best source for poults?

[hensonly]

HI, all,

I've had chickens for three years, and am thinking about trying some turkeys....is there an especially good or especially bad hatchery or other source for poults? I'm in upstate NY. I keep reading that poults are so fragile...is the poult mortality rate higher than for chicks, when they're shipped? We don't want a lot of turkeys this first time... but we want to make sure we end up with a few!

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[medan]

try your local craigslist its were i got mine last year all very healthy and less trama involved in moving them

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

You could start with eggs. We have some Black Turkey eggs on a BYC auction.

Many hatcheries are almost sold out for the season. Best hurry and order poults or eggs soon.

 

[Jmiller429]

www.portersturkeys.com

Kevin has the best varieties anywhere, and his lines are excellent. i think hes booked until june right now, but worth the wait

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We have hatching eggs now for Midget White, Beltsville White and it looks like the White Hollands are getting started. Our Bourbons,Palms and Bronze are starting to mate but no eggs yet. We have an auction going on ebay that ends tomorrow for Monday shipping for Midget White's

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220747052685&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Steve

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:
We have poults due in May from Kevin. His website states he is booked til mid-June.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:
Steve,

I heard that some hatcheries sell the Midget White as a Beltsville White and vise verse. The Beltsville White is in the SOP. The Midget White is not in the SOP yet. Since you raise both, would you give us your definition of their differences? Weights etc. Thanks.

FYI: The only breeder we have seen selling any Beltsville, Midget or White Holland hatching eggs is Steve.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
Steve,

I heard that some hatcheries sell the Midget White as a Beltsville White and vise verse. The Beltsville White is in the SOP. The Midget White is not in the SOP yet. Since you raise both, would you give us your definition of their differences? Weights etc. Thanks.

FYI: The only breeder we have seen selling any Beltsville, Midget or White Holland hatching eggs is Steve.

There is no hatchery that sells Beltsville Small White poults to my knoweldge, Strombergs sells hatching eggs but we could never figure out where they were getting the eggs from.

Steve

 

[hensonly]

Wow, thanks for the info, everyone...I don't have an incubator, and haven't even tried hatching chicken eggs! Not sure I want to experiment with turkey eggs first time....if I decide to do turkeys, I want to end up with turkeys!!

But...our neighbor has an incubator for chicken eggs, don't know what kind, but he said it cost about $85...so not a real big or fancy one. I'm sure he'd let me borrow it, would it work for turkey eggs? or would I need a different tray to hold the bigger eggs? Is the temp., humidity, etc the same for turkey eggs as for chicken eggs?

How complicated is it to keep a breeding pair? Or would I need more than a pair? I can't free range, we have foxes and coyotes - how much space do turkeys need when you keep them confined?

I understand turkey polts are more fragile than chicks...does this follow for the eggs, too?

I like the idea of looking for local sources of young birds, I'll check around.

Gotta decide pretty quick, I guess, if I want to do them this year!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Just about any incubator will work but the trick is knowing how to set it up and use it. For best hatches it takes a little trial and error to get it just right.

We are members of the ALBC and the SPPA - both have member breeder listings and if you want to see if their are any breeders in your area send me a PM.

Steve