Are any of your turkeys having a hard time with this cold?

[trunkman]

It was 5 degrees here in South Carolina last night and I thought the turkeys would have a hard time or get frost bite but it looks like they made it ok. They have a 3 sided covered stall they can stay in at night but chose to perch outside instead, I guess they know what they're doing, I would of been in the stall trying to keep out of the wind!

 

[chknoodles]

It was 5 degrees here in South Carolina last night and I thought the turkeys would have a hard time or get frost bite but it looks like they made it ok. They have a 3 sided covered stall they can stay in at night but chose to perch outside instead, I guess they know what they're doing, I would of been in the stall trying to keep out of the wind!

We had it super cold here too in South Central TN...6 degrees before the wind chill was added. The Turks have the same thing, a 3-sided hutch..and they stayed on top of it. So on day 2, we bought a roll of 6 mil plastic from Lowe's and went around one end of their run so that if they again refused to use the inside of their hutches, the wind was blocked. Everyone did wonderfully well..oh and we did rub Vaseline on all the boys' heads and snoods.

Water was our biggest problem..esp after our own water pipes froze. Luckily we had a bunch of 1/2 gal jugs in the freezers to take up space..put them in front of space heaters and we were good for one day..and a stop at Piggly Wiggly for more gallon jugs yesterday. We were nearly out of water again when we finally got our house pipes thawed this evening!!

 

[sandspoultry]

Our coldest was 14 here and ours did fine. Water was the only issue, I went out in the morning and chipped the ice out and added warm water but the temp didn't get above freezing on Tuesday so it was frozen again when I got home from work so I had to chip it again and add more. They were thirsty and all gathered around the water so I kept adding until they had their fill. It was 40's yesterday and 50's today so everything is pretty much back to normal. I did notice in the cold that our peafowl that always roost through just about any weather slept on the ground, I guess they stay warmer on the ground rather than the roost.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Our coldest was 14 here and ours did fine. Water was the only issue, I went out in the morning and chipped the ice out and added warm water but the temp didn't get above freezing on Tuesday so it was frozen again when I got home from work so I had to chip it again and add more. They were thirsty and all gathered around the water so I kept adding until they had their fill. It was 40's yesterday and 50's today so everything is pretty much back to normal. I did notice in the cold that our peafowl that always roost through just about any weather slept on the ground, I guess they stay warmer on the ground rather than the roost.

You said something very true and I noticed this a few days ago. All of the turkeys took to sleeping under the raised coop on the ground. I thought they were sick when I saw that. They usually roost in the trees or on top of the chicken house. My first time seeing that. One night was as low as 17 degrees.

 

[hdmax]

We had wind chills of 30-40 below for about 36 hours, and the turkeys ventured outside for a few minutes at a time, but didn't stay out much. They didn't go into the coop, but did go into the 3 sided shed at night. I have 30+ cockerels, and 14 turkeys that have a choice of the coop or shed, they almost always stay outside, or the shed.
They are all just fine!
My 40+ laying hens ventured out into the yard during the coldest times we had, and they are all fine, and still laying.

 

[Lagerdogger]

We had -34 before the wind chill was added. Wind chills were 50 to 60 below. Turkeys went into the spruce trees except to feed. No problems. Interestingly, my birds went into the trees to roost when it was cold rather than staying on the ground. Their normal roost is an exposed 2X4 about 8 feet off the ground (3 ft above the roof of their shelter, that they seem to ignore). I would have thought they would have huddled together under the spruces, but they preferred to roost individually higher up. It's hard to think like a bird!