Coop or no coop???? .... and other questions ;-)

[GermanChick]

Ok, after reading all your answers and thinking about it I will go with no coop (for right now). I will get 5 Bourbon Red or 5 Royal Palm (haven't decided yet) and will put them in a brooder in the garage and after that in the chicken coop. I will put up some roosts in the enclosed run for the night and the transition once they get to big for the coop door (which is of course chicken size). During the day they will free range like our chickens. Since we have lots of big trees and the roost in the run I think that will be enough. If I decide to keep some over the winter or get more next year I can always figure something else out. That way I don't have to invest time and money to build a coop.
Thank you for your help ........

 

[ivan3]

Depends on your predator load. Our neighbors, whose turks inspired us to get started, did have a flock of 15 that stayed on their property (pretty much) and roosted in the huge Osage Orange above the chicken run. They no longer have turks. Their big Bourbon tom was stolen out of their front yard and all the rest were killed by raccoon/opossum/dog/fox. Ours range when one of us is out and about, with a rifle.

We have a shed, 6ft. welded wire fencing around runs, three havaharts set at all times and baby monitors in shed and coop.

We lost one RP hen to a raccoon on a daytime schedule (trapped the following day, in the afternoon, examination of GI tract revealed RP feathers, etc.). Hen had two nests going. One in secure area and another about 50yds away, in the woods (hens can be pretty sneaky).

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

We did BBB Turkeys for the first time this year. We purchased four Poults and raised them in with the chickens, just like the chickens. Other than making sure they get enough protein when little they were really almost exactly the same as taking care of chickens. They go into a coop at night, stay penned during the day, and when we are home they get to come out and free-range, just the same as the chickens. I would DEFINITELY use a coop. Mine always went into it every night no problems ever. Plus I knew they were safe from predators and rain etc... Heritage Turkeys might be a bit different though.

We were very pleased! We really REALLY enjoyed them, so much in fact we ordered 15 babies to come this spring!

They have a ton of personality and I love the noises they make! Only thing I noticed was that they eat a LOT. Oh and they need A LOT of room. Our new turkey pen is going to be roughly 60' x 100'.

They were very friendly, would call to me when they saw me, followed me around and ate out of my hand. Most people that saw them were scared of them because they're so big, but they aren't scary at all, they're great!

We bought ours in July, worried they wouldn't be big enough, but by Thanksgiving the largest one dressed out at 26 pounds!!!

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Quote:

Mine go into the coop every night no problems. You just have to keep them in it when they are little (like a brooder) until they know where "home" is.

 

[chicken tows]

FYI My Royal Palms would roost on the roof, fly over our 6 ft fence to watch the neighbors eat breakfast through their slider. They are light weight birds and get around faily easy.
I was worried my one of my aggressive males would hurt the little boy next door, so I had to sell them.
My BBB lived for 3-4 years free ranging, and they did not fly all over the place.

Ok, after reading all your answers and thinking about it I will go with no coop (for right now). I will get 5 Bourbon Red or 5 Royal Palm (haven't decided yet) and will put them in a brooder in the garage and after that in the chicken coop. I will put up some roosts in the enclosed run for the night and the transition once they get to big for the coop door (which is of course chicken size). During the day they will free range like our chickens. Since we have lots of big trees and the roost in the run I think that will be enough. If I decide to keep some over the winter or get more next year I can always figure something else out. That way I don't have to invest time and money to build a coop.
Thank you for your help ........

 

[FarmerGilland]

I built a coop for mine. I live in the middle of nowhere in Alabama and there are a lot of coyotes, bobcats, etc. Plus with a coop you can put a light in there and keep it on at night and it helps with egg laying. I bought my turkeys in June 2011 and they were not ready for the table. Now that those 3 are not reproducing I'm trying to fatten up my other 2 that are 4 months old and hopefully they will be ready at Easter.

 

[KristinMarie]

I raised turkeys for the first time this past summer, I had soo many questions too, and in the end I didn't even follow a lot of the information I got, I went by watching them and meeting or exceeding their needs.

I had 11 BBW and I brooded them for the first 2 weeks in a round plastic pool, but I soon discovered these little ones needed much more head room and space or they just walked all over on top of each other.

I moved them out to an 8X8 summer coop meant for my spring chickens, but they really the room. I put them on turkey starter for the first 6 weeks, which I know is a bit longer than what people feed them starter for, but I felt they required it. I then put them on regular turkey feed.

the summer coop had a 20 foot covered run, but after another 4 weeks they needed more room, so I opened up the run door and allowed them to free range, they never took off on me, in fact they just followed me everywhere, no feed bucket required lol.

My Dh made them a log coop for the rest of the summer and fall, it had 4 inch gaps in between each beam and for the top we just laid a tarp on top and secured it.

Our turkeys didn't care much for rain and happily roosted on the cross beams, which were 8 foot trees secured into place until the rain passed, then they would go free range. I did worry a lot about predators, like bears and bobcats an the huge owls we had hanging around. but by this time the turkeys were so big that I actually didn't have to worry, the owls overlooked the turkeys and went for my chickens who were more manageable...

by the end of august they had eaten up all the grass and weeds on 4 acres, didn't have to cut down the grass a single time this past summer except for the front where no animals were mowing it down, lol. By the time our thanksgiving came around the Toms were 35 to 40 lbs and the hens were between 20 to 25 pounds. I had originally thought about keeping one Tom and 2 hens until I realized I overlooked a couple important factors, they couldn't breed on their own and they would soon be too heavy and start having leg issues. so the whole turkey flock had to be processed.

this spring I am ordering midget whites, but I also plan on getting a few heritage breeds to keep on the farm as pets. this time around I know how much room to give them, what they like and how they like to amuse themselves.....

I did spoil mine though, I was out there for hours on end every day, and sometimes I would just sit and read a book only to have them come up and inspect my book or steal my bookmark and run away....funny enough BBW are not supposed to be fast birds but these buggers were and I laughed because they reminded me of Ostriches as they ran really fast around the property. Raising turkeys was easier than I thought it would be, and soo much fun, they were very curious, and had a lot of character. I don't know how many people told me how dumb turkeys really are, but I found them to be quite intelligent and very gentle.

With my chickens I clean their coop every week on Sundays, with the turkeys though I had to do it 2x per week, they were really messy, they also drank a ton of water, they love to col down in a shallow plastic kiddie pool, they like to stand on things, and peck at shiny things, so I gave them an old silver feeder bottom and hung it on a rope, they truly loved pecking it at and then they would turn their heads sideways, like a dog does when they hear something interesting, and then do it again...

they are intricate animals like everyone says, keep them warm until fully feathered and feed them well with lots of water too, keep their bedding clean and give them lots of room to roam, they never go far and always come back, but the key is to teach them where they are supposed to come back to at night, they roost to sleep, much like chickens and prefer to be altogether. I had 4 Toms in that group and no fighting at all, the key is room, the more room the happier they are.

Anyhow just sharing my experience, I cannot wait to get me some more turkey poults, they are truly amazing birds.

Ema

Thank you so much for all of the information! I am getting my first turkeys in June and have been lost because I can find no information on how to raise turkeys out of a factory setting. I feel so much better after reading your post!

 

[teckkev]

I'm going to coop mine on fresh concrete slab for then coop floor. Too many predators for free roaming. Is there a right time for the turks to be moved to their coop from inside the house? They are making the room in the house dusty as it has ever been. I know my chicks I put outside soon as they get some weight and feathers to them with using a regular 100Watt bulb at night with no issues.

Kevin - Ohio