Chickens and turkeys

[LJoWilly]

Does anyone worry about Blackheads Disease when both are raised together?

 

[R2elk]

Does anyone worry about Blackheads Disease when both are raised together?

If blackhead is present where the people live, yes, they are concerned and take measures to try to save their turkeys.

Those of us who live where blackhead is not an issue do not get concerned about it.

There are other reasons to be concerned about raising chickens and turkeys together.

@oldhenlikesdogs can explain some of those reasons to you.

@casportpony can explain why you need to be concerned about raising turkeys where blackhead is an issue.

 

[casportpony]

I worry about it all of the time! There is no FDA approved treatment for food animals and two of the three drugs needed to treat it are actually banned for use in poultry.

Do you want pet turkeys or will you butcher them?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

When I raised some turkey poults with chicks I ended up with the poults, two little jakes, killing a young rooster they grew up with. They pecked his skull open.

When they are raised together turkeys will believe they are the same specie which often doesn't work well for the chickens. They aren't behaviorally compatible.

When raised separately, they can sometimes be housed together, but in general I wouldn't recommend it.

Turkey disputes will go on for days, and sometimes weeks. They can be relentless when they decide they don't like something, or they want to fight.

 

[LJoWilly]

I worry about it all of the time! There is no FDA approved treatment for food animals and two of the three drugs needed to treat it are actually banned for use in poultry.

Do you want pet turkeys or will you butcher them?

I would be raising them for pets. They will be housed in a stall in my barn that I will covert just for them. But I will also allow them to free range on the same land as my chickens.

 

[R2elk]

I would be raising them for pets. They will be housed in a stall in my barn that I will covert just for them. But I will also allow them to free range on the same land as my chickens.

Fair warning, turkeys need a lot more "personal" space than chickens can get by with.

 

[RoosterML]

I would be raising them for pets. They will be housed in a stall in my barn that I will covert just for them. But I will also allow them to free range on the same land as my chickens.

So far so good. I added 9 turkeys at about 9 weeks with the chickens. All I did was remove the separating fence and let them all together . The next few night the turkeys stayed in their coop that they had been in but after that they decided they wanted to share the main coop with the chickens. I have not had any issues thus far. Even tho the Turkeys are currently about 3 times the size of the chickens it’s the chickens who are boss. The reason I kept them separate for the first 9 weeks was due to the food requirements of turkeys. Good luck.

 

[R2elk]

Even tho the Turkeys are currently about 3 times the size of the chickens it’s the chickens who are boss.

When the turkeys become more mature, there will be dominance fights and the chickens will lose. Once a turkey gets something in its mind to do, it can be relentless. You need to be sure that the chickens have hiding places where they can get away from the turkeys.

Turkeys can also have a pack mentality where they group together and all go after the same one at the same time.

 

[RoosterML]

@R2elk thanks for the info. I am still new to Turkeys so I will surely be keeping an eye out.

 

[R2elk]

@R2elk thanks for the info. I am still new to Turkeys so I will surely be keeping an eye out.

The rooster started this and the turkeys finished it. Fortunately for the rooster, he decided discretion was the better part of valor and fled before it got too serious.