INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[daskhan]

'possum is just an abbreviated way of saying the proper name opossum.  Same animal.

Baby turkeys are called 'Poults'.  

As far as pens for turkeys go, they will definitely wander farther than chickens.  Mine always return to the barn, but most prefer to roost on top of the pens instead of in them.  Only the big toms that cant fly actually go in the pens.  One thing to keep in mind, that although they are larger than chickens, they are not predator proof.  Coyotes, foxes, owls, eagles, dogs, etc... will kill them just like they do chickens.  And young turkeys are even more vulnerable since they will still wander, but aren't as large.

Reason I ask is there is a flock of about 30 turkey's that roam the nearby woods and I haven't had a single preditor issue haven't seen a one or seen tracts I've seen the bussurd from time to time but really no other big birds I personally believe the stream and farmers are deterrents or natural barriers lol I just think they would be ok in the fields around here I'm just not entirely sure if nothing really messes with my chickens or their chicks after the poults reach full grown chicken size I think they will be fine I'm just not sure Owell guess I'll wait till spring seems the turkey swap is dead till spring
Also I'm still trying to find a larger property that might be a bit more important atm

 

[chick rookie]

so i have a few maybe odd questions down south i lived in a big city but we had alot of the same criters but for instance i never heard it called an opossum only possum.. is there a difference and question two is if i was to hatch or buy turkey "chicks" ( are they still chicks as turkeys?) after they get to a "good size" do i still need to "pen" them up or can they roam around the yard and nearby woods? do they come home? also i cant post any update photos of the brooders anymore my phone finally decided it was retiring screen stopped working ugh...and that was were all my photos and posting came from right now im at the local library.

Reason I ask is there is a flock of about 30 turkey's that roam the nearby woods and I haven't had a single preditor issue haven't seen a one or seen tracts I've seen the bussurd from time to time but really no other big birds I personally believe the stream and farmers are deterrents or natural barriers lol I just think they would be ok in the fields around here I'm just not entirely sure if nothing really messes with my chickens or their chicks after the poults reach full grown chicken size I think they will be fine I'm just not sure Owell guess I'll wait till spring seems the turkey swap is dead till spring
Also I'm still trying to find a larger property that might be a bit more important atm

How long have you been where you are? It depends on the area I think cause it took 2 years for the predators to really find me, I thought I was safe due to all the neighbors around me, NOT!!!!! and now that the predators know we are here.... We don't really have ground predator issues only because of the dogs I believe, but still have the occasional passer through. Hawks and Falcons are my biggest problem now.


I just got a call from a friend. They have to move for personal reasons and are going to sell all their critters but she wants me to have their favorites, this includes 4 Polish, 1 MFD pair, and a turkey pair with a chick that the turkey hen adopted. ( the chick is an EE ) lol odd ...

She said she feeds the turkey's chicken food. Is that ok to continue to feed them. I don't know anything about them. Guess its time to hit the books again. AND I SAID NO MORE TILL WE GET A NEW PLACE.........................................Stupid chicken math!!!!! But they come with pens and the turkey's come with a run too. How loud is this turkey going to be? Are my neighbors going to kill me?

 

[Indyshent]

I don't know if I have any poisonous plants here or not, maybe I need too look into that as I have had a number of unexplained deaths here all year.

O my that is a bad molt, poor girl.

Congratulations on you new family member, I have 7 furry family members, 4 of which are rescues. Thank you for going to the shelter instead of a breeder or a pet store, I wish more people would.
Love Pepe Le Pew, he was 1 of my favorite cartoon characters.


Now I have a concern I need advice about, I know allot of you have barn cats, house cats what ever cats, I'm not a real big fan of cats. I think they are pretty and all but when I was a kid I couldn't have 1 due to Allergies. So we have a cat that turned up some time ago, and DH likes her/him, he says she wont hurt nothing. Well I haven't found that to be false, but in the last week I have been finding eggs Eaten eggs, here there and yonder. Would a cat do that? And if so should I feed it to get it to stop, or just get rid of it? DH will be so upset.

Sounds like a opossum or raccoon. I've never heard of a cat doing that

 

[daskhan]

How long have you been where you are? It depends on the area I think cause it took 2 years for the predators to really find me, I thought I was safe due to all the neighbors around me, NOT!!!!! and now that the  predators know we are here.... We don't really have ground predator issues only because of the dogs I believe, but still have the occasional passer through. Hawks and Falcons are my biggest problem now. 


