Is It true that Turkey Chicks are Hard to Raise?

[hensplease]

if you want turkeys get them i like them more than our goats chickens and ducks

 

[thetajmahalcoop]

we were scared to get them as we heard the same things they were hard to raise, that we'd lose a few etc etc etc. well so far we've eaten two "20 lb'ers" and we have two more that need to get butchered before they get so fat they cant walk! hey not bad for buying four...we came out at 100% survival rate I guess! course we heard the same things about guineas too and didnt lose any!

 

[kenman]

We have had a much better return on our BBW's than Bourbon Red's. We raised 6 out of 6 BBW's and they were delicious! The Red's...well, we raised 4 adults out of 12. Four died within 6 weeks of hatch. One lay down and died at 15 weeks while a couple days later another got her head stuck in the fence (2X4 inch welded wire?) and died. The other two were killed by an owl, so much for free ranging, and I live in town.

 

[chocolate m'scovy]

The biggest problem with our poults was that they kept trying to eat their straw bedding! They would start swallowing these LONG pieces of straw, and I would have to pull the straw out of their throats! Maybe because they were heritage turkeys, and they wanted to forage? I solved this problem by digging them a piece of sod, complete with grass, lambs-quarters, dandelions, etc, and putting that in their box.

 

[PrinceSandwich]

I don't think there really that much harder to raise they have the same conditions in the brooder (I've raised them together) but they can get sinus infections alot more easliy, so you need to have tylan handy. But then again I've ever only raised 2 turkeys and I lost one to a sinus infection

 

[chickenannie]

The very very important thing is that they need much higher protein than chickens. Make sure they get 24-28% protein feed right from the beginning. We buy gamebird or turkey starter. That will have the higher protein. Also, the ones I raised on a dirt floor did very poorly. When I added a layer of hay they were fine. I believe they were eating dirt instead of food? So don't put them on a dirt floor!