Inheriting 3 female turkeys and completely clueless

[write2caroline]

My elderly neighbor convinced my husband to take on her geese and turkeys because she must leave them behind as she is moving to a assisted aid home and cannot take them with her, Being a big hearted guy - of course he says and we have chickens so how much harder can it be,,,,,

So I am posting similar question on Goose page.

I took a look at the turkeys. They are very sweet but they don't look too good but I have no idea Are the heads suppose to be bald.

They seem to be missing a lot of feathers which could be stress. I don't even know what they eat. I have 5 acres of which most is woods. Can they free range? Do they roost. What does their pen need cuz what she has them in in kind of horrible and not looking very good. I will post a photo of the turkeys

Caroline

 

[write2caroline]

I need Remedial Turkey rearing 101:

Is there a bag feed I can offer them? What kind of bedding do they prefer in the pen.
Do they roost?
Any turkey things I need to learn.

I have read a lot so far on the forum but I really need the basics.

HELP?

I am not going to eat them because my husband promised our neighbor we will not eat them.

Do turkeys lay only in one time of the year?

What do turkeys do?






















Caroline

 

[chknoodles]

My elderly neighbor convinced my husband to take on her geese and turkeys because she must leave them behind as she is moving to a assisted aid home and cannot take them with her, Being a big hearted guy - of course he says and we have chickens so how much harder can it be,,,,,

So I am posting similar question on Goose page.

I took a look at the turkeys. They are very sweet but they don't look too good but I have no idea Are the heads suppose to be bald.

They seem to be missing a lot of feathers which could be stress. I don't even know what they eat. I have 5 acres of which most is woods. Can they free range? Do they roost. What does their pen need cuz what she has them in in kind of horrible and not looking very good. I will post a photo of the turkeys

Caroline

Heads are bald on turkeys although during the colder weather they might grow some feathers back on their heads for warmth. Yes they can free range, but you will need to supplement with gamebird feed from your local feed store or Tractor Supply. Fed properly the missing feathers should grow back in no time. If you do not put them in an enclosed run, they will naturally try to roost in trees...usually...if they have been stuck in a small pen for a long time, they might not try to roost in the trees right away.

We have our turkeys in a covered run (covered with chicken wire, but other people use bird net). I have read that each turkey requires a minimum of a 5 foot x 5 foot space in a run..ours is much larger than that. Inside the run we have a 3 sided box built with plywood and some wood 2x2 roosts..which they don't use anymore. Now they get on top of their hutches instead..LOL. I will send you a PM to where you can view our pictures.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[write2caroline]

Thanks. I will check out the site in the PM -
you are Awesome!!!!

So far we are letting them out to free range each day. I will supplement their feeding with some game feed.

They are really in rough shape and their home pen is in horrible condition. I hate to even put them in it but we are building them a shed and it is not complete.

I think they all have bumble foot.

I am determined to get them healthy again.

Caroline

 

[chknoodles]

Thanks. I will check out the site in the PM -
you are Awesome!!!!

So far we are letting them out to free range each day. I will supplement their feeding with some game feed.

They are really in rough shape and their home pen is in horrible condition. I hate to even put them in it but we are building them a shed and it is not complete.

I think they all have bumble foot.

I am determined to get them healthy again.

Caroline

We had a Tom with a limp that got worse over several days. So, husband would pick him up and I would wash the foot the Tom was favoring with some antibacterial soap we had left from a hospital visit, then I took a pint mason jar and filled it 1/2 way with peroxide and we stuck the Toms foot in it..let it soak for about a minute - looking for bubbles...then we dried his foot and slathered it with Wayzine (not sure how to spell it - we borrowed the bottle from some friends and returned it when we were done). Took 3 treatments - one a day for 3 days....and he quit limping and all was well. Good luck with that.

 

[write2caroline]

I posted photos of the girls.
Caroline