can someone please help me with this about turkeys and chickens

[Henny peeny]

I thought of a tom and a hen but I didn't know how the chickens would be ok let's see if I have room for them I have a 8" by 16" foot pen I have 5 chickens in it 3 isa browns a nd 2 easter eggers do you think I have room for tom and a hen or ???. the coop is is 4' by 8' so what do you think do I have enough room. They don't free range I have stray dogs once in a while and a litle pit bull that come over to bark at us or our cats and no I don't think this pit is a danger other then trying to run the chickens to death but this is why they don't free range I did have them out one day to see how it went and how I handled it it was very stressful we have neighbors that have dogs and my chickens don't have their wings cut clipped? so they can't fly I think this is hurtful to them that they can't fly not hurting them as you cut the wings I know it doesn't hurt UNLESS you cut them to short and they beed which they don't need to be cut so short.

Rhayden

 

[frank53061]

I live out in what was the sticks and have for many years I have plenty of acers of property for the Fowl to roam but still have to keep an eye on them because there are some people who have moved near by and some allow there dogs to roam up and down the road in front of the house.
There has been one chicken that was killed by a dog and I got the word around really fast to those who allow there dogs to roam that in the state of Arkansas if any animal comes on to your property and threatens your live stock or kills any of your live stock you have the legal right to while it is on your property dispatch that animal as meaning kill it.
Besides that the county I live in has a leash Law.
I do my best to keep my Fowl on my property and if they roam to far I punish them by not allowing to free range for a few days for the most part this seems to work.
If I catch them getting to close to the border of my property line all I have to do is open the back door and they come a running no matter were they are because in there minds they might be missing out on a treat

 

[Celie]

I thought of a tom and a hen but I didn't know how the chickens would be ok let's see if I have room for them I have a 8" by 16" foot pen I have 5 chickens in it 3 isa browns a nd 2 easter eggers do you think I have room for tom and a hen or ???. the coop is is 4' by 8' so what do you think do I have enough room. They don't free range I have stray dogs once in a while and a litle pit bull that come over to bark at us or our cats and no I don't think this pit is a danger other then trying to run the chickens to death but this is why they don't free range I did have them out one day to see how it went and how I handled it it was very stressful we have neighbors that have dogs and my chickens don't have their wings cut clipped? so they can't fly I think this is hurtful to them that they can't fly not hurting them as you cut the wings I know it doesn't hurt UNLESS you cut them to short and they beed which they don't need to be cut so short.

Rhayden

A 4x8 pen is only 32 square feet and the rule of thumb is 4 square feet per chicken, so 32 square feed would accommodate 8 chickens. Depending on the breed, a turkey might be able to be squeezed in, but turkeys do not do well cooped up. They prefer the out doors, free range environment. It would be hard to raise a turkey inside a pen. An 8x16 pen is very small, and would have to have a cover, or they will fly over it. You don't say what breed you want to raise? How much roost area do you have? Turkeys like to roost very high, like on rooftops and in trees, if you do not provide a high enough roost for them. My turkey roosts are 12 to16 feet high outdoors and 4 to 12 feet high in the barn. They only go into the barn at night in bad weather. BB types do not fly much after the first couple months, but get big fast and, IMO, need at least 20 square feet min. each. Turkeys also poop about 10x as much as chickens and require a higher % protein feed. If you are considering BB type, be prepared to process them in 4 to 6 months. If you are considering Heritage, prepare for them to be on rooftops, the street, cars and truck tops and in trees all over a 5 to 10 acre area! If you could give a little idea of what breed, maybe we could be of more help? Maybe a pair of midget Whites if your run is covered? But so many Midget Whites that are sold, aren't true Midget Whites, but really Beltsville or mixed with Beltsville?????

 

[Henny peeny]

dang it I don't have the room the pen is cover but it is high enough that I can reach the top I am 5' 5' so it is not high enough for a turkey I was thinking of raising one for t day but now I am reconsiderering this. I am glad I didn't just get one it would of been so unhappy I reckon there is only chickens I will have maybe in the future when the new house we are in and this trailer we are in at this time is pulled off maybe to build a bigger place.


Thanks everyone I don't think I will get a turkey a hen or tom.


just not big enough)

Rhayden

 

[Sally8]

In response to your questions....last spring I was given a bunch of chicken eggs and a few turkey eggs. They hatched out all the same size. The turkeys quickly grew faster than the chickens. They were all raised together . The Royal Palm hen has been hard to contain. Although I live out in the sticks, we have a neighbor fairly close. ( I can see their house from mine). Rosie won't stay home and the neighbor and his grand kids would shoot at her with air guns. Their property, not mine. Finally, I caught Rosie stomping hens that were dust bathing. Chuck, on the other hand just strutted around looking important. A month ago, I saw him doing his mating dance around the chickens. All would go in the coop and sleep. We put an addition on because they got so big and put a large window in. I started noticing blood spots on the inside glass and the roosters combs being pecked. When I would check at night Rosie would be roosting by herself. She was the main problem with pecking others.. Ok, now I've separated them. Chickens in one, turkeys in another. The turkeys are not happy. They just pace and pace. Chuck is relentless in mating with Rosie. I am considering getting rid of them as I feel they need more interaction than chickens. They are so friendly, but maybe too much. I would let them out while we were home but we just had 18 inches of snow. I have shoveled and shoveled paths for them to be able to loop around on their run. I believe, from what I've seen of my own, that the tom would be a problem with hens, that's not to say it is with everyone else's. just commenting on my own experiences. Sue

 

[Celie]

dang it I don't have the room the pen is cover but it is high enough that I can reach the top I am 5' 5' so it is not high enough for a turkey I was thinking of raising one for t day but now I am reconsiderering this. I am glad I didn't just get one it would of been so unhappy I reckon there is only chickens I will have maybe in the future when the new house we are in and this trailer we are in at this time is pulled off maybe to build a bigger place.