I just got a call from a friend. They have to move for personal reasons and are going to sell all their critters but she wants me to have their favorites, this includes 4 Polish, 1 MFD pair, and a turkey pair with a chick that the turkey hen adopted. ( the chick is an EE ) lol odd ...

 She said she feeds the turkey's chicken food. Is that ok to continue to feed them. I don't know anything about them. Guess its time to hit the books again. AND I SAID NO MORE TILL WE GET A NEW PLACE.........................................Stupid chicken math!!!!!  But they come with pens and the turkey's come with a run too. How loud is this turkey going to be? Are my neighbors going to kill me?

Where are they moving from and what's the size of the property? Can I move there lol I personally believe chickens are louder then turkey's I never hear the turkeys around here I always hear the roosters and I've been here a year I've had birds fly over but none brave enough to venture near my nets and I think our dogs deter any ground preds
Ironically the guy who lived here before me had chickens so I'm sure it's a stablished chickens are around but who knows what magic has been protected my birds

 

[Indyshent]

How long have you been where you are? It depends on the area I think cause it took 2 years for the predators to really find me, I thought I was safe due to all the neighbors around me, NOT!!!!! and now that the predators know we are here.... We don't really have ground predator issues only because of the dogs I believe, but still have the occasional passer through. Hawks and Falcons are my biggest problem now.


I just got a call from a friend. They have to move for personal reasons and are going to sell all their critters but she wants me to have their favorites, this includes 4 Polish, 1 MFD pair, and a turkey pair with a chick that the turkey hen adopted. ( the chick is an EE ) lol odd ...

She said she feeds the turkey's chicken food. Is that ok to continue to feed them. I don't know anything about them. Guess its time to hit the books again. AND I SAID NO MORE TILL WE GET A NEW PLACE.........................................Stupid chicken math!!!!! But they come with pens and the turkey's come with a run too. How loud is this turkey going to be? Are my neighbors going to kill me?

Nobody's tried to kill me (or my turkeys), and I can almost guarantee that my neighbors are closer than yours (I live in downtown Indy). My tom isn't particularly large, but he's also not particularly loud (we've had far louder roosters, and almost all of our roosters have crowed far more often than this guy gobbles). The girls have been really loud periodically through the day (but that'll quiet once the boy starts doing his manly duties). Last year, we had a broad-breasted bronze tom (Bacon lives with @jchny2000 now), and he was much louder (and about four times the size) than the Royal Palm tom we have now.

I do not keep my turkeys, ducks or chickens separated and have had very few instances of inter-species issues. Turkeys, by and large, prefer to sleep outdoors and almost never come indoors (unless it's to invade my house). They're quite cold-hardy birds and waterproof to boot, so it's better to trust them. They'll come inside if they're cold, so long as they know shelter is available for the taking.

Go ahead and feed them chicken food. There's also "All Flock" feed, which is formulated to feed all varieties of fowl. By all means, supplement them with higher protein feed (like dog and cat food, gamefowl feed, and table scraps).

Turkey hens go broody regularly (some more than others, depending on breed) and make great moms. Due to size, they may need another place to lay eggs but will universally get quite creative when it comes to hiding their nests and placing their eggs. I've been baiting my girls to nest in a very large dog crate which is covered with a tarp, lots of twigs, and corn stalks. I littered the inside with long grasses and woodchips, then set a bunch of fake eggs in it. It's very close to my back door, which also helps the girls feel secure laying there. frankly, I get tired of daily Easter egg hunts all through the yard (and turkeys just love to make me go through as many weeds and branches as they possibly can).

 

[daskhan]

Also if anyone is interested or needs to move there's two open houses next to me and I'd prefer chicken lovers instead of chicken haters to move in one is two bedroom one is three both pretty much surrounded by fields

 

[Hholly]

Also if anyone is interested or needs to move there's two open houses next to me and I'd prefer chicken lovers instead of chicken haters to move in one is two bedroom one is three both pretty much surrounded by fields

Sounds nice. Wish I could unload my house and move!

 

[daskhan]

Sounds nice. Wish I could unload my house and move!

Ironically I'm trying to find a place in the country or more in the country with like ten acres or something I need more space.. These are in bridgeton quite most of the year

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Anybody else being hit with the Asian Lady Beetles this week?

 

[tmarsh83]

Anybody else being hit with the Asian Lady Beetles this week?

Overtaken yesterday. And last week I was thinking, "not a bad year for them"

Hate those things...