Are turkeys hard to keep?

[Buck Creek Chickens]

I've got 15 running around, they do not go on the cars, but early spring I had to chase them home a few times till the snow melted.

this hen hatched the geese and I planted the turkeys, they came out of the incubator at the same time. they also keep the hawks away. and the owl think twice about going lower in the trees.

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
the turkeys give good warning with hawks for sure. and they fan out to protect and cover others. very neat.

 

[sandy sea]

Is the standard bronze turkey the best kind to keep as a pet? I do have dogs. I have my chickens and pigs coop and run in a fenced off area. Would the turkeys be able to fly over the 5.5 ft. fence?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We added Standard bronze last year and are very pleased with them. size wise they are huge but they are very calm and friendly. Once the toms get some weight on them they won't be able to get over your fence but the hens will be able to. Once they call a place home they will stay put.

Steve in NC

 

[lotzahenz]

I have a new pair of Turkeys and my male Muscovey duck has started picking on the Tom. The duck is quite fast, the Tom is slow but stronger. Should I worry too much about him (Tom)? He is huge, maybe 20 plus lbs and growing. I don't want him to get hurt by the rogue duck. They both run free in the barn yard, sleeping in a stall at night together with the chickens. I am new to turkeys.

 

[walkswithdog]

I love our turkeys, wasn't sure I would. I got a trio of BRs last year, so they're not tame the way home raised ones will be, but even they follow me around. Very much 'watcha doing? Got snacks? Do you eat that, what's that shiny thing, is there corn in the van???"

I can't wait to have a group of home raised poults. Our Tom is a tad... goofy. My oldest hen is a more aggressive protector than he is (sad) so I'm hoping for a couple of stronger defenders from the next group of turkeys to grow here. But wow I like having them. Now I just need a much much bigger coop.