How much space per turkey?

[Lahti35]

Our future turkeys will not be free ranging... we have close neighbors and we don't want to have birds invading the yard next door.

They'll be living in a 24'x36' pen with a coop on the outside on the fenced in area. So just about 850 square feet of pen. Minimum order for the Bourbon Reds from the hatchery is 15 and we'll most likely pass some on to get us down to 5-10.

Is that enough space for everybody?

 

[WalnutHill]

Yes, that is plenty of room for raising them for meat. If you plan to keep them long term, it's not enough room to avoid having jakes in frequent conflicts once they reach 18+ weeks. But they will have plenty of room to be happy turkeys.

 

[Lahti35]

Yes, that is plenty of room for raising them for meat. If you plan to keep them long term, it's not enough room to avoid having jakes in frequent conflicts once they reach 18+ weeks. But they will have plenty of room to be happy turkeys.

I was thinking of keeping a tom and two hens year round to provide future generations. Sounds like it might be best to give away any jakes and just raise hens to keep the aggression down!

 

[WalnutHill]

If you only keep one tom and two hens, it will be peaceful. If you are raising just for your own family, one trio should be enough for the first year, I would add a hen for the next season. If something happens to your tom, they are readily available every spring!