I need turkey info and advice compared to chickens.

[fowlsessed]

How "smart"/"dumb" do you find them them, compared to chickens? And their personality, compared to chickens?
Also, is there anyway to not have to feed them the very high protein feed? They'll be free-ranging. I'm trying to eventually produce all my own feed, thus the question. And how do they compare to the chickens in general for you?
Thanks,

 

[Celie]

I liked raising chickens, until I got turkeys! Turkeys will imprint on you and follow you around, like your best Bud. They are very personable, smart, curious and downright nosy! They are quick to learn, mine saw me open their feed bag a few times and before I knew it, could open to themselves. LOL but true! The toms will strut and display if you make a gobbling sound and even more if you make the hen turkey sound, which is more like a bark. When the poults are young, they make a tweeting sound, and will mimic the whistle you make or the number of tweets you speak to them. Several times when I was saying something to the chickens and I called them "fuzzy buts", the turkeys hearing this will occasionally call the chickens, fuzzy buts, when they talk to them. Honest!!! Everyone who raises turkeys, get addicted to them. Turkeys will forage as well as chickens, sometimes better and after they are several months old, are hardier than chickens. They fly higher than chickens and spend most of their time outdoors. They do not gang up on a hen the way roosters do. They are more delicate as young poults than baby chicks and susceptible to a sudden chill, so they take longer in the brooder. Do not put them outside until at least 6 weeks old, 8 weeks is even better. You will love raising turkeys!!

 

[fowlsessed]

Oh no, you wrote that in such a charming way. I'm sold. Guess I'll be building some more pens, lol
Thanks for the reply.

 

[gryeyes]

Yah, what Celie said. I have lots of chickens, quite a few ducks, two geese and three turkeys. When the poults were in their brooder in my office, I could sit in the living room and exchange "Whut! Whut!"s with them. I would add another "Whut!" to the string and they'd reply with the same number. Cracked me up.

And when a little 3-week old Tom displayed in the brooder, oh my did my heart melt. His tail feathers were an inch long! But he fluffed and turned and showed me what a BIG boy he was....

Turkeys are insanely curious. So are geese, but wait until you look into a turkey's more nearly-human eyes. You can overlook a Tom's silly looking snood if you've communed with him through eye contact.

Beware: they do so like to fly to the roofs of coops, your house, and any car in the driveway. It's the latter that can be damaging; turkeys on the roof of the house is just a funny sight.

 

[KrisH]

I liked raising chickens, until I got turkeys! Turkeys will imprint on you and follow you around, like your best Bud. They are very personable, smart, curious and downright nosy! They are quick to learn, mine saw me open their feed bag a few times and before I knew it, could open to themselves. LOL but true! The toms will strut and display if you make a gobbling sound and even more if you make the hen turkey sound, which is more like a bark. When the poults are young, they make a tweeting sound, and will mimic the whistle you make or the number of tweets you speak to them. Several times when I was saying something to the chickens and I called them "fuzzy buts", the turkeys hearing this will occasionally call the chickens, fuzzy buts, when they talk to them. Honest!!! Everyone who raises turkeys, get addicted to them. Turkeys will forage as well as chickens, sometimes better and after they are several months old, are hardier than chickens. They fly higher than chickens and spend most of their time outdoors. They do not gang up on a hen the way roosters do. They are more delicate as young poults than baby chicks and susceptible to a sudden chill, so they take longer in the brooder. Do not put them outside until at least 6 weeks old, 8 weeks is even better. You will love raising turkeys!!

Exactly!

When the chicken chicks came, they just were chicks and kind of ignored that we existed ana did not mind being picked up much.

When the Guinea keets arrived, they would all run as far away as possible as soon as you come near them. Good luck catching those fast little buggers.

With the Turkey poults they all crowded as close to the front of the box to be picked up and hugged and kissed. Whistle, and they whistle back. I'm not sure they can even muster up a stink-eye towards anyone. stand near the fence and several hens will fly up to be near you and be petted.

Friendliest birds we have

RobertH

 

[fowlsessed]

Oh boy, it's all over for me, HAHA! What breeds do you guys and gals have?

 

[gryeyes]

I have a hatchery Broad Breasted Bronze hen and another Bronze hen from a breeder that isn't so Broad Breasted, plus a pair of Midget Whites. Had
just a jake (immature Tom) MW but last night some friends brought me a hen for him.

The MW hen isn't as friendly right now because of course I didn't raise her from a poult and she's confused about her place in my flock. It's only Day One though.

 

[kuntrygirl]

If I could, I would trade my 150+ chickens and get 150+ turkeys.

 

[jandlpoultry]

Everything that everyone else has said is so true.They are very curious and social animals. I absolutely love mine, and really enjoy watching them interact with each other, and with me. Mine will follow me around, and come running & flying if I get too far away. I have one hen who will preen my ponytail for me. My crowd of 7 are great watch dogs.They are the first to alert when anything strange comes around, and the boys love to strut for strangers.The only con I have found is it is too easy to get attached to them.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have a hen that will unchain the fence and walk right out. She grabs the chain with her beak and keep shaking it until it unlatches from the nail that I have it hooked on. I have no idea how she figured it out but when I am in the chicken yard and I hear "ching, ching ching", I know it's her trying to unchain the fence. Now if she can just figure out how to put the chain back on the latch when she comes back in the chicken yard. :/