Considering Turkeys

[jkcove08]

I have 10 turkeys right now and am going to look for about 6 more hens in the spring. Granted 3 are getting butchered tomorrow night but I just have to many toms. I am keeping my blues, reds, and royal palms. I will be selling eggs in the spring after checking fertility. Jenn

 

[picklespickles]

so, a question. will the toms get and be active with using their spurs in the general time it takes to grow to thanksgiving size? probably yes?

 

[jkcove08]

I have 2 toms that are between 2 and 3 and actually they really dont have any spurs. They are maybe 1/2 inch long if that. The thing you have to watch out for with turkeys are thier wings. They have a habit of being able to hit you with the first joint closest to the body and that hurt like heck. I catch them with a net and then you grab both feet and turn them up side down quick. The let thier wings out and just hang there. I have to go to school conforences tonight while my hubby and hopefully FIL butcher them. Jenn

 

[Blisschick]

No, spurs don't grow very fast on a tom at all. My oldest tom is about 1 1/2 and all he has are nubbies. He can kick pretty good, though, and with one eye even! They kick pretty hard when they do it. You have to watch out for the toenails.

Mine aren't the smartest, but definitely not dumb. I think of them more like having the intelligence of a 2 or 3 year old--smart enough to figure some things out, but not smart enough to stay out of trouble. When they set their mind to something, 'no' is not an option.

I've found it easiest to herd them with a long stick or switch, otherwise, it's like trying to heard a bunch of loose balloons...they go every which way!

 

[lostinthewoods]

My DH and I had 3 turkeys and absolutely loved them. The hatchery sent the broad breasted ones instead of the regular so we had to butcher them before they got too heavy and suffered. We are planning on getting more this spring. We kept ours in an enclosure and a nice outside pen. My DH is planning on building a bigger pen for them this spring though. We found that the turkeys were much smarter than the chickens. We absolutely love having them and would definitely recommend them to anyone.

They each have their own personality, and are very fun to watch.

 

[Hotwings]

I am considering turkeys next year. I don't want to buy a large number though. Is there a hatchery that has a small order-maybe 6 or so. I am interested in the heritage breeds. I am not interested in a large order like 15 and the local feed store only carries the bb kind of birds, which I don't want.

 

[Freebie]

Quote:
Hey, jkcove08 may have some fertile eggs in the spring. Maybe we could get some eggs and hatch them out. I am sure either Buffy or Sydney will sit them when they god broody. Wait, how long do turkey eggs take?

 

[picklespickles]

thanks for the tips on what to watch out for.

 

[Blisschick]

Wait, how long do turkey eggs take?

Turkey eggs take 28 days to incubate.​

 

[carugoman]

White breed of domesticated turkeys are thicker than peanut butter on the intelligence scale. Seems that smarts and common sense hasn't been diluted out of the gene pool of the 'heritage' breeds as of now,but once Tyson's,Butterball and the other multi-national mega-corporations get involved,who knows?

It's small wonder that Benjamin Franklin,one of the original 'founding fathers' of this country pushed through Congress,thus was an advocate for the North American Wild Turkey. Where this bird has survived humankind's transgressions of its natural habitat,the chosen symbol of the USA,the bald eagle,has not. Ask any hunter the skill required to track let alone sight such a bird,as the North American Wild Turkey, and he/she will tell you that hunting of this bird separates the skilled hunter from the armchair wannabes.
I let my six toms and 2 hens free range on 5 acres of high fence pasture. My Flock of 100 or so yardbirds and ducks free range also as does the small herd of Nubians. If some Jewish guy named Noah ever builds another big ship,send him my way;Ihave a few things he might be able to use? There's maybe a dozen or so pecan tree sand three dozen apple trees that were planted by some relative generations ago and there's like 200-230 feet of muscadines growing on the SE side of the plot. I have winter rye and yellow clover planted for winter cover. After I get my February fresh infusion from Meyer's I'll plant field peas and mangels with some alfalfa.
All y'all take care!