Bringing home four turkey poults next week...now what?

[MammaMayI]

So I have a week to prepare for our four new turkey additions...they will be 7-8 weeks old. I am in Michigan, where the average temperature is currently about 85 degrees during the day (give or take depending on humidity) and down to the mid seventies at night. Should I still have a lamp out for them at night?

We will currently be using a sheep pen (basically the size of two horse stalls) in the barn, as the door to get outside from the sheep pen is independant of the barn door, and I can leave it open for them during the day, soas to make it easier for them to free range or come inside for water. The walls of the pen go up four-ish feet, so I am planning to frame it and tack hardware cloth around it to keep critters out at night. I will also seal the eaves above the pen with hardware cloth. Will a typically hanging waterer and a feeding tray be appropriate?

Our pasture is currently fenced and about 3.5 acres. I have no other livestock on it right now, but eventually will add chickens (they are coming next month), pigs, and probably a couple of Dexter cows. Right NOW I wouldn't HAVE to rotate the turkeys, they can just have free range of the entire pasture. That said...should I be keeping them in a smaller confine until a certain age? Sorry, I can probably look all of this up, but if the answers are easily accessible here, that would be great! Thanks so much for your help.

 

[ColbyNTX]

They will be good flyers already so make their pen where they cant fly out and nothing can get in. Keep them penned for a few weeks so they can learn where home is. They should be OK with those temps at 8 weeks without a heat lamp but it wouldnt hurt to put one in at night and see if they use it.

 

[MammaMayI]

Thank you! With all those views and no replies, I was wondering if I had done or said something wrong! I've been reading as much as I can on places like Mother Earth News' old articles...but don't have time to reread my entire book, either...we just moved, and I have a lot of other things to do besides getting ready for the turkeys.

Thank you so much for your help! I had planned to frame the top part in because of predators (the floor of the barn doesn't quite reach the bottom of one of the doors, so I KNOW critters can get in!) but having the reminder there in print is a good thing...cause my husband might have wanted to do a little less work...

I will be at the farm and garden today, and will get a light along with the hardware cloth. Thanks again.

 

[chicmom]

Hi! I bought my first two turkey poults this year. They are so cute! Mine hatched out on May 19th. Here's a pic of them now, and they are 11 week sold, so you can see, they grow very quickly!

And boy do they fly! I keep mine with my chickens, and when I open the run (it's a covered run), they will be so excited they fly out, and fly across the yard.

Here are some pics:

Younger here

And today, at 11 weeks old!

I love them! Mine are both toms, which I didn't know until just recently.

ENJOY!
Sharon