Grow out Pen ideas

[Tiger Shark]

I’m moving my 3 week old turkey chicks into their grow out pen this week. I’m new to raising turkeys and they have out grown their brooder. The daily low temp is usually around 70 so I figure they’ll be fine out in the yard. I have no idea what to put inside their pen. It’s 6.5 ft by 10 ft. I know I need to put something for them to roost on. Anything I should put in there other than a piece of wood for roosting. What should the wood’s dimension be? Thanks.

Here is a pic of the pen.

 

[R2elk]

I’m moving my 3 week old turkey chicks into their grow out pen this week. I’m new to raising turkeys and they have out grown their brooder. The daily low temp is usually around 70 so I figure they’ll be fine out in the yard. I have no idea what to put inside their pen. It’s 6.5 ft by 10 ft. I know I need to put something for them to roost on. Anything I should put in there other than a piece of wood for roosting. What should the wood’s dimension be? Thanks.

Here is a pic of the pen.

The first thing that I would do is put up a wall to act as a windbreak. I probably wold remove the back end and replace it with a three sided shed while leaving the rest of the pen intact.

You don't say how many poults that you have, but that is not a very big pen. Turkeys need a lot more "personal space" than do chickens.

My grow out pen like my brooder is inside my coop. I have had poults in the brooder for a maximum of two weeks before moving them to the grow out pen. Unfortunately for them, this year has seen constant traffic through the brooder and grow out pen so they ended up in the general population by the time they were a month old. As hot as it has been this summer, it has not been a problem. My run for my poultry is 50'x100' allowing about 600 sq. ft. per adult turkey and they also get to free range on a fenced 2 acre area during the daytime.

 

[Tiger Shark]

I have 10 turkeys. I looked it up and it said they need around 6 feet per turkey. It’s about 65 square feet, so it’s not too bad of a size. They’ll only be in it at night anyway. As soon as they’re old enough they have about 2500 square feet of fenced in grass to graze on during the day.

You would attach a shed to the back? Could I put on a tarp to act as a wind break?

 

[FredsGobblers]

I would tarp 3 sides and top with roosts in pen and call that the coop if they will be out every day and only herded in for night with free range. 10 turkeys will outgrow that pen quick. I would start free ranging them with supervision now to get them used to a routine of going in and out.

 

[FredsGobblers]

you may even want to trim flight feathers because they can and will fly up into trees and over fences.

 

[Tiger Shark]

So I’m okay to keep them in that for nights? I can use that permanently? That’s kinda what I was thinking.

Would you use a 2x4 for the roost or 2x2?

I’ll clip their wings.

 

[FredsGobblers]

2x4 4 side up

 

[R2elk]

I have 10 turkeys. I looked it up and it said they need around 6 feet per turkey. It’s about 65 square feet, so it’s not too bad of a size. They’ll only be in it at night anyway. As soon as they’re old enough they have about 2500 square feet of fenced in grass to graze on during the day.

You would attach a shed to the back? Could I put on a tarp to act as a wind break?

The 6 Sq. ft. per adult bird was cooked up for commercially growing out broad breasted turkeys. If you are planning as using this as a coop, figure on at least 10 Sq. ft. per adult bird and that is clear area. Space taken up by waterers, feeders, nest areas, storage, etc. have to be in addition to the clear area.

Twenty-five hundred sq. ft. is only a 50'x50' area and is not a lot of space for 10 adult turkeys if it is the only area they can spend their time in.

 

[FredsGobblers]

What are your plans for the extra toms you will have out of the 10? I am assuming your total will shrink down to 1 tom with minimum 4 hens

 

[Tiger Shark]

The 6 Sq. ft. per adult bird was cooked up for commercially growing out broad breasted turkeys. If you are planning as using this as a coop, figure on at least 10 Sq. ft. per adult bird and that is clear area. Space taken up by waterers, feeders, nest areas, storage, etc. have to be in addition to the clear area.

Twenty-five hundred sq. ft. is only a 50'x50' area and is not a lot of space for 10 adult turkeys if it is the only area they can spend their time in.

You would make the area bigger? How much is good enough for 10 turkeys?