Is it a good idea to keep turkeys around fruit trees or growing pumpkin?

[PetMomKathy]

Yes, yes and yes.
Also they will get as close to the house as they can, including the roof.
They also will attack their reflection in windows and cars.

So true and so funny! My six "knock" on the back door when I go in and leave them out! (Only one has ever been in the house - for some tlc while young, and never for more than 5 minutes - but they see the dogs and cat come and go with me, and can't for all their dear little lives, figure out why THEY aren't allowed in!

 

[PetMomKathy]

My turkeys prefer roosting 30ft in mulberry and 50ft in black walnut trees. Everything was fine for a couple years, until the GH owls showed up.
I lose a few hens to owls and nest raiders every year. Lost 5 poults to something one night. Might have been weasels, mink, raccoons or opossum. I think a hawk got 3 poults. Coyotes got a Tom and 3 hens on nests.
The owls have even killed a 4 year old tom last Dec. And this spring several hens and a poult that I didn't get to before they were put of reach of my 10ft pole.

A question from a newbie: were any of the turkeys that you lost cooped at night?
Mine currently free range during the day (4 months old) and are cooped at night. I have never seen any owls, nor heard them. I have 2 large dogs who are out all day and several times after dark, though they sleep in the house. We do have a small flock of wild turkeys who used to come on my property, but now stick to the perimeter since the dogs are here. I see them across the street, and hear them in the woods.
I am quite worried after reading your post.
The dogs are very protective of the flock.

 

[Molpet]

A question from a newbie: were any of the turkeys that you lost cooped at night?
Mine currently free range during the day (4 months old) and are cooped at night. I have never seen any owls, nor heard them. I have 2 large dogs who are out all day and several times after dark, though they sleep in the house. We do have a small flock of wild turkeys who used to come on my property, but now stick to the perimeter since the dogs are here. I see them across the street, and hear them in the woods.
I am quite worried after reading your post.
The dogs are very protective of the flock.

Cooped is best and my coop is predator proof.... just getting them to go in is the problem.
Coyotes have jumped the fence since my good dog isn't around anymore. They have gotten a couple chickens during the day and turkey hens on hidden nests outside of the coop. Hawks have gotten poults with the hen flying after the hawk.

 

[PetMomKathy]

LOL, re: getting them to go in...SO FAR mine are quite cooperative (bearing in mind that they are 4 months old and completely human imprinted)...I let them out after I feed the horses in the morning, and put them in after I feed the horses at night. They are often waiting for me at the door of the coop (which is shut so my mare won't attempt to help herself to their feed) while I clean up the feed outside feed area (empty the feed tray so as not to attract rodents, though "my" 6+foot rat snake does a pretty good job at that). They know they get scattered handsful of mealworms when they go into the coop, so they actually push their way in. The coop is completely secure to six inches below the side and front walls.
I have not been through a breeding season yet, but am in the process of adding nesting boxes to what will very soon become the hen coop. When I got the poults via mail, they were completely inside until 5 weeks old, then outside supervised for about an hour a day until they were almost 3 months old. I don't quite know what to expect when and if laying starts, other than the fact that the remaining tom will be living by himself.

 

[PetMomKathy]

PS Thank you for your answer. We do have coyotes, but for now, the dogs seem to keep most critters away from the property. They are 5 years old (siblings) and weigh 75 - 80 pounds each, so I hope they continue in that capacity for a while. A beauty to behold when they run together.

 

[R2elk]

I don't quite know what to expect when and if laying starts, other than the fact that the remaining tom will be living by himself.

It's fine to have the tom and hens together as long as he can't get into the nests.

 

[PetMomKathy]

Thank you for the clarification...so the daytime routine can remain the same?
I still have three toms and three hens, but two of the toms will be gone the week after Thanksgiving-trading for another hen. Right now, they get along well, sticking together and watching out for one another. I know that will all change when they fully mature, and I don't want a blood bath, so two of the boys will go, though I am sad to see it.

 

[PetMomKathy]

Actually, a thought occurred: can the tom be in the coop at night if the openings to the nest boxes are too small for him? The boxes will be outside the coop, on an interior wall of my shed with cutouts to enter from the coop. I had intended to build a small coop nearby for him for nighttime caging because I thought I read that toms shouldn't be near poults - if I am fortunate enough to have one broody hen. This is all very new to me and there is conflicting information out there. I am relying on the long-time breeders to help me navigate this new experience.
Thank you for all your help!

 

[Molpet]

LOL, re: getting them to go in...SO FAR mine are quite cooperative (bearing in mind that they are 4 months old and completely human imprinted)...I let them out after I feed the horses in the morning, and put them in after I feed the horses at night. They are often waiting for me at the door of the coop (which is shut so my mare won't attempt to help herself to their feed) while I clean up the feed outside feed area (empty the feed tray so as not to attract rodents, though "my" 6+foot rat snake does a pretty good job at that). They know they get scattered handsful of mealworms when they go into the coop, so they actually push their way in. The coop is completely secure to six inches below the side and front walls.
I have not been through a breeding season yet, but am in the process of adding nesting boxes to what will very soon become the hen coop. When I got the poults via mail, they were completely inside until 5 weeks old, then outside supervised for about an hour a day until they were almost 3 months old. I don't quite know what to expect when and if laying starts, other than the fact that the remaining tom will be living by himself.

I have some hens that use a nest box, some use a dog house and some use a piece of plywood leaning against the wall in the coop. The toms can't try to mate hens while they are sitting on the nest.
Sone toms are great with poults and help keep them warm.

 

[Molpet]

Oh All my hens have gone broody.