Can I raise keets an poults together?

[WestKnollAmy]

I feed 27% game bird starter to both fowl and like to raise my keets in my big wire bottom brooders so can I put keets of about the same size in with the turkey poults?
It appears that the poults will grow much faster and larger than the keets but I hate to keep keets and chicks together because I raise LF and bantam together and use only 21% chick starter.

I plan to keep the poults in the brooder cage another 4 weeks, if that is even possible and looking at some of your photos, I think not. But I know the keets can stay in there because I raised quite a few hatches last year in them.

Has anyone had a problem or foresee any problems?

My poults are almost 2 weeks old now. Royal Palms and Tiger Bronze. I have never had turkeys.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Wow, I hope everyone is just off on holiday and haven't seen this. I thought for sure I would have gotten a few answers on it.

 

[KrisH]

Hi Amy

My concern with that is that the keets act like I am going to eat them, which we probbly wont, and the poults come up to us like they should not be afraid, which they probably should be. I would be afraid the panic mentality of the Keets would rub off on the turkeys.

The turkeys are sooooo sweet, I would hate to loose that.

they are growing FAST though. I'm glad that at least YOU are posting pictures of those little turkeys.

RobertH

 

[KrisH]

My poults are almost 2 weeks old now. Royal Palms and Tiger Bronze. I have never had turkeys.

is that royal palm strutting?

RobertH

 

[WestKnollAmy]

No, the RP is just stretching in this photo.

Actually, so far the turkeys are teaching the keets to be more calm. The poults are coming right up to me still and still doing some displaying. I think I have at least one girl in each group.

The keets are still reserving judgement but they are more calm than in the other brooder with the chicks. They eat the same thing so I was hoping it woudl work out. I am just surprised that no one has done this or at least no one has read this post, other than you, of course, and can say they have done this. LOL

Thank you again for giving us the chance to won some real pets here. They are going to be rotten.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I must say that although no one seems to know about raising keets and turkey poults together that mine are doing awesome. The keets are calmer around those turkey babies that clamor for attention from me every time I go in the brooder coop. The keets will come nearer to my hands than the ones not being raised with the turkeys. They do not run screaming in fear when I open the door to feed and water them. They grow at about the same rate as the turkeys and of course, eat the same food.
There is only about another 2 weeks of wire bottom brooder time for the turkeys and then I will move them out to a tractor. They have gotten so big in a few short weeks! I would show photos but everything is a blur with these guys now! LOL They are fun but everyone wants to be held!

 

[frank53061]

Poults would be great to teach Keats to be less afraid of you but with my past history the Keats will not be as friendly as the Turkeys will be when they grow up.
There has been stories here about Turkeys keeping the guineas in line and corralled up there seems to be some wildness that has not been bread out of them.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Update on my birds now that the poults are 6 weeks old.

The turkeys did teach the keets to be more calm. They did not fling themselves to the walls every time I opened the door. The poults, of course, always came up to me to see what treats I may have or how nice my fingers might taste but the keets hung back until I poured the food into the bucket. Then it was a free for all.LOL

Now they are all out on the ground and in a grow up pen and the keets stay pretty close to the turkeys. i may just move the keets up with the poults to the new pen in a few weeks in the front pasture. The turkeys are much too aggressive and destructive to stay in the grow up pen. They go right over the 4' fence into the ducks pens and terrorize the ducklings.

And OMG! The turkey kids latch onto each other sometimes and drag each other around the pen! I am constantly breaking up fights but good gosh! They go right back at each other! They are babies! Big but still babies! And what screaming and carrying on! Like a couple of 8 year old boys!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I totally understand when you say that the turkeys taught the keets to be more calm. I have just experienced that as well. I have 1 keet in with 3 turkeys and 2 peafowl. The keet is sooooooooooo calm and tame, unlike my other hatches of keets who would take out running and flying when the wind blew. :/

 

[WestKnollAmy]

It certainly does help!
I let my hens raise keets, too. They think they are just part of the free range flock and come around me like it is no bother. Not quite as tame as my turkeys but they still get closer than the keets I raise in brooders that act as if I am going to kill them every time I open the lid.