Can I put my poults outside at 33 days old?

[kiaya611]

I have 1 Narragansett and 5 Royal Palm turkey poults and they have outgrown their brooder. I was wondering if I could put them outside in their pen at this point. They are fully feathered and I can provide heat and shelter for them.

Let me know what you think these are the first turkeys that I have raised.

Thank you,

 

[Alleyoops25]

I am sure that you can move them out. As long as they have almost all of their feathers they will be all right.

 

[Motherhenandflock]

kiaya611, Hi! I love your chick avatar! It looks like Mr. T
Just a reminder on your turkeys: they can fly! When they get older they might want to see the great wide world if you don't have a cover on your run!
My Bourbon Reds have been able to go outside for several weeks. They have a blast hunting bugs.

 

[kiaya611]

Thanks...You should see his Mohawk now...it is allot bigger! I seem to have a few other cockerels in the bunch of younger chicks. They all look really good.

I have a 16X16 covered pen for my poults. I also clipped their wings so they won't get the idea of flying. I would love to have them roam my property...but I will have to see if that will work out or not. For now, they will be in their pen.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Oklahoma Lightning]

I disagree with putting turkeys on the ground ( outside)at 33 days. I raise around 200 a year and none of mine go to the ground before three months old. I have tired at two months but feel they are much healthier if I wait for the three months. Their immune system don't kick in until 3 months. Mine are in a two large brooder with a off the ground patio in front. They are allowed out in the patio area after six weeks for a few hours a day, if the weathers nice, at 8 weeks they are free to go in and out. They go to the ground at three months and are free ranged during the day but penned every afternoon by 5 PM. I have a very low death rate during it this way.

 

[Frosty]

I never have mine on wire and I have very few deaths. I lose very few overall and the ones that I do lose are mostly from shipping stress, the rest are from predators while free range. As with medicated feed, I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, you just do what you feel is right. I start mine in an old horse trough that I use as a brooder, then when they outgrow that they go into a portable pen outside (like a chicken tractor). I didn't have folks on the internet to tell me that I was doing everything 'wrong' way back when I started, but it worked and I never saw a reason to change.

 

[MissTurkey4]

This is where turkeys and chickens are very different. I can put chickens out at 6 weeks. If I did the same for turkeys, they will all get sick and die. It is not hypothermia that kills them in most cases. They just don't have the immune system to protect them. I also wait until 3 months.

 

[CYGChickies]

I have month-old poults in a rabbit hutch three or more feet off the ground. There's three of them and they're fully-feathered. They got a little hot and stressed (panting a little) yesterday but today seem fine. I think they might be having some diarrhea as their droppings aren't as formed as they were when we first got them home. I don't know what they were eating but now I have them on Purina Game Starter with no grit. Should I add grit? Can the food change cause diarrhea? Like I said they're stretching and preening and seem fine. Any suggestions?

They're in a hutch because the man who was going to repurpose my barn for poultry bailed and now I'm up the creek without a paddle.

CYG

 

[arherp]

I have put month old poults out, no problem.. (Disease/death wise)
Only issue is that they may seem fine one day, but they tend to get a wild hair and run off an hide somewhere.. or forage too far away. So I would keep them confined to a pen at that age.