Human/turkey socialization

[micah wotring]

Oh, and

You might want to do an intro thread here.

By the time I found out about them I was already at like 100 posts so I didn't do one.

 

[wdoyle196]

Hi MW

I had taken vacation time the week the poults came home from the hatchery. Pen construction was at a halt due to a late snow then rains. We kept the poults inside the house out of necessity. I didn't pick them up too often but at least once a day at first. After the first week they weren't picked up as much. I handled them once or twice a week depending on how busy I was. No one else in the house picks them up, but they started getting treats daily at that point. So now when you come over they want to know what treats you have for them. I like to hand feed them but they started to pinch my hand too much trying to get the food so now I just put it down for them. While they eat I pet them (again I only get to handle them once or twice a week). I pick them up and cuddle them. Talk to the and put them back down. They get nervous when I pick them up but i reassure them and they calm down.

To be honest though, I think the turkeys are just naturally calmer and more social then the chickens.

 

[wdoyle196]

Thanks! I was going to be an intro yesterday but got side tracked.

 

[micah wotring]

Hi MW

I had taken vacation time the week the poults came home from the hatchery. Pen construction was at a halt due to a late snow then rains. We kept the poults inside the house out of necessity. I didn't pick them up too often but at least once a day at first. After the first week they weren't picked up as much. I handled them once or twice a week depending on how busy I was. No one else in the house picks them up, but they started getting treats daily at that point. So now when you come over they want to know what treats you have for them. I like to hand feed them but they started to pinch my hand too much trying to get the food so now I just put it down for them. While they eat I pet them (again I only get to handle them once or twice a week). I pick them up and cuddle them. Talk to the and put them back down. They get nervous when I pick them up but i reassure them and they calm down.

To be honest though, I think the turkeys are just naturally calmer and more social then the chickens.

Hopefully they'll be sweat calm turkeys when they grow up (And until then for that matter).

Thanks wdoyle196

MW

 

[micah wotring]

What treats do you give them?

Anyone?

 

[wdoyle196]

They love meal worms. I also give them grapes and cherry tomatoes. Lettuce, cucumber, and pepper seeds. I spoil them while I make dinner. Lol

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally don't pet my turkeys, and only pick them up to move them in or out, mine stop running from me when I stop picking them up, then I can get them to follow me. I personally keep mine penned up and then let them out to range daily, I don't need obnoxious turkeys running amok.

Around 7 weeks they should be able to handle 70 degrees full time. You certainly can put them outside on warmer days for shorter times, especially if they are in a warm draft free area. I always wait until June and July to hatch and raise my poults because the temperature isn't such a problem and mine are outside by 2-3 weeks.

Mine like anything red for treats, strawberries, raspberry, watermelon and tomatoes are their favorites. They also like cucumber slices and black oil sunflower seeds.

 

[Starkmojo]

My late Tom was overly people socialized. He always wanted to be with people even trying to come in the house on more than one occasion. He also didn't try to breed with my hen until I got a rooster ( the first time he did do was in front of the chicken coop door after he had chased the rooster in there!).

I was kinda hoping that he would start to natulize after that, and he did. By repeatedly trying to kill the rooster! While I was making him his own pen he got out and had the rooster by the neck... When I tried to get him off the rooster I broke his neck and he went off to oven camp.

Moral of this story: don't over socialize. And watch out for your free range roosters once breeding season starts.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I raised some poults with chickens twice. The first time they were two toms and they killed a rooster at sexual maturity, and we butchered those two. The second time I couldn't keep them away from the chickens, those were hens.

My turkeys get cheeky and harass the chickens sometimes. I never recommend raising them together, and my turkeys get locked up for the safety of the other poultry.

Turkeys bond tightly with whatever species they grow up with and often don't know they are turkeys if raised with others. So I would always raise turkeys only with turkeys, and never a single bird.

 

[wdoyle196]

Ouch! I already have 3 roosters. Two 1 year olds and one that's 2 years old. We sadly plan to cull two roosters. One because he's annoying as heck (lakenvelder) and the other because he's too heavy a breed for my hens (Delaware). We are keeping our 2 yr old for breeding (speckled Sussex). We also want to keep one Tom for breeding purposes. The other Tom is scheduled for thanksgiving dinner. My chickens free range every night when we get home from work. Looks like we may have to alternate the birds during turkey breeding season. :/