Hello,
I will be acquiring 5 turkey hens on Friday. I do not know their breed, as the lady doesn't either. The information I received is that they hatched this spring, are big, and one is very, very friendly.
My questions are:
Can I house my hen turkeys with my roosters? Possibly also muscovy ducks in the spring?
Are six foot tall fences sufficient for a 700 sq ft pasture run?
Do turkeys use nesting boxes like Chicken and Quail do?
Do you eat turkey eggs? Do turkeys lay eggs like chickens or only when breeding like dove?
Would an 8' x 8' by 8' turkey "coop" be sufficient for indoor housing for 5 hens and 10 standard sized roosters? I live on the Oregon Coast, so I assume they will need a dry area to hide from the weather, just as my chickens and quail do. They would be locked in the coop from dusk til dawn and allowed into the run and coop during the day.
If I were to let them out to free range, do they tend to stay close to home or are they best kept cooped?
Oy, I think that is all my questions for now... Thank you in advance!
Blackhead is a protozoan parasite that lives in the dirt. Your property has it, or it doesn't. It's pretty rare as diseases go, and I've never met anyone that's had it. If your turkeys get it, you'll know your dirt has it and that you'll never be able to safely have turkeys on your property, pretty much. I wouldn't worry about it, but that's me.
Six foot fences will be laughed at by younger turkeys and those that like to give you the bird, so to speak. Hershey and Drogon (chocolate and black jennies) peeked at us through a second story window after landing on the porch roof this evening. They fly over eight-foot fences when they feel like it, and they could clear obstacles more than twelve feet high, too. If it's a huge concern for you, clip their primaries on one side.
Turkeys do use nesting boxes when they don't have a religious objection to using nest boxes (it's an individual thing, just like it is with chickens). My Holland hen always lays (and broods) in the same nest box. My Bourbon hen scratches out divots randomly through the coop or just laying them in the middle of the floor, like they caught her by surprise. I have five younger girls who aren't laying, so it's anyone's guess which option they'll choose. If you free range, be prepared for gals to start hoarding eggs in ingenious (or downright stupid) places.
I have a 10x10x8 converted shed that houses everyone but the pheasants and quail (when they feel like it). However, turkeys are largely like Dothraki, if you've ever seen the Game of Thrones series,because in their opinions, pretty much everything worth doing is done outside. Like sleeping. The vast majority of turkeys I've owned hate sleeping indoors and would rather be outside
unless the highest roost they can get to is indoors. So long as they are able to get to a roost, they will take that option. Infirm specimens don't roost, so be on the lookout for ground sleeping birds because they're older BB turkeys (can't roost), really old, sick, intimidated by roost hogs, or have some injury. I make roosts that are a shorter distance from the ground for these birds generally because it seems to pain them not being able to roost (really sad to watch that turmoil in their eyes, trust me). I have about thirty feet of roosts in that shed (all four feet from the floor and made from 2x4s). Turkeys are roost hogs and will probably beat the crap out of your roosters. Mine love to scare all of the chickens from their chosen side of the shed when they bother roosting indoors.
Turkeys hens and roosters are actually a bad combination. I've done it without a lot of problems, but I want to warn you about some language differences between the species. See, they don't always see eye to eye on lots of issues, but the most dangerous fights I've ever seen were always turkey hen vs rooster. dominance battles happen in every combination of ages, genders and species in a barnyard, but I think--of domestic animals--turkey hens are more likely to kill a rooster than perhaps anything but perhaps a dog on the premises. Roosters have a lot of ego on the line, unfortunately, and if they don't get out of the way when the turkey train is coming through, the hen may stomp him to death. Worse yet, all of her girlfriends--and maybe even boyfriends--will join in on that fight because turkeys form gangs with strict hierarchies (these are technically called "rafters"). It's not something that happens on a first offense generally, but I've seen this as a pattern of escalation through multiple encounters, and these fights generally start around feeding areas but may start due to a hen protecting her brood from a perceived threat. I've never had a rooster die, but I've seen them beat up and even bloodied on occasion. Just something to be on the lookout for as your birds are going to be competing for a very limited amount of roost space and areas from which they can eat and drink (the three most likely areas for fights to break out).
Another weird thing about keeping turkeys with roosters is that turkeys abhor lame animals for some reason, so if a bird becomes stuck, otherwise entangled or lamed, turkeys will relentlessly attack this unlucky fellow, generally pecking it on the head. I'm not sure why this happens, but if you have a lame rooster, keep him away from these girls.
Turkey eggs are the best tasting eggs I've ever had. They're like cheese. Simply amazing. You'll never want to eat another kind of egg ever again.
Turkeys are technically seasonal layers, but some have much longer or more sporadic "seasons" of laying. for instance, some start in January, take a break for the hottest months, and resume laying when it starts to cool down again. Some breeds take fewer breaks or lay more eggs or have shorter seasons, and of course, individuals can vary widely even within a breed. My BB turkeys hens were pretty good layers, but I've heard Palms are the best. Any eggs could potentially be fertile, but like with chickens, not all turkeys are equally broody. I've had two broody turkeys out of five total. Most turkeys will attempt brooding after they've got a purely subjective and individual number of eggs hoarded in one spot, but when the mood's right, they'll relentlessly brood golfballs (esp in the spring).
Keep them cooped close to home for a few days at least. They have to know where home is (and more importantly, where the
food is). They'll probably stick with each other more than with your roosters as a group, but it wouldn't surprise terribly me if they form one big happy flock either (esp until the girls more comfortable on their own).
