Everyone should raise their own turkey next year!!!

[KatyTheChickenLady]

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I have mine butchered so can't answer the plucking question first hand, however I watched and other than being bigger he didn't take any longer - nothing compared to the duck and geese we did that day.
mine seem much more predator wary and roost high in the trees - a bit more alert and wild than the chickens. Mine free range day and night and we have many predators. Well, I cooped them until they could fly and I may again when they are nesting. My friend Johns hens nest in the fields with many predators and seem to do fine.
I guess age depends on size and breed and that all varies my Black Spanish X Blue Slate tom was about 4 months at 12 pounds, but he was my small guy.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

those midget white are sooo pretty! as they get older do they avoid the leg problems of the BBh whites then?

 

[sonew123]

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Thank you-MIne are 7 months old and I have never seen a leg problem with them at all-actually no problems whatsoever
-she is a ding bat and LOVES the ducks-she will climb into the duckie pool with them and talk up a storm to them-cutest thing I love her cooing-him he drives me nuts with all his calling and feet stomping-he's so horny he does it at the trees-buckets-chickens you name it he never stops!!! He even jumps up on hay bails where most of the birds roost and strutts up there back and forth back and forth gobble gobble gobble--really? I know for a fact I will only ever have 1 tom I will keep-the rest will be raised for butchering-Id love 3 more hens

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

thats what my toms were doing!!! it was awful, there is a piece of PVC pipe out in the yard that I still refuse to touch . . . Now that I have two hens and one Tom all is calm, but i'm going to get one more by spring just to be sure. But I garee only 1 Tom ever again.

 

[sonew123]

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ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh LOL.....I caught him "doing" a branch at the end of the Summer. I thought to myself..what on earth is he doing? and why is that tree shaking?? it suddenly hit me ...OMG SNoody is doing his duty to a branch?? I cut that branch down -I couldn't look at it and God forbid I brushed it walking by

Yah I want 2-3 hens and 1 Tom Then I think get fertile eggs to hatch our right now so I have a good chance of getting another Tom for Spring-I dont want to Winter over a tom again-to confined for him and his attitude!

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

My pardoned tom isn't like that at all, he is great with his girls, not too active for them and he does not do foreign objects

He has been a little more aggressive this year after all the babies hatching but not too bad. He is a great watchdog and beautiful to look at. As to the leg problems he is going on two years old and perfectly healthy!

 

[aka Rachel]

I agree!!

I love love loved having my turkeys! I ordered 25 'heavy red' meat chickens and 5 'white' turkeys. I had them all in the same brooder to start, and lost one turkey to spradle leg at the beginning.

Just when I thought they were in the all clear, I lost another turkey to a predator at about 2 months or so.

So the remaining three turkeys, two toms and a er..hen? I raised till they were 18 weeks. Toms weighted 27.5 each and hen at 20 lbs. I was very happy with those results and I will be ordering 10 for next year.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

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What a nice plate, lucky turkey!

 

[Toast n Jelly]

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They are really beautiful birds, I'd never seen the midgets before.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Thanks, they are a nice breed, we have had no leg problems and they perfect for the small family homestead as they do not get huge.