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
