Afternoon all,
I have recently started keeping chickens over the last few months and am really enjoying it so far and our chickens are doing well.(Uk Based) We have decided to get a couple of Turkeys to keep seperate to our chickens for next christmas (if I dont get attached) and I'd like to pick members brains before I jump in to be sure I've made the correct decision!
How big would a turkeys housing need to be? Would an 8ftx8ft shed be ok if I kitted it out with perches? How tall does the run need to be?
Do they need nest boxes? I've read mixed opinions...alot.
Could I keep 2 stags together or would they fight too much so females would be better?
What breed of Turkey is best for meat, and is there any difference between stag meat and female turkey meat?
Thats about it! This has probably been done to death somewhere but I can't find the thread, also with so many mixed opinions on various articles about the web I thought i'd ask some experts.
Many thanks in advance, Rich.
I have a flock that varies in size, at most it was 12 birds (adults and young adults). They're in a fenced in run that's about 28' x 16', and then they have a barn they can go into that's 20' x 13'. In the outside run, there's roosts, hiding spots, tall weeds, dirt and a 'wading pool'... they LOVE LOVE LOVE to be outside. There is a lot of variety inside my pen, I try to keep them from being too bored. They sleep outside in the summer, but in winter, they are confined to the coop (we have bad winters). Inside the coop is the nesting boxes, dirt floor and several tall roosts, and I will put out hay for them to go through. I have four adults (three hens and a tom) that are my 'breeders' and then their offspring are raised separately until they're old enough to be outside and large enough to be slowly introduced to the adults. That method has mixed feelings, but so far it's worked for me... this is my third year with turkeys. Typically, people keep the breeding adults in one pen, and the babies in a grow-out pen... this is what I'll eventually have, but we're going to be moving in a year or two, so not yet... Oh and there's a net that covers the whole pen so they can't fly out. There's a lot of wild turks and hunters in the area... not to mention dogs and cars... so I don't want them to wander and get hurt.
If you're just raising them for meat, you won't need nesting boxes... mine didn't lay until they were about 10 months old. Some hens are very particular about their nest box (I have plastic doghouses with hay inside) and some just lay wherever. Sometimes they make their own. If you want them to lay in one spot, put a turkey egg there (to "train" them). My hens didn't want to lay anywhere except for where there was another egg. Chicken eggs won't work, they kick them out. Duck or goose eggs might work...
I've only kept two toms once, and I will not do it again. They got along great until spring came. I'm sure they could winter together just fine, but they'd have to be separated for the summer, I think. I've talked to people here who have several toms with no issues, but I guess it depends on their temperaments and flock dynamics? Females will also fight. Females will also strut when they're seriously angry. But my flock is like this--my tom is a big softie, my dominant hen rules the coop like a queen (she is very calm and collected and the other hens give her plenty of space), then there's a subordinate hen who is her shadow, and then there's a scapegoat hen. The young don't really fall into the hierarchy yet, so thus I don't really have any fighting between adults and poults... when I introduce the poults to the adults, I do it after their head feathers have fallen off, and I keep them separate by chicken wire inside the coop for prolly another month more... I do not release them with the adults until the adults are calm about it... I do a LOT of turkey-watching.
I got way off topic... oops.
As far as meat goes, it's kind of up to you. Broad Breasted birds grow very very fast and sometimes have health issues into adult hood, and you can't breed a BB tom to a BB hen. But you can breed a heritage tom to a BB hen. I've never raised broad breasted birds, though, so bear with me... I've read that they aren't as intelligent, instinctual or personable as a heritage breeds, they don't taste as good and they are very prone to illnesses. Not sure if its true. But I like my heritage breeds... I love how they look (bone structure-wise) I love their personalities and their plumage. I have Norfolk/Spanish Blacks, Standard Bronze and one Narragansett (who's still a poult), but so far, I am very impressed with the Standard Bronze. Beautiful birds, really. They get tall very fast and then add on muscle mass, they are not picky eaters (my Blacks are!), and the carcass is a dream to prep. I am moving away from the Blacks because when you pluck them, they leave these TINY little hairs, and you can see the feather follicles very clearly. It's kind of gross, looks like black worms or something under their skin. The Bronze were kind of the same, but not nearly as obvious. The lighter-feathered breeds don't have this issue as far as I know (such as Holland Whites and Bourbon Reds) but I've never raised them, so I don't know first hand.
You're also doing a good job by planning on keeping them separate from the chickens... chickens carry blackhead. I've got blackhead in my soil, despite the chickens being separate... everyone this spring got sick, I thought I was going to lose the whole flock. But miraculously, they pulled through.. I haven't had any problems since. I keep them wormed with cayenne pepper in their food/treats and apple cider vinegar in the water... now I'm incorporating Safeguard twice a year--once before breeding season and once in the fall, before I close them in the coop for the winter.
I guess I should also say that when they winter, they are extremely inactive. They come down in the morning to eat and drink, then fly back up and sleep. But you might not have to worry about that.
Oh, and if you do end up keeping a few hens, you will not be disappointed with turkey eggs. I adore them! Some people say they taste the same as a chicken egg, but I don't think so. I think the whites are fluffier and the yolk tastes more "meaty".
One more thing (and then I promise I'll stop typing): I
WILL NEVER eat a store-bought bird EVER AGAIN. I actually HATED turkey meat before! So dry and bland!!! I came to raise them because I fell in love with them (my mother in law had purchased some poults and I fell in love the first moment I met them!), then we had one for Thanksgiving... it was so juicy, tender and FULL of flavor. We didn't even have to add seasoning! Turkeys are awesome!
Sorry that I wrote a lot! I hope this helps!
