Best Turkey Breed

[jenniemig]

Turkeys need a higher protein content than is in chick starter. Use turkey or game bird starter. Here is a link to how Porter's starts his turkey poults.

http://www.porterturkeys.com/poultstartingtips.htm

In my experience it is much harder to start and keep alive just 3 poults than it is to start and raise a much larger number. Whenever i have started with ten or more, I have not lost any poults while starting with five or fewer I have had many losses. My experience is that placing a chick or two in with the turkey poults is beneficial in getting the poults to learn to eat and drink.

If you are located in an area where blackhead is prevalent, raising turkeys with the chickens will most likely lead to the death of the turkeys from blackhead. If you are in an area like I am where blackhead is not an issue, then there is no problem raising turkeys and chickens together. You can find out if blackhead is a local problem by contacting your local agriculture extension agent.

I had Bourbon Reds, Blue Slates and Royal Palms all at the same time. The Bourbon Reds were by far the friendliest of the three breeds with the hens willing to approach and take grasshoppers from my hands while the other varieties remained aloof.

Good luck.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out I want to be as prepared as I can.

I have to limit myself to just getting 3. While I'd love to have more my husband is not so keen on the idea.

Do you think it would matter that the woman hatching them won't let me pick them up until they're a week old? She says it's her policy to never sell chicks, ducks, or turkeys until they're a week old.

I recently took a poultry seminar at our local Agg Office. I will be sure to call and ask about blackhead here in my area. I really appreciate that tip!

 

[Andrstein]

Our Bourbon Red hen is like having a small, friendly police dog out in the yard. She gets lots of attention daily though, so I'm not sure if hand-raising and cuddling had anything to do with it

Turkeys eat game bird feed which is higher protein. I house our turkey with a peahen, and assorted hens and roosters throughout the year. She lays in the chickens' nesting box. She was raised with silkies as a poult, in our kitchen, until she was feathered out and was big enough that the big chickens wouldn't bother her.

They perch. Oh god do they perch... on everything, such as brand new car hoods, roofs, bikes, dogs, portches, shiny things, sticks etc. And she flys well.

 

[jenniemig]

Our Bourbon Red hen is like having a small, friendly police dog out in the yard. She gets lots of attention daily though, so I'm not sure if hand-raising and cuddling had anything to do with it

Turkeys eat game bird feed which is higher protein. I house our turkey with a peahen, and assorted hens and roosters throughout the year. She lays in the chickens' nesting box. She was raised with silkies as a poult, in our kitchen, until she was feathered out and was big enough that the big chickens wouldn't bother her.

They perch. Oh god do they perch... on everything, such as brand new car hoods, roofs, bikes, dogs, portches, shiny things, sticks etc. And she flys well.

Thanks for the info. My feed store stocks game bird starter, so I'll start with that.
My chicks are just over 4 weeks old and will be outside before the turkey poults are ready to pick up. I plan to brood them in the house for the first week or 2, then into the garage if it's not too hot. Once they're big enough I'll add them to the mix (depending on what I find out about blackhead)
None of my birds are going to free range unless they have direct supervision so hopefully I wont have to wash turkey poo off of the trucks

We have a stray dog and hawk problem here so no being unsupervised outside the runs.

 

[jenniemig]

This is the response I got about Blackhead, I was shocked at how quickly he responded. Just to clarify I did not qualify for the permit because of my zoning. I did however get a variance to have my birds legally.


Good morning.

Blackhead, as it is commonly called, is also called histomoniasis. It is caused by a protozoan that is often transmitted by cecal worms. Breaking the life cycle of the cecal worm is the easiest way to break the life cycle of histomoniasis. The drug Dimetridazole is sometimes used to treat the disease.

It is typically not common in our area, but outbreaks can occur. Using good management and sanitation along with making sure that your birds do not have cecal worms (via good management) is the best way to prevent this disease.

That being said, it is not really advisable to house turkeys and chickens in the same pen or enclosure due to the potential spread of disease and the different nutrient requirements of chickens (especially laying hens) and turkeys. They can be kept in the same area, but should most likely be separated from each other for the reasons stated above.

