Give me the dirt on turkeys

[sandspoultry]

We raise all our birds togther, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese. Like I said though turkey poults are more tender than chicks. Be sure not to over crowd. Poults can get pushed away from the feed and "starve out".

Steve in NC

We do offer hatching eggs and poults (the poults are pick-up only- we don't ship) We have a order list started for 2009 please email [email protected] if interested. Also, we have auctions on ebay under sandspoultry.

 

[ivan3]

Spook wrote:

Also, we have (I'm sure you do too) wild turkeys, can these go wild? will these go wild?

We have lots and, yes, I've heard that, every so often a `domestic' will go native. But our WE's have been wooing ours for years with no luck (ours were imprinted on us and know where the food is...).

Here is an example of a Count Struttula making the invite:

The girls were intrigued? But, on the whole, pretty much indifferent.
The W. Eastern hens like to flirt with our toms (fly down out of the trees and `present' and run - acting coy).

ed:sp​

 

[sandspoultry]

We have Eastern Wilds all around us but they have never come that close to ours. We went to get the newspaper this morning and counted 15 hens in a freshly gathered cornfield just down the street. They are something to see in the wild.

Steve in NC

 

[al6517]

I raise BB whites, I like the finished product so much better than the heritage breeds, but i only raise 5 or so a yr. the BB whites are a little delicate as chicks until about 5 + weeks old. I raise mine in an enclosed large pen that is a 1/2 coop/run, they can be a little on the mello side and that is great with me, Feed conversion is so much better with this breed and that helps these days. As a matter of fact I have a practice thanksgiving day 26 lber in the oven right now, and the Turkey day Tom will come in at around 43 lbs dressed, and that is only at 4 mo old, you do the math, I just really like these birds.

AL

 

[Chicky Joy]

Wow. Tons of great information. I had no idea other people on the forum had this many turkey questions.

We also have a ton of wild turkeys here. We get groups of 4-20 in our front yard but they don't usually go into the back yard (except for in the woods) since we have our dogs back there. When we first moved into this house the turkey's had had the run of the place for a few years and would get right up on the deck. One morning, shortly after we moved in, I counted 75+ wild turkeys in the front yard.

What type of pen/enclosure would we need for a small flock? I'd really like to have turkeys that free-range. Any major problems with letting a small flock free-range? I don't want to go through as big of a process as we have for our chickens.

What do the chicks require in terms of temperature and brooder location? I had our chick brooder in our basement and moved them after 4-5 weeks.

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
We have raised BB Whites in the past and yes they do finish quickly. They also eat like pigs to gain weight that fast. However taste wise they don't hold a candle to a heritage turkey. The Americian Livestock Breeds Conservancy did a blind taste test in 2008 and the heritage won hands down on taste and apperance. Needless to say we no longer raise BB Whites.

Steve in NC

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
We raise our turkeys with the chickens, ducks, geese and guineas.
Also, we brood them the same, the turkeys do need a higher protien starter feed than chickens. We use 28% game birds starter for the first 3 months, then 21% for the next 3 months, after that they eat 16 layer mash with everybody else.

Steve in NC

 

[al6517]

Quote:
We have raised BB Whites in the past and yes they do finish quickly. They also eat like pigs to gain weight that fast. However taste wise they don't hold a candle to a heritage turkey. The Americian Livestock Breeds Conservancy did a blind taste test in 2008 and the heritage won hands down on taste and apperance. Needless to say we no longer raise BB Whites.

Steve in NC

I have also heard of this blind taste test, and it sounds as though it has some credance, as I have not raised any I may try. I found that these BB whites didn't eat that much. I did cook one of the 26lbers today and it was good but not fantastic, I just found that it could have had a touch more flavor, it was a little bland and was a little shy on fatty tissue, so i may certainly try the heritage breeds next yr.
AL

 

[pdpatch]

Q: How are they in the brooder? Do they have to be on wire? (I heard they will eat their own droppings- like chicks don't!?)

A:They are fine in the brooder, They just get bigger faster then a chicken, and yes they do eat there own poo, But this is natural for them. In the wild they eat there mothers poo this gives the extra vitimans and minerals they need to get started. Since they are closer to there Wild cousins then chickens it's more obvious. But this also leads to them being more exceptiable to diesises the chickens.


Q: How are they with preditors such as hawks? Do they get snatched as quickly by hawks/eagles as a hen will? (kinda a stupid question I know, but its like Jerasic park around here).

A: Well that depends on how big they are when you let them out. and how you let them out. Since we live in the middle of a Prairie Dog town e have lots of raptors. Our are kept in runs during the day and put in coops at night we try to let them roam for an hour or two each day. Usually an eagle or Hawk won't mess with anything that ias large or larger thenit is, unless it's really hungery.

Q:Approximate growth time, say 6, 8, or 11 months til slaughter?

A: Generally 20 week for a Great White or BB bronze, or 30 weeks for a hertiage bread. But yo can butcher earily and later if you want a larger or smaller turkey.

Q: And lastly, are they weaker then a chick and what about cocci? Do they also have this issue?

A: They do not react to some desises as Chickens do. If you have raised Chikcens before and not had a problem with cocci then most likely you won't with the Turkeys. There are a few desisies that effect turkeys harder then chickens. An a chickens imunity system is usually developed at 4 weeks a turkeys is at 7 weeks.

If you are planning a commercial operation then don't mix them. The risk are not worth losing you investment in one season. You can check with you local Ag office to see if you area has had any problem with Poultry desise out breaks.

Q: Thanks to whom ever can answer my "stupid" questions and yes, you can point and laugh!

A: I Asked the same questions at one time or another.

This year we raised Great White, BB bronze, Red Bourbon, and Blue slate.

The Great White were really mello compared to the rest, and at 22 weeks there were in the 26 pound range. But in hind sight why do we need a 26 pound turkey? The biggest we have ever purchased before was 18 pounds.

the BB bronze were about the same except when I can near them. They would strut, huff and puff, and stomp there feet when ever I can near them. More then once I watched the BB Bronze chest but another turkey and knock it to the ground.

The Red Bourbons were the best of all so far. They can charactors. we had one that when it was small would strut but trip over it's wing tips and fall down. The same one has tried to mate with our German Shepard mixed female dog more then once this month. with a small flock of turkeys it's very easy to get attached, so be carefull.

When we do get ours out side we use mobile runs, since we do have wild turkeys and unless you have a permit for wild turkeys you can have them in captivity, at least in Nebraska, it varies from State to State. The wild Toms ones can and usually do take your domestic females with them as they pass through.

The better one I built this year was from an old chevy van body and a larger mobile run. Although we are down to two turkeys in that one we don't move it very often now.
We also have lots of preditors that can take a full size turkey. So we prefer the mobile runs and mobile coops.

When try to let them out for a couple of hours every other day to free roam around some.

Although we have seperate runs/coops for Chickens and Turkeys they do free roam a couple of hours each day together.

Tom

 

[sweetshoplady]

What is a nice sized run for a turkey? Like how much sq ft per bird.