INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

I appreciate your offer but you are right we live far away. I actually thought about taking the turkeys to a butcher when they get the right weight, but I found a person on Facebook who will trade my three meat turkeys for one Narragessets baby turkey and I will purchase one more. I have only raised chickens and ducks so I am still learning about turkeys. I read that baby turkeys can starve to death so we need to make sure they eat and drink, have you ever had that problem with your turkeys??

Thanks

I've read all kinds of horror stories about turkeys but didn't have any problems. The past couple years I grew out 3 (planning one would die) but never had any deaths. There is a running joke that they try to find new ways to kill themselves, and there were a couple times when one went missing for a while (got stuck in a feeder or fell into a compost bin). It could have led to tragedy but checking on them a few times a day reduces the risk. They like to fly up into trees or sit on top of the coop, so that was mildly annoying. I always locked them in the coop at night.

I raised my turkey poults with chickens. The chicks learn quickly and probably taught the turkeys. Most animals compete for food, so if the chicks were eating, the poults would want to get their fair share. Two groups were raised by broody hens, so I didn't have to worry.

One thing that was both annoying and endearing is how much they bond with you. Even when a broody hen adopted them, the turkeys would cry out frantically until I picked them up. I felt bad and thought they were miserable and panicking all the time. However, one day when I approached from a different direction and they didn't see me, I didn't hear them crying. The frantic crying had been all for my benefit. They were playing me!

 

[man_of_fishers]

Well, good news and bad news, which I think is actually just part of being a chicken farmer—my momma silkie has adopted the chicks, but this morning I found one of the chicks dead. It was in the opposite corner, so it must have happened during the night and the momma must have moved the chick away to the opposite corner. Unfortunately, this was a silkie chick, which I was particularly excited to have. I can't tell what happened to it, so it could have been anything. It didn't appear to be pecked.

But, the silkie adoption worked! And five of six isn't bad in chick survival rate (at least my historical data). I put the silkie in a tub with them at night, removed the heat lamp, and came back an hour or so later to find them all snuggled underneath her. She's still likes to peck at me when I remove her broody poops, but that's just going to be her personality, I suppose. As long as she's not pecking the chicks, I don't much care.

The extended chick run is nearly complete! It's going to be quite large and I have fantasies of wrapping it in plastic during the cold months to make it a greenhouse. We'll see if that actually happens. Regardless, it adds about 400 sqft to their existing run and will allow me to significantly increase my flock numbers. Picture attached:

 

[man_of_fishers]

Two chicks under her, but these three wanted to say hi.
Also, momma wants to peck me while I did this.

 

[Faraday40]

View attachment 2101612
Two chicks under her, but these three wanted to say hi.
Also, momma wants to peck me while I did this.

Awwwww!
That adorable pic was worth a little pecking.

 

[Faraday40]

Got some new orp pics today.

Finally some nice pics of Smudge. Well the background is not so great, but I just love her shiny black feathers.

Some rooster hugs:
Awesome is so relaxed about everything. He got carried out to the tractor for some hen time.

Here's Mr. Potential, about 7 months old. Yes, the roo is really that big. DS is 10 yr old and a little over 5'.

 

[man_of_fishers]

Got some new orp pics today.

Finally some nice pics of Smudge. Well the background is not so great, but I just love her shiny black feathers.

Some rooster hugs:
Awesome is so relaxed about everything. He got carried out to the tractor for some hen time.

Here's Mr. Potential, about 7 months old. Yes, the roo is really that big. DS is 10 yr old and a little over 5'.

He’s huge! He isn’t aggressive?

 

[Faraday40]

Not

He’s huge! He isn’t aggressive?

Not at all. Orps are gentle giants. The laced orp (named Awesome) acts like a puppy and follows us around. He lets the kids do anything to him. The lav orp is also sweet but more awkward to carry in shorter arms.

 

[Pollitos6]

Got some new orp pics today.

Finally some nice pics of Smudge. Well the background is not so great, but I just love her shiny black feathers.

Some rooster hugs:
Awesome is so relaxed about everything. He got carried out to the tractor for some hen time.

Here's Mr. Potential, about 7 months old. Yes, the roo is really that big. DS is 10 yr old and a little over 5'.

wow that roo is very big, is it an lavender orphinton? Your birds are very pretty.

 

[Faraday40]

Yes. I breed lavender orps. I secretly like the blacks better but for some reason everyone wants lavender. The dilution gene can cause the lav feathers to look frayed, so you have to breed black into them. My lav line are huge birds. I started with eggs from a BYC friend @kittydoc. Her orps were 50% English bloodlines & 50% American. Over the past 7 years I've been adding more 100% English orps to improve body shape (and keep the nicer comb and face).

I also breed laced orps. Those are 100% English bloodlines. They look more awkward as chicks but stunning as adults.

 

[chickiebaby1]

So eggsited!!! I had 19 chickies hatch over the last few days. Silkies, turkens and barnyard mix. Can't wait to watch them grow. Hubby also brought home 9 lavender Orpingtons for me last night because he knew I had been wanting them for awhile. Also got a new incubator yesterday and plan on setting some d'uccle eggs that my neighbor traded me ( I gave him silky eggs) I'm also going to set bantam cochin, silky and polish/frizzle. I think I've caught the hatching bug again.