing issues. I’ve read about silicosis and also leg injuries from frozen sand but we don’t often get freezing temps and their coop stays warmer than outside by a few degrees. So main concern would be the silicosis, but seems molding shavings would be a more likely risk factor seeing how wet they are.

I use sand for everything because I live on a sand dune. I also don't pay much attention to the anti sand people since some of their claims are just plain non truths. I have never had an issue with silicosis and the only injury from frozen sand was to a mature tom that landed wrong. That injury would have happened on frozen ground whether it was sand or dirt since the temperature at the time was in the -20°Fs.

Gravel under sand as long as it has somewhere to drain to would keep the sand pretty dry since sand does not hold water very well. Dirt holds water much better than sand does. I have to give my garden extra water because of how poorly sand retains water.

I have never used a deep litter method and do not use poop boards. My roosts are staggered so that no bird is crapping on any others. Because my roosts are highly desirable all of the birds use them and since 90% of their defecations take place when they are on the roosts, almost all of the excrement is under the roosts and easily shoveled into the hole that I make for my buried water bucket when I replace the already composted material annually.

 

[karenerwin]

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.

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. View attachment 1198818View attachment 1198821 View attachment 1198822

I like to candle at day 10 of the hen actually sitting on the eggs. Yes, they should be fine, it normally takes hens a while to lay enough eggs to decide to set. Plus, some people save eggs and then put them all in an incubator on the same day and have them hatch on the same day or within a day of each other.