Considering a turkey, looking for advice...

[JulieNKC]

I got my 2 poults from the feed store a few weeks ago. Be prepared though, poults are much more people friendly than chicks, and lots easier to get attatched to.

 

[ColbyNTX]

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[TGreenhut]

A couple weeks ago I got two turkey chicks from my local feed store and I stuck them under a broody hen in the coop and they are doing great! Maybe if you have a broody hen you could try this.

 

[Jay1105]

I am kinda in the same boat but I am the type that just jumps in with both feet. I live outside San Antonio in the hill country, I built a 4x8 coop and have a 12x12 run. I purchased 8 Ameraucaunas and 2 Rio Grande turkey ( I hope a breeding pair) they are around 3 weeks old and getting along great so far. The chicks are going to be used for laying and the turkey for populating the area and eating. My question is what are the nutrition requirements for each and is there any inherent problems with them co-habitating and are "domesticated / wild" turkey ok to release into the wild? Also, from the discription of my coop and run, do I have enough room? Advise on anything I have missed in my thought process would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[Denninmi]

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My 4 hens are virtually silent. The toms gobble at voices, geese, loud noises like certain traffic or airplane sounds, certain other animals and birds. It will be interesting to see if the noise of cicadas this summer make them gobble.

But in terms of size, obviously toms get bigger.

 

[Dogfish]

Quote:
My 4 hens are virtually silent. The toms gobble at voices, geese, loud noises like certain traffic or airplane sounds, certain other animals and birds. It will be interesting to see if the noise of cicadas this summer make them gobble.

But in terms of size, obviously toms get bigger.

My hens yelp, cut and purr all day long. A nice white noise to listen to during the day.

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
My 4 hens are virtually silent. The toms gobble at voices, geese, loud noises like certain traffic or airplane sounds, certain other animals and birds. It will be interesting to see if the noise of cicadas this summer make them gobble.

But in terms of size, obviously toms get bigger.

My hens yelp, cut and purr all day long. A nice white noise to listen to during the day.

Well, mine do to, to each other, but its so soft I can't hear it from more than about 10 feet away. They use their "indoor voices" unless there is an issue.

 

[ragerkid2]

my uncle has two gobblers and ANY time they go outside the turkeys fluff up their feathers and gobble constantly. But if they arent around, they put their fluff down and go and do normal turkey stuff.

 

[gypsygirl1421]

Tanyizzle,

Heritage Feed and Supply in Bullville, NY sells turkeys, it is about 3 hours from you though, and alas, that darn NYS law says you must buy 6. I have bought from there before and they mixed chicks and poults (4 EE and 2 blue slates) All lived happily together in my coop till this spring. A friend wanted a tom to breed (my hen had died early on) so off went Blue to have girls of his own. Which was good cause we really wanted to get "with" my hens and they just walked under his legs. I find I miss him now though, so bought some turkey eggs of ebay. (The royal palms at heritage were $9) so eggs were cheaper. You could go that route. I built a incubator out of a styrofoam cooler for $20 from plans on here. Schaghiticoke fairgrounds has a great poultry swap every may and October, so keep that in mind also. I went to a poultry swap last weekend in Green County and they wanted $125 for a royal palm pair, DH would kill me if I spent that much!.