Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[Yellow House Farm]

We breed Narragansetts. They've done well for us. They're very good eating. Given so many of these qualities are strain driven. Heritage turkeys are a 7month ideal slaughter time. They're great natural mothers. They have very good foraging ability. They're not easy to keep confined.

 

[stonykill]

We breed Narragansetts. They've done well for us. They're very good eating. Given so many of these qualities are strain driven. Heritage turkeys are a 7month ideal slaughter time. They're great natural mothers. They have very good foraging ability. They're not easy to keep confined.

to clarify by over winter I meant does anyone keep at least a breeding pair or trio. I'll look into Narragansetts and see what I think. Sounds like they have the quality's we are looking for to add to a homestead stock of Sumatra's , RIR's and various great laying mutts. As well as delicious roosters.
I'm thinking if we started with 10 turkeys and kept 2 hens and a tom.... well probably should keep 2 toms cause you never know what might happen.... but if I freezer camped the rest...... I could never purchase live tukeys again and have them be self sufficient in the breeding/raising dept.
That is what I am looking for

 

[Yellow House Farm]

to clarify by over winter I meant does anyone keep at least a breeding pair or trio. I'll look into Narragansetts and see what I think. Sounds like they have the quality's we are looking for to add to a homestead stock of Sumatra's , RIR's and various great laying mutts. As well as delicious roosters.
I'm thinking if we started with 10 turkeys and kept 2 hens and a tom.... well probably should keep 2 toms cause you never know what might happen.... but if I freezer camped the rest...... I could never purchase live tukeys again and have them be self sufficient in the breeding/raising dept.
That is what I am looking for

I'd say more or less. Several writers insist that turkeys are the most sensative of our domestic fowl to inbreeding; those others say they can handle it well. Regardless, they have a very long productive life; so, you could have a pair or two for a while a rather long while, and yes, you;ll have more turkey than you'll know what to do with.

Thier excellent setters and broodies, too; so, it's easy enough to let them do the whole deal themselves.

 

[stonykill]

I'd say more or less. Several writers insist that turkeys are the most sensative of our domestic fowl to inbreeding; those others say they can handle it well. Regardless, they have a very long productive life; so, you could have a pair or two for a while a rather long while, and yes, you;ll have more turkey than you'll know what to do with.

Thier excellent setters and broodies, too; so, it's easy enough to let them do the whole deal themselves.

perfect. I would only have one breed of turkeys anyway. Just looking for a good self sufficient homesteading breed. As well as all of the great qualities you mention, they are fantastic looking birds as well. Thanks!

 

[gjensen]

Arielle, all of the suggestions are good. Just remember that the same grasses that are best for the ruminants are not necessarily the best for the chickens. Every area is different though.
Here the best pasture grasses are rather coarse, and not particularly digestable. They will graze this, but they are looking for what else is there as much as anything. Oddly enough, in the warm season, crab grass may be our best grass for chickens. It is more digestable than the others, and the chickens like it. Creeping fescue is targeted by the birds in the winter and early spring.
I like to watch the birds and let them tell me what works, and take advantage of what is here already. I like to expirement and play with different ideas. The best low cost thing I have found is to till,lime, and water a portion and let the weeds grow to a point before I let the birds have access to it. That and mow the summer grasses. The new growth is preffered, and after a couple weeks has too much fiber and is very coarse.

I have had some experience with Turkeys, and they are as much a pleasure to observe as anything. Their antics are entertaining. Talk about roaming far and wide. . . . I find that the lighter breeds at least, can cover some ground.


I hope to have a few geese one day, and I like the ducks. I am not in a situation where I can have everything I want. It is probably a good thing that I can't. I might be one of those that needs limitations. Right now, I enjoy my New Hampshires and am enjoying these Catalanas enough to keep me occupied anyways. For now.

 

[colburg]

Are there any special requirements for turkeys? Does anyone clip wings to keep them around? I know that wild turkeys roost in trees, how about captive turkeys? How do you catch them when you're ready to eat them? Shotgun?

I haven't talked my wife into turkeys yet, but one day...

 

[stonykill]

Are there any special requirements for turkeys? Does anyone clip wings to keep them around? I know that wild turkeys roost in trees, how about captive turkeys? How do you catch them when you're ready to eat them? Shotgun?

I haven't talked my wife into turkeys yet, but one day...

the only turkeys I ever raised were your typical domestic white turkeys. And it was 30 plus years ago as a teen. I fed them, watered them, they were penned. At 1st I plucked them, then thankfully graduated to axe man. That was a good day

. Ours were incapable of flight. But they were penned anyway in a covered run. All we had to do was walk in the pen with a noose in hand. Grab a turkey, noose it's legs and go to the chopping block.
I'm hoping whatever I decide to get for Heritage turkeys will at least go in a run and coop for the night. The plan is to try to train them like my chickens (some of who do roost in tree's as Sumatra's fly at least as well as a wild turkey) ....but I digress.... I hope to teach turkeys to coop at night. And when slaughter time for some of the flock comes I'll just have to go in a pen to catch them.

