How loud are Turkey Hens??

[bantymum]

Hi,
Im thinking of getting 2 turkey hens.
Are they noisy~ "gobble,gobble" all the time?
If I freerange them I guess they will poop alot more than the silkies.
I wonder if they willl squash the silkies?
If I clip their wings, they cant fly?
I love their looks but Im also thinking about the mess and the feed bill!!

 

[jkcove08]

If you get hens they will not make that much noise. It is only the Toms that really gobble gobble. They will chirp and chatter a little just like your hen chickens. Yes they do pooo a lot more then silkies and depending on thier temperment they might step on your silkies. If you are getting very young ones they will get used to each other but if you are getting full grown hens they it depends on what they were raised around. My hen turkeys will fight with each other to set up a dominace order. They sometimes can get pretty mean, you dont want them to do that with your silkies. Just because you dont have a Tom with them doesnt mean they wont go broody either so you will want to make sure to pick up the eggs all the time or they will get real mean if they go broody. Dont get me wrong, I truly love my turkeys but they are definately not chickens. Also your are right, if you clip a wing they will not be able to fly until they molt and grow thier flight feathers back in. Just make sure you only clip one side. My turkeys free ranged all summer with just a little additional feed. They also love to eat as much greens as they can get. Good luck, Jenn

 

[Hotwings]

I am not aware of the types of turkeys that are available to you in Austraila, but if you want a turkey for a pet don't get the broad breasted kind(bb bronze or bb white) these are meat turkeys and due to the increased size they will have problems with the legs. Heritage turkeys are more similar to the wild kind-they are hardier, smaller and can fly. Some heritage breeds are the burbon reds and the blue slate and etc. I have tried to get information on turkeys. Try the other poultry part on these boards. I heard that chickens can pass blackhead on to turkeys which is fatal to the turkeys, but I have heard of people that have raised them together. If you want a pet get a heritage breed.

 

[bantymum]

Yes, Thankyou so much for the info, I would get young ones.
I was thinking that they love grass and I have lots of grass that needs mowing in the freerange area, the silkies and bunnies arent eating it down quick enough.
Thanks, i will give this some serious thought.
The only thing that puts me off is the thought of more Dung to clean up!!

 

[ivan3]

Two turkey hens will not add appreciably to the poop patch (if you don't feed them grapes for treats!). Our poults were put outside with our well established chicken flock and the chooks still control the backyard two years later (they like to charge the toms). The turkey hens are great flyers, but really slack off, unless frightened/startled, after a few years.

As has been mentioned: Don't let those girls go broody, they become hissing, biting, `dragonesses'.

Oops: they only get loud when they are looking for a place to lay (run off to nest) they `whoot' in the most forlorn way picking about here and there in search of the perfect nest. They are also great at ID'ing airborne predators before the chooks do.

 

[bantymum]

Thanks again, I actually have 3 grapevines out the back so its not looking good, however i never say never.
I just love chookwatching, sitting on the back porch and watching my little beasties at work and play.
I love the look of turkeys, i love their feathers and headress they are weird looking but thats the appeal.
I dont DO Normal!!!as you may have guessed.

 

[Betsy]

Female turkeys aren't very noisy. Given the choice they'll get most of their food free-range. And yeah, clipping their wings would be a good idea. They love to fly up onto high places!

 

[MandyH]

We have 21 grown blue slate turkeys that stay in the pasture, well they are SUPPOSED to be in the pasture. Most mornings I wake up to them on the front porch eating kitten chow out of the cats bowl. My fault for not reclipping their wings though. I have had chickens for 7 years, and turkeys for one year. I would trade 100 chickens for 10 Turkeys anyday. I LOVE them, mine are really personable though and I can pick them up and they follow me around everywhere, and they start making all their turkey sounds if someone is coming up the driveway they don't know. They are just really cool birds. Their poo is extra large AND they will show the chickens who is boss. I had a turkey peck a grown chicken in the head and smack she was dead. They are great at weed and insect control though.

 

[bantymum]

Quote:
Well, My dear precious little silkies would not enjoy being pecked on their wee little heads especially if I havent trimmed their pompoms, they wouldnt see the giants coming for them.