Give me the dirt on turkeys

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:

 

[ivan3]

ericsplls wrote:
I just finished reading the whole thread. Wow I'm just as lost on what I want as when I first started. I really like the size of the bsw and midget whites but would much rather have a more natural colored bird. It just doesn't seem right whatching a snow white bird in a pasture. It's not just turkeys, I have recently given away my last white chicken. Has anyone worked on a small colored bird. I saw the jersey buff on a website but haven't seen any breeders for them. I guess one reason I stay away from white birds is we have plenty of predators and I free range alot of birds. I keep my breeders penned but really enjoy watching the chickens do what chickens do so I free range everything I don't need to hatch eggs from. So far I have lost less birds since I started free ranging than I did when I kept everything in tractors and runs. I'll lose one occasionally but when they were in tractors in the rare event a dog got into one it usually killed evey chicken in it before it left. I have a neighbor who produces quail on a large scale so the few owl's and hawks that take up residence usually have plenty to eat but their time here is short. I plan to fence the back pasture this winter and will probably try to keep the turkeys there.

Black Spanish/Unimproved Bronze are fairly inconspicuous, as are Rio Grandes: http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Turkeys/BRKTurkey.html​

 

[Joker69377]

Bump for reference

 

[nsz]

I am a new turkey owner and I have a question. When I first got the turkeys (2 of them) they were purchased with chicks as well. They ate and drank with the chicks until about 2 weeks because the killed 2 chicks from pecking them. So, I soerated them. They are now nearing 3.5 weeks old and I have noticed that I don't really see them eating or drinking...

Are turkeys dumb enough to forget how? If they are still growing are they just eating when I am not there? I have sat and watched them for up to 2 hours. Maybe I am just expecting them to eat like the chicks which is non-stop?

What should I do? Any tips or advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

nsz

 

[ivan3]

nsz wrote:

I am a new turkey owner and I have a question. When I first got the turkeys (2 of them) they were purchased with chicks as well. They ate and drank with the chicks until about 2 weeks because the killed 2 chicks from pecking them. So, I soerated them. They are now nearing 3.5 weeks old and I have noticed that I don't really see them eating or drinking...

Are turkeys dumb enough to forget how? If they are still growing are they just eating when I am not there? I have sat and watched them for up to 2 hours. Maybe I am just expecting them to eat like the chicks which is non-stop?

What should I do? Any tips or advice would be much appreciated!

What variety of turkey/chicken?
What % protein in feed? What kind of feed (chicken/gamebird pellet/crumble)?
Were the chicks and poults same age/size?


They aren't dumb. They react/respond to environmental/physiological cues with the same sense as any other vertebrate (we humans do fairly well at serving as surrogate hens). Too much/little heat/light - size differential - quality/quantity of feed, etc. How long did the `pecking' go on before death of chicks (few hours?).

 

[nsz]

Quote:
What variety of turkey/chicken?
What % protein in feed? What kind of feed (chicken/gamebird pellet/crumble)?
Were the chicks and poults same age/size?


They aren't dumb. They react/respond to environmental/physiological cues with the same sense as any other vertebrate (we humans do fairly well at serving as surrogate hens). Too much/little heat/light - size differential - quality/quantity of feed, etc. How long did the `pecking' go on before death of chicks (few hours?).

The turkeys were purchased as "common white" and "common brown". The chickens are a mixture of Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks. As of this moment, the Turkeys haven't stopped pecking at the head of cabbage that I placed in their box for about the past 12 hours. There is food and water in their box with them, but, I have not seen them eat it, or drink the water. They look healthy, and they are growing so should I just ignore it and see what happens? I have tried taping the food, holding the food, putting their head in the food and nothing. Like I said, I have nothing to compare experiences to as this is my first time raising turkeys..

 

[ivan3]

nsz wrote: The turkeys were purchased as "common white" and "common brown".

99.9% chance they are Broad Breasted Bronze/White (bred to eat like pigs and have everything used but the gobble).

There is food and water in their box with them

Please describe the brooding setup for the chooks/turks (lighting/amount of space per bird). What brand/type of feed? The more specific the info. the helpful it will be to you and your turks (quality of guessing improves

)

Volume/wt. food/water can be measured once per day to determine total amount consumed during that period.​

 

[nsz]

The chickens and turkeys are in pretty large boxes, indoors in a room with heat and a 125w heat lamp. Here are some pictures to hopefully assist! Thanks again!

Also, here is a video!

 

[ivan3]

nsz wrote:

The chickens and turkeys are in pretty large boxes, indoors in a room with heat and a 125w heat lamp. Here are some pictures to hopefully assist! Thanks again!

Also, here is a video!

Thank you for posting! Vid is interesting (going after fingers or the lens filter?). Only things I can suggest is to get a bag of 28%-30% protein Gamebird Starter for the turks (18% is marginally adequate but not optimal for turks); get a container of meal worms and see what they do with them. If they hadn't been eating and drinking they'd not be around, I'd check to see if they peck at each other. Also, try covering one end of the brooder with something opaque (provide an area shaded from direct light). Hopeful someone else will have more ideas for you.

Keep us posted and good luck!​

 

[nsz]

This is how much they enjoy the cabage...wow they already pecked to the center of it!