 

[colburg]

Quote:

the only turkeys I ever raised were your typical domestic white turkeys. And it was 30 plus years ago as a teen. I fed them, watered them, they were penned. At 1st I plucked them, then thankfully graduated to axe man. That was a good day

. Ours were incapable of flight. But they were penned anyway in a covered run. All we had to do was walk in the pen with a noose in hand. Grab a turkey, noose it's legs and go to the chopping block.
I'm hoping whatever I decide to get for Heritage turkeys will at least go in a run and coop for the night. The plan is to try to train them like my chickens (some of who do roost in tree's as Sumatra's fly at least as well as a wild turkey) ....but I digress.... I hope to teach turkeys to coop at night. And when slaughter time for some of the flock comes I'll just have to go in a pen to catch them.

Ooooh, I have lots of questions about your Sumatra's.
1) Do they spend time in the trees during the day? Do they hunt/eat bugs in the trees?
2) What kind of trees do you have? Do they hurt the fruit?
3) Where do they lay their eggs? Nest Boxes? Wild Nests?
4) You wouldn't happen to know if they'll eat Brown Marmoted Stink Bugs would you?
5) Are there any other breeds that might eat bugs out of trees?

 

[stonykill]

Quote:
Ooooh, I have lots of questions about your Sumatra's.
1) Do they spend time in the trees during the day? Do they hunt/eat bugs in the trees?
2) What kind of trees do you have? Do they hurt the fruit?
3) Where do they lay their eggs? Nest Boxes? Wild Nests?
4) You wouldn't happen to know if they'll eat Brown Marmoted Stink Bugs would you?
5) Are there any other breeds that might eat bugs out of trees?

Sumatra's are great chickens. My personal favorite. Especially the hens. Cute amusing lil things.

1) yes they are both in tree's during the day and foraging on the ground during the day. I do see them pecking at things in tree's that I can only assume are bugs
2) pines, spruce, maple, oak, cherry, birch, dogwood, sumac , elm, ash, juniper, wild apple, crab apple etc. They wait for fruit to hit the ground.
3) yes. To both. Some in nests some where ever they feel is a good hiding place.
4) not sure
5) don't know.

I'lltell you this about my initial Sumatra flock. I got them from a woman who only fed them 2 small coffee can's of cracked corn a day. For 30 plus birds. They foraged the rest of the day for their nutrition. They laid lots of eggs and hatched a lot of babies even on the poor quality of feed. As their foraging skills are 2nd to none. Despite what the BYC front page article from a few eeks ago says( the article stated Sumatra's were poor broody's and poor foragers yet it still made the front page ....SMH ) .
Ticks.... they LOVE eating them.

 

[Arielle]

Arielle, all of the suggestions are good. Just remember that the same grasses that are best for the ruminants are not necessarily the best for the chickens. Every area is different though.
Here the best pasture grasses are rather coarse, and not particularly digestable. They will graze this, but they are looking for what else is there as much as anything. Oddly enough, in the warm season, crab grass may be our best grass for chickens. It is more digestable than the others, and the chickens like it. Creeping fescue is targeted by the birds in the winter and early spring.
I like to watch the birds and let them tell me what works, and take advantage of what is here already. I like to expirement and play with different ideas. The best low cost thing I have found is to till,lime, and water a portion and let the weeds grow to a point before I let the birds have access to it. That and mow the summer grasses. The new growth is preffered, and after a couple weeks has too much fiber and is very coarse.

I have had some experience with Turkeys, and they are as much a pleasure to observe as anything. Their antics are entertaining. Talk about roaming far and wide. . . . I find that the lighter breeds at least, can cover some ground.


I hope to have a few geese one day, and I like the ducks. I am not in a situation where I can have everything I want. It is probably a good thing that I can't. I might be one of those that needs limitations. Right now, I enjoy my New Hampshires and am enjoying these Catalanas enough to keep me occupied anyways. For now.

THe chickens have certainly eaten up the grass on our "lawn". THey seem to prefer a certain height to the grass as well, WHen it was 6-8 inches high, they didn't enter . When I finally mowed it down to 4 inches, then I saw them in all the time. ANd of course the horses and sheep like that grass too. I can't remember the mix now, just a commercial lawn mix.

I think the chickens like low vegetation to travel over and they also like the wooded area where there is no under story, just old leaves, clumps of ferns, that sort of thing.

THis has become quite the challenge.