Thanks everyone I don't think I will get a turkey a hen or tom.


just not big enough)

Rhayden

If you want to raise one for Thanksgiving Day, I would suggest you wait until June or July and buy just one BBW from your local feed store. They put on weight very fast. Feed as recommended in the Hatchery catalogs, so it doesn't get leg or heart trouble, because of too accelerated growth. By the time it gets big enough to crowd the chickens, it will be too fat to move around much and will only take 4 to 5 months to reach processing size. I usually do not recommend anyone getting just one of any animal, especially birds, but in your case, that's all you have room for and if you want it for Thanksgiving dinner, the BBW would be the breed that you can accommodate. It will imprint on your chickens and become one of the flock! A heritage Turkey is too active and needs a lot more room. Good Luck

 

[Henny peeny]

I had two Cornish rocks (chickens I know this si so I can keep things striaght) and they we just little peeps when I got them I didn't know they would grow so fast and gain so much and it wasn't till I was on one of these message baord I found they were not to live so long and b3 6 or 8 weeks old when dispatched. I was terribly attached to the rooster and the hen I never could get near but they were lazy. They sat and ate while sitting.

Ok with this said this BBW (???) would he be like the cornish rocks where he would not want to move around much and lay about, I made a mistake with gunas hen thought jot my fault I still think it was a mistake I only got one and maybe should of got two and I think she might of been unhappy. I don't want the turkey to be unhappy I don't know why a turkey a chicken can't produce offspring but it seems to me it sound like they really try to. I don't have a rooster in with my hens and I think maybe to get a tom would be ok since that but what if I had a rooster do they fight tom and rooster that is? and what of this midget is that I think iot was called how big do they get and where to buy one I am talking to my husband with all this but nothing is set.

Thanks for all info

Rhayden

 

[Celie]

BB birds are the CornishXRocks of the turkey world, but if you feed them like the hatcheries suggest, they will be fine for the 4 to 6 months until you process it. Just don't get attached and try to keep one for a pet! You would not be doing it or yourself any favor!!!! They are bred strictly for food. If you want eye candy to roam around the yard, get a couple Midget Whites or Royal Palms. Turkeys are very personable, so you should not have just one, unless it's for food. Be prepared for them to be everywhere, like into trees, rooftops, neighbor's houses yards and cars and they poop like elephants! I love turkeys, but you have to have the room for them!!

 

[Arielle]

I have just a few turkeys---all of mine are under 3 years old Mine have not been aggressive toward people, though I hand raise them. THe first birds are definitely pets. THe offspring can be dinner or sold. THey are curious creatures and very different than chickens. Ours like to follow us around and come see visitors.

My birds free range so the hens can get away from the turkeys-- it also means that I have not seen a problem. I do not let hens stay in the coop with the tom and hens, as they are not nice to the chickens in there. Not even hens they grew up with. Maybe it is a territory thing,IDK.

 

[Henny peeny]

so you let them free range huh? ewwww my neighbors would kill me OR kill them I live where if you leave your animals roam (dogs cats pigs or any animal we eat) they are either dead or on someones table. I know for a facy since we have had two pot belly pigs cme up in our yard and they were on our dinner table the third one was given to us but she had a leg problem and we dispatched her so she would not suffer any longer. I hate it when people let a animal suffer, we looked at her leg to see what could of happened but as we felt around on it from hoof to shoulder we couldn't feel anything wrong so we think maybe she hurt herself and it didn't heal right or she had athratis (SP?) in it she was fed dog food all her life and was very heavey at one time she had lost weight this is how we know she weighted more then hen she came to us. the guy that had her I don't think he was able to feed her and didn't have the heart to dispatch her. go figure.
The turkeys would not be able to free range on this I have able a acre of land and we are building a new house (traile over 2506 ft I think they said it was and this had to get done. I read or heard or one of you said they only lay eggs twice a year not like chickens is this so? I thought maybe to have turkey eggs for the table but trice a year?? not they is a way to make chickens lay more and no some decide this I don't but can you make a turkey lay more eggs as you do a chicken?? ok odd question nonesense questions they are birds and lay eggs I don't know if all birds if you limit light if they can lay more or less??? why less I know why less. and how about what turkey eggs are like taste like chicken ok I had ducks eggs and they are best to say ducky so many questions I get attacted to my animals and ore then likely this would be with the turkeys I raise rabbits for food and I have got attached to afew of our breeders and babies but when it is time it is time.

Am I making any sense here?

Rhayden