I hope this information will help you out. Also, keep in mind that if you are planning on having birds that are covered under the new permit in Jacksonville residential areas, that chickens are the only animal covered by the permit (it does not allow for other types of fowl).

MD

Michael A. Davis, Ph.D.
Director / Ag Agent
University of Florida | IFAS | Baker County Extension
1025 W. Macclenny Ave.
Macclenny, FL 32063

 

[R2elk]

I have to limit myself to just getting 3. While I'd love to have more my husband is not so keen on the idea.

Do you think it would matter that the woman hatching them won't let me pick them up until they're a week old? She says it's her policy to never sell chicks, ducks, or turkeys until they're a week old.

She is being very kind to you. The poults should be well started by her keeping them the first week. This should greatly increase their chances of survival. Good luck!

 

[Lagerdogger]

Thanks for the input. I have put the word out to locals who hatch turkeys. The only variety I can find so far are the Royals. From what ive been told its a little early for turkeys. I had a very bad experience with mail order ducks, so I won't be getting anything live through the mail again.

If there comes a time that you want to get some birds that you can't find locally, don't be afraid of the mail order. If you go with a large, nationally known hatchery, the birds usually arrive just fine. And if something does happen, they are very good about reimbursing you. They also often include an extra bird or two in case there is some mortality. I ordered some meat turkeys last year that ended up getting shipped to Atlanta or something, and ended up on the road two extra days. They all survived. So don't give up on that system. It really works pretty good.

Very important to start them on high protein!!! They just won't grow very fast on chick feed. Also, if you are growing them at home and they are not crowded together, you really don't need to use medicated feeds. Some vitamins and/or electrolytes aren't bad ideas, though. I give mine vitamins kind of sporadically, and add a little gatorade to their water for the first week or so.

If you get 50 turkey raisers together, there would probably have 48 ways to start and feed turkeys. I don't remember what Porter recommends. I use starter (30%) until they are out of the brooder and six weeks, then switch to a 24% grower until Christmas (many birds don't make it that long

), then go half grower and half 18% chicken layer mash until they breed. Then everyone out in the pen gets grower again because of the new youngsters. I have a hanging feeder, and put the gamebird starter underneath it for poults hatched in the field.

 

[Cottage Rose]

I hatched out my first turkeys ever in 2012 and out of a dozen only 4 hatched out...all females 2 White Midgets and 2 Royal Palms.
I sold the 2 WM but kept the Palms. One was VERY friendly (sadly killed by a Fox/pic below with grandkids) and the other ignores me. I would guess a lot depends on their individual personality and how they are raised more than what breed they are but not sure.
.

 

[jenniemig]

If there comes a time that you want to get some birds that you can't find locally, don't be afraid of the mail order. If you go with a large, nationally known hatchery, the birds usually arrive just fine. And if something does happen, they are very good about reimbursing you. They also often include an extra bird or two in case there is some mortality. I ordered some meat turkeys last year that ended up getting shipped to Atlanta or something, and ended up on the road two extra days. They all survived. So don't give up on that system. It really works pretty good.

Very important to start them on high protein!!! They just won't grow very fast on chick feed. Also, if you are growing them at home and they are not crowded together, you really don't need to use medicated feeds. Some vitamins and/or electrolytes aren't bad ideas, though. I give mine vitamins kind of sporadically, and add a little gatorade to their water for the first week or so.

If you get 50 turkey raisers together, there would probably have 48 ways to start and feed turkeys. I don't remember what Porter recommends. I use starter (30%) until they are out of the brooder and six weeks, then switch to a 24% grower until Christmas (many birds don't make it that long

), then go half grower and half 18% chicken layer mash until they breed. Then everyone out in the pen gets grower again because of the new youngsters. I have a hanging feeder, and put the gamebird starter underneath it for poults hatched in the field.

I had a very bad experience with shipping a while back (first time) and don't think I have the heart or nerves to do it again. I lost 3 out of 4 ducklings, and the one living has been a struggle. I have ordered 3 Royal Palms from someone local, they're supposed to hatch sometime around the 20th of this month. They will be ready to pickup on the 27th. The woman is giving me a chick or 2 to help with getting them to eat and drink like they're supposed to. I didn't know this, she said that they don't have the same instincts as chicks and will starve if they don't have someone to show them their food and water frequently throughout the day.

