GOT MORE CHICKS AND MORE QUESTION

[TitiBebbs]

This weekend, Dad came back into town and as if the 28 varied breeds (15 Black Australorp - maybe) and 3 ducks (was 4 but ds accidentally killed one) aren't enough for this never had chickens before Mommy were not enough, he got 6 supposed to be Guineas and 2 turkeys. One of the Guineas might actually be a pheasant.

Oh GOSH! Oh, and he leaves back to Ft. Lauderdale in 2 days - thank goodness school is out in 3 days here. I start summer break. I'm as excited as my students and son.

So, he found out the turkeys ( white one - royal ??? and brown one bourbon ??? - I named them snow and Jack-as in Daniels because I 'm needing it by now) are about a month old and decided they could go straight into the run with the rest of the 6-8 week old ones who can still escape the electric poultry wire.

Needless to say, one (Jack) disappeared!

This was Saturday and we searched and searched the general area. I mean really how far could it have gotten in 5 minutes. Don't answer this, we learned. Okay, back to the story . . . Jack is gone and we've just decided it's gone so we'll have to get a new one. At the church supper Sunday, we joked that Dad would go get a new turkey and Jack would return and then we'd have 3 turkeys. So I got home, somehow before my folks and realized the dog had been left alone and untethered. Yes, mild panic. I started checking his favorite areas to leave treasures for the other dog. I was looking by the pen and heard something that made me pause. OH YES, YOU GUESSED IT; Jack came back! He was just sitting there in the ducks' coop like he'd never left.

Dad learned that even if the birds are as old as the others, they still need to be penned for a little while. We moved the turkeys into the mini-coop with the 7 Araucana (and maybe something else) chicks. Today, we worked on a run for the littler ones and next week, I'll be building a coop for the guineas.

Okay, here's a question or 2 to wrap up a good story. 21 7-9 week olds plus 3 ducks of the same age; 7 4-5 week olds; 2 month old or so turkeys; and 6 day to week old guineas (maybe a pheasant)
(1) When might I be able to put everyone TOGETHER and will I?
(2) How will I ever tell what breeds I have? and whether they are male or female - besides egg laying and/or crowing? I'm not that patient.

 

[kstaven]

You may be best to pen the ducks, turkeys, and chickens seperately. Turkeys can do a lot of damage to chickens in a hurry. Ducks will keep the bedding in the chicken coop damp and cause it to mold. Some manage to mix flocks. But it is easier with them having seperate coops. Ranging together usually isn't an issue.

As far as male, female, and breed. Post some pictures on ths forum and ask for help. You can also start by checking feathersite.com.

 

[bobbieguyette]

Im one of my big coops i have a 8 yr old turkey tom ducks and even them tiny serama chickens are all together and they all get along just fine!

wouldnt hurt to try it mine get along just fine!

 

[TitiBebbs]

I've got the chickens separated from the ducks and the turkeys are in the "starter coop" with the Araucanas of the same age (1 mo) for now. I''m hoping to put the Araucanas in with the rest of the flock (2 mo old) when they are all about the same size. For now, Dad fashioned a sort of run for the 9 1 mo olds. I've built a 6' x 4' "starter run" for the little ones. I've just got a few finishing touches like stabilizers and hinged for the door. Then I can figure a way to attach the 2 "starters" together to make a real area for the youngest of the birds. The guineas are still too young to be out on their own, even in the starter run. dad says they need to be kept inside (the house or coop) until they are 6 weeks. One of these days, we;ll build a real coop and run and not all these little "for now" things. Like the duck house, I had built it for the dog's house but he rarely used it so we reassigned it to ducks. anyway, summer is coming and I'll have more time to do these things then.