Chicken/Turkey Housing

[Beccatrix]

I have the opportunity to get a trio of 6 week old Sweetgrass that were hatched out from Porter's.

I'm located in WI, so cold is a big consideration.

We currently have 22 seven week old chickens going into in a 96 sq ft coop, and 5 seven week old waterfowl that were going in an 8x8. We could split that in half for the turkeys. We were planning on a 200 sq ft run with pond for the waterfowl and 400-500 sq ft for the chickens.

I know we would need to quarantine the new birds for a month. I've been reading about blackhead, and about toms mating chicken hens. I've also read about people successfully keeping mixed flocks.

Obviously using the larger run for both chickens and turkeys would be ideal. Long term, there is the option to free range the turkeys on 13 acres, or next year to use poultry electric fencing in our orchard. I would be nervous with only having 3 to start, but I don't want them to not have enough space either.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! How likely are we to be successful for about 12 months if we keep them with the chickens? Their area of housing can be combined or kept separate from the main coop.

 

[R2elk]

I have the opportunity to get a trio of 6 week old Sweetgrass that were hatched out from Porter's.

I'm located in WI, so cold is a big consideration.

We currently have 22 seven week old chickens going into in a 96 sq ft coop, and 5 seven week old waterfowl that were going in an 8x8. We could split that in half for the turkeys. We were planning on a 200 sq ft run with pond for the waterfowl and 400-500 sq ft for the chickens.

I know we would need to quarantine the new birds for a month. I've been reading about blackhead, and about toms mating chicken hens. I've also read about people successfully keeping mixed flocks.

Obviously using the larger run for both chickens and turkeys would be ideal. Long term, there is the option to free range the turkeys on 13 acres, or next year to use poultry electric fencing in our orchard. I would be nervous with only having 3 to start, but I don't want them to not have enough space either.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! How likely are we to be successful for about 12 months if we keep them with the chickens? Their area of housing can be combined or kept separate from the main coop.

Cold is not a consideration for turkeys. They are very hardy and handle cold temperatures better than they do heat.

Juvenile turkeys need to be shut in at night to protect them from predators. My adult turkeys sleep outside on their wind sheltered roosts in all kinds of weather. It can and does get to -30°F here.

The key to keeping chickens and turkeys together is living in an are that does not have blackhead as an issue and lots of room. Provide obstacles and hiding places for the chickens. When a turkey gets something in its mind, it can be relentless in trying to accomplish its goal.

I have a 50' by 100" run that is shared by my turkeys and chickens. They really do need lots of room. Right now it can seem a little crowded with 6 adult turkeys and 20+ chickens.

 

[Beccatrix]

Cold is not a consideration for turkeys. They are very hardy and handle cold temperatures better than they do heat.

Juvenile turkeys need to be shut in at night to protect them from predators. My adult turkeys sleep outside on their wind sheltered roosts in all kinds of weather. It can and does get to -30°F here.

The key to keeping chickens and turkeys together is living in an are that does not have blackhead as an issue and lots of room. Provide obstacles and hiding places for the chickens. When a turkey gets something in its mind, it can be relentless in trying to accomplish its goal.

I have a 50' by 100" run that is shared by my turkeys and chickens. They really do need lots of room. Right now it can seem a little crowded with 6 adult turkeys and 20+ chickens.

I have been trying to find out if blackhead is a problem in our area. I can't find anything online. Local groups have a couple of statements that people don't have any problems. I hadn't called extension yet, because originally we had a deposit down for turkeys and the place didn't have enough this year. Any ideas on where else to check?

 

[R2elk]

I have been trying to find out if blackhead is a problem in our area. I can't find anything online. Local groups have a couple of statements that people don't have any problems. I hadn't called extension yet, because originally we had a deposit down for turkeys and the place didn't have enough this year. Any ideas on where else to check?

Last resort is to call your State Veterinarian.

Other places to check are local feed stores, not chain feed stores. The local feed stores know there customers. If they don't know the answer, they can refer to local turkey owners.