Adding turkeys?

[lutherpug]

I am considering getting some turkeys next summer and am thinking about what sort of setup I would need for them. I have 4.5 acres that is currently unfenced. I don't know if blackhead is an issue in my area, I need to call the county extension office and find out still. That said, I don't want to house the turkeys with my chickens anyway. How much space do they need in a coop setup? What sort of predators should I be concerned about if I free range them? Do they stay fairly close to "home" or will they wander far away? Would electric poultry netting be sufficient to contain them or would they easily fly over a 4 ft fence?

We are considering Narragansett and Blue Slate turkeys. Are these good docile breeds to have as pets? They'll be for our enjoyment only, no plans to eat them.

Thank you!

 

[R2elk]

I am considering getting some turkeys next summer and am thinking about what sort of setup I would need for them. I have 4.5 acres that is currently unfenced. I don't know if blackhead is an issue in my area, I need to call the county extension office and find out still. That said, I don't want to house the turkeys with my chickens anyway. How much space do they need in a coop setup? What sort of predators should I be concerned about if I free range them? Do they stay fairly close to "home" or will they wander far away? Would electric poultry netting be sufficient to contain them or would they easily fly over a 4 ft fence?

We are considering Narragansett and Blue Slate turkeys. Are these good docile breeds to have as pets? They'll be for our enjoyment only, no plans to eat them.

Thank you!

I consider 10 sq. ft. per adult turkey to be the minimum for a turkey coop. Turkeys do not necessarily need a coop. They need a shaded area where they can get out of the sun, an area where they can get out of the prevailing wind and roosts.

I prefer not to use poultry netting with turkeys since the fine wire can cut just like a knife when they are rubbing their heads against the wire.

Turkeys do not need to fly over a 4' fence since they can easily jump over it. I have a 6' 2"x4" welded wire fence for my perimeter that for the most part keeps my turkeys in. There is no top rail or bar on my fence as such sites are perch magnets for turkeys. Once a turkey perches on a fence, it is nearly a guarantee that they will get down on the wrong side of the fence.

Turkeys quickly learn where "home" is. Home = food & water. Some people have had problems with their turkeys visiting their neighbors because they find something attractive about the neighbor's place which can be as simple as the food they are serving or the turkey's natural inquisitiveness about the activities going on there.

All heritage turkeys are docile varieties of the breed Turkey. Imprinting them when they are poults can cause them to lose the ability to understand that they are different from people. Losing this ability can cause the turkeys to be problems once they are adults and start trying to use turkey methods against people.

Good luck.

 

[lutherpug]

I consider 10 sq. ft. per adult turkey to be the minimum for a turkey coop. Turkeys do not necessarily need a coop. They need a shaded area where they can get out of the sun, an area where they can get out of the prevailing wind and roosts.

I prefer not to use poultry netting with turkeys since the fine wire can cut just like a knife when they are rubbing their heads against the wire.

Turkeys do not need to fly over a 4' fence since they can easily jump over it. I have a 6' 2"x4" welded wire fence for my perimeter that for the most part keeps my turkeys in. There is no top rail or bar on my fence as such sites are perch magnets for turkeys. Once a turkey perches on a fence, it is nearly a guarantee that they will get down on the wrong side of the fence.

Turkeys quickly learn where "home" is. Home = food & water. Some people have had problems with their turkeys visiting their neighbors because they find something attractive about the neighbor's place which can be as simple as the food they are serving or the turkey's natural inquisitiveness about the activities going on there.

All heritage turkeys are docile varieties of the breed Turkey. Imprinting them when they are poults can cause them to lose the ability to understand that they are different from people. Losing this ability can cause the turkeys to be problems once they are adults and start trying to use turkey methods against people.

Good luck.

Thanks for the good info. It sounds like a simple coop setup would probably work best for us as there is virtually no shade on our property and the wind out here can be absolutely relentless at times. I'm going to have to rethink the fencing... I'd like to fence in the entire property but I'm not sure if it is in the budget this spring. It would be 4' tall anyways... I may look at building them a smaller fenced in pen where I could do 6-8' fencing similar to what you've described. I do worry about them visiting my one neighbor for a variety of reasons, among them his outdoor dogs.

Are hawks a problem? We have a ton of them. Whatever fencing we end up using will have to be electrified as we have all the other usual suspects lurking around-coons, coyotes, possums, etc.

I assume I should only keep 1 tom and several lady turkeys, similar to chickens?

Thanks again.

 

[R2elk]

Thanks for the good info. It sounds like a simple coop setup would probably work best for us as there is virtually no shade on our property and the wind out here can be absolutely relentless at times. I'm going to have to rethink the fencing... I'd like to fence in the entire property but I'm not sure if it is in the budget this spring. It would be 4' tall anyways... I may look at building them a smaller fenced in pen where I could do 6-8' fencing similar to what you've described. I do worry about them visiting my one neighbor for a variety of reasons, among them his outdoor dogs.

Are hawks a problem? We have a ton of them. Whatever fencing we end up using will have to be electrified as we have all the other usual suspects lurking around-coons, coyotes, possums, etc.

I assume I should only keep 1 tom and several lady turkeys, similar to chickens?

Thanks again.

Young turkeys are subject to all the usual suspects when it comes to predators. Adults unless it is a hen sitting on a hidden nest are not as susceptible. I have not lost any turkeys to hawks but I have lost young ones to Great Horned Owls. Raccoons and skunks have cleaned out nests of both eggs and poults but have not gotten any of my adult turkeys. Coyotes, foxes and dogs can be a serious hazard to a turkey of any age. I have no opossums here but would guess that they fit into the skunk category of predators.

I try to keep at least 4 to 5 hens for one tom. A single tom can easily handle at least ten hens if he wants to. If multiple toms are kept, it is best to separate them for breeding season to avoid injuries to the hens.

 

[mandelyn]

A 6ft wire fence keeps them in most of the time, occasionally I'll have a hen or two come out and start towards the house looking for us. It's been working out that I can imprint on them as babies, for about 4 weeks to get them going good, then step back from them and let them do their turkey thing. As adults, they've been pretty easy. I've only had 1 "bad" tom who took to wanting to attack.

Each tom gets his own space, they won't share during breeding season. Their fights are focused and long... not a quick rooster scuffle but a sustained neck grabbing wrestling match that's best to be avoided.

It's really important to have babies on the right feed, with 26%-28% protein. Once they're grown it can drop down to a maintenance diet at 18%-20%.

Turkey eggs are great for baking, as good or better for it than duck eggs. The hens WILL try to brood, once they realize you're an egg thief they may take to burying their eggs or finding new nesting sites. If you keep taking the eggs they'll usually stay in active lay, for 3 months more or less. I have a couple of hens that will lay from March-September.

To see gender easily they'll need to be 3 months old, if you start with babies that will buy you about 3 months until you'll need to separate out or rehome extra boys if you're not going to eat them. They'll need at least double the space of a chicken, sturdy roosts, large nests.

They poop A LOT, for just having them around as pets, 3-5 of them would be plenty. They eat a lot too, compared to a chicken.