Help with decision on buying these turkeys

[Triplecross]

I'm seriously considering buying 6 adult Narragansetts: 4 hens and 2 toms. They are between the ages of 2- 6.

How long do turkeys live?

Will they breed and sit at this age range?

Will they fly away from my farm if I let them have access to the outside? I don't know if they will try to find their way back "home" to the previous owner since they weren't raised by me.

What would you all do?

Thanks for any help!

 

[ivan3]

If you have the facilities to keep them penned-up/quarantined for a month (6 ft. fence with netting is optimal) and if all but one is two years old (six yr. old still viable but fertility/quality of poults begins to suffer), then it might be a deal if price is low.

Heritage turks can live a dozen years, and thereabouts. Two years for hens is very good age for breeding.

Raising them from day/two day old poults or incubating and hatching is probably more of a sure thing in the long run, though some members have had good luck with adult acquisitions.

 

[turkeyguy123]

If you have the facilities to keep them penned-up/quarantined for a month (6 ft. fence with netting is optimal) and if all but one is two years old (six yr. old still viable but fertility/quality of poults begins to suffer), then it might be a deal if price is low.

Heritage turks can live a dozen years, and thereabouts. Two years for hens is very good age for breeding.

Raising them from day/two day old poults or incubating and hatching is probably more of a sure thing in the long run, though some members have had good luck with adult acquisitions.

I agree

 

[Triplecross]

The price is $100 for the 6 turkeys. I'm just concerned if they are fertile and how long they will live. Otherwise I'm just buying geriatric turkeys that will soon die and that's a bad investment, I'd say.

Could the stress to a new place cause older turkeys to degrade or die quickly?

 

[ivan3]

1. If you `trust' the seller to be telling the truth about the ages and the hens (in particular) are all two year olds, O.K. (we have an 8 yr. old Slate hen that runs our flock and other than being slightly wider and low sprung than she was at a yr. of age - there are few other easily observable differences).

2. Do you know what conditions they've been kept in, what they've been fed, etc.?

3. If you don't have a large enough covered run to introduce them into, might be a problem, e.g., predators at your place, or their wandering off might destroy investment.

4. If you have other birds (flocks) already, these guys will need to be quarantined for 30 days.

5. Stress from moving `might' expose any otherwise underlying weaknesses in immune function.

6 If hens are 5yr+ it is still not a serious difficulty (might get 5-8 per clutch rather than 10+), but the offspring can be more prone to problems.

7. If you do decide to get them, you might want to mention some of the above as a means of bargaining down the price.

Good luck!