I am planning to start them on Purina Game Bird Starter, then switch to Purina Flock Raiser so that I can feed all of my birds the same feed. I have plenty of Quick Chick and Save-A-Chick left over from my chicks and ducks. I was planning to find some poultry vitamins like Poultry Cell or Nutri Drench (???) to use instead. Some have said that turkeys, like ducks, are suseptable to wry neck. I am treating a duckling for that now and it is NO FUN!

I am going to be housing each type of bird in connecting but separate quarters. The 8 chicks have a 6X6 coop and a 12X12 run, the ducks and turkeys will each have a house (very large dog house) and their own 6X12 run. The coop and the outdoor spaces will have 4-6 inches of drain field sand over heavy nursery fabric to make it easy to clean. As I can afford it I am putting up a fence sectioning off one acre. When the fence is complete they will free range together during the day.

I have noticed that everyone has a method, and opinions vary widely. I like to get as much info as I can and make my own routine using a little bit of everyone's ideas.

 

[Cottage Rose]

jenniemig
I've heard this as well that poults are hard to get started eating and drinking but I had no problems whatsoever. I had my first poults in my kitchen for the first few days after they hatched and so I could check on them frequently and they acted just like chicks. I sprinkled the food on the bottom of their brooder and tapped at the food with my finger and clucked at them (as if they understand chicken clucking/lol) and dunked their heads in the water fount like I do with all my hatchlings and they caught on just fine so I'm not sure what to make of this common warning. I'd like to hear from others on this.

Re. shipping lives....I wouldn't be afraid of it. I've shipped all over the USA with only one incident with an unfortunate delay while in transit where one day old gosling perished. I do not ship anything unless its healthy and perky. I think the problem lies when people send unhealthy birds. I actually wait until my babies are at least 24 - 48 hrs. old to ship to make sure they are upe on their feet, perky and eating any drinking.

 

[jenniemig]

jenniemig
I've heard this as well that poults are hard to get started eating and drinking but I had no problems whatsoever. I had my first poults in my kitchen for the first few days after they hatched and so I could check on them frequently and they acted just like chicks. I sprinkled the food on the bottom of their brooder and tapped at the food with my finger and clucked at them (as if they understand chicken clucking/lol) and dunked their heads in the water fount like I do with all my hatchlings and they caught on just fine so I'm not sure what to make of this common warning. I'd like to hear from others on this.

Re. shipping lives....I wouldn't be afraid of it. I've shipped all over the USA with only one incident with an unfortunate delay while in transit where one day old gosling perished. I do not ship anything unless its healthy and perky. I think the problem lies when people send unhealthy birds. I actually wait until my babies are at least 24 - 48 hrs. old to ship to make sure they are upe on their feet, perky and eating any drinking.

Thanks for the tips on getting them to eat. I'll be picking them up on a Friday so I should have lots of time to spend with them over the weekend.

I brooded my chicks and ducklings in my family room that is open to the kitchen. They stayed there for a few weeks, then went into a larger brooders in the garage. My chicks are 5 weeks old and just about ready to go outside, if I can ever get their coop and run finished!!! I am building it myself out of mostly free stuff (I have a teeny budget) so it has been a challenge, and I am learning a lot as I go.

The shipping was a nightmare, but not the hatcheries fault it was USPS that dropped the ball. My sister ordered 4 ducklings as a surprise gift from McMurray. They were drop shipped from Meyer (?) in California, and USPS lost them. I spoke with Meyer and they said that they lost a lot of the birds they shipped that day. One Pekin was DOA, the second Pekin died a few hours later, then one of the White Crested died a week after that. The one remaining Crested has brain swelling which I am treating as wry neck with steroids, polyvisol, and selenium twice a day. She is improving, but the prognosis according to the vet is not great. I start weaning off of the steroids soon so we shall see. I was able to find a network of people on facebook locally that hatch, but the variety isn't great. I may try next year to order eggs and hatch them myself.