Free-Ranging Turkeys

[FarmGirl01]

I have free range turkeys. They stay pretty close to the other birds. I have about one acre fenced in for the birds. Sometimes they fly over the fence but they don't wonder very far. I would think with the number of turkeys you will be free ranging that they would tend to roam farther away than mine have.
I also have thought about clipping their wings but I think that would be harmful to the bird. They are very good at flying and seem to avoid predators. The adult birds roost on top of the barn out of harms way. Let us know what you decided.
I have 11 Narragasett poults that I will be free ranging with the chicken hens.

 

[ninjapoodles]

We are still really agonizing about it. So, if they DO go over your fence, they come back? We just don't want to put in all the time raising them just to have them wander off somewhere! Are there things you can do to entice them to stay around "home base?"

 

[Frosty]

I left food out and mine stuck around... if they do go over the fence, I can't guarantee that they would come back. If mine jumped down on the wrong side of the fence (or they wilds got seperated by the fence) they ran back and forth along the fence crying. They never did seem to figure out that they could go back over the fence.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
Although I love them dearly, turkeys aren't the brightest. LOL. Mine has done the same thing, fly over something and then cry 'cause he cannot figure out how to get back. LOL

I only have one so far, so he is being raise with my Sumatra(oldest chicks right now). LOL. Isn't that going to be quite the coopfull of birds? Half a dozen Black-Blue Sumatra and one great big white turkey. He looses his mind if he is seperated from them, so I'm hoping that if he ever escapes the coop his "siblings" will lure him to stay nearby.

I have also been told that turkeys like to sleep in the EXACT same spot every night. My friend who told me this, has raised hundreds. If they sleep on the floor and you put a box on their "spot" they'll sleep on the box or as near to their "spot" as they can. So maybe the roosting instict will keep them near?

Do turkeys typically have a roosting instinct? Or is it something my friend's birds have learned from her chickens(which she raises them with).

-Kim

 

[SueNH]

I have an assortment of free ranging heritage breeds. They eat just about anything edible. I have had to put a 6 ft. fence around my vegetable garden. Most of my ornamental beds have lots of taste testing going on. Daylilies are trimmed right down, chives have to live under a small cage.

I have dust bath holes that are knee deep. The immediate area around my back door has been stripped of vegetation. They spend a lot of time hanging at the back door waiting for me to come home from work.

Small trees have been stripped of buds to turkey stretching height.

They fly to my roof tops on houses and barns. They roost in trees near the house at night. I gave up trying to shoo them into a pen at night. I did it every night for over 2 years and I still had to chase better than half of them each night.

They have got plenty of room. I've got 20 acres and my nearest neighbor is a mile away. I'm surrounded by half grown in fields that should be a turkey heaven but still they hang out at my door.

If you have a broad breasted bird it will still want to perch but will eventually be unable to do more than a small hop up. I had one that I made a perch for that was about 8 inches off the ground and he thought it was wonderful.

I was given some adult birds once that after about 3 months of living here and wandering with no problems got on the other side of the river and to my nearest neighbor. I couldn't find them anywhere. I called and called. Sun was starting to set and I heard them at the very edge of my hearing. They had gotten on the porch of the neighbors house and were looking into her window and crying for help back home. They were obviously relieved when I appeared and they just followed me back over the bridge and down the dirt road. The lady was relieved when I appeared too. She had no idea why a flock of turkeys was on her porch and screaming in her windows. I can understand why a group of agitated giant birds might be a bit unnerving.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Sue, that is wild! Mine are Narragansetts...do you have any advice on how to raise them once they're out of the brooder?

 

[lexustami]

I have 4 Narragansetts. 1 Tom and 3 hens. We have 18 acres with a cattle farm on one side. They spend a lot of time across the fence on the cattle farm. One of the hens is sitting on a nest on the neighbors property. I actually saw her fly "home" the other day for about 15 minutes to stretch and eat... then she walked all the way back to her nest. I'm hoping she will bring the poults back with her when they hatch.

Her nest is probably about an acre in on the neighbors property and I don't want to trespass to see how many eggs she has in there.

Take care,

Tami

 

[ninjapoodles]

That is exactly what is making my husband say that we wants to confine them to a yard for their entire lives. I hate that, but I also can't really argue with him about the birds "trespassing." I really, really want them to be able to free range, but only on our property. Our perimeter is fenced with 6' chain-link.

Would it be cruel to clip their wings so that they couldn't fly that high? Would it affect their muscle development (these will mostly be meat birds)? How much would you have to clip? At what age would you have to start?

I'm also wondering--my husband turkey hunts, so we ate wild turkey all winter. How does the meat of a heritage breed turkey compare to both commercially-raised and to wild turkeys?

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Can we get an update picture on your turkeys? I just got mine, Tried sifting through your posts to find a pic, but got lost reading other threads.

Sure, here's the little guys at 10 weeks old:

Very friendly and tolerant

 

[SueNH]

I have to admit I haven't eaten one yet. I'm afraid they really imprint on humans and I am forever their mommy. Would kind of be like eating a puppy. Lot of the hens and a couple of the toms will climb in my lap.

I admit I'm now at the point where extra toms are going to have to hit the freezer. While I can process the stinky broiler chickens I told my husband he's on his own with turkeys. I'll have to leave and go shopping or something. Once it is safe bundled in the freezer I'll be fine. I imagine that a heritage bird is going to taste closer to the wild. Moving around and being able to eat bugs and grass and do bird things makes a big difference in chicken so it would in turkey too.

BB turkeys or any turkey isn't going to keep any predator away. The poor BB's can hardly walk within a few months.

Coming out of the brooder I don't treat them any differently than a chicken. I do make a point of securing little ones at night. I tried with the big ones for a couple years but they just don't want to go in. They'd rather sit out even in a blizzard.