Kaye's free range turkey thread

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mine will go out pretty farm in my goat pasture which is fenced. If it waste I'm sure they would get out in the woods and potentially follow the wild turkeys. During the summer months there are some posts of people finding domestic turkeys that just wander onto their property.

Mine will also fly up into trees and break branches if allowed, and some people say their turkeys hang outside their doors. Mine aren't allowed everywhere and I somewhat control their movement while out.

 

[BantamTurkey]

Mine pretty much stay close to me. They even roost right outside my bedroom. It's funny bc I only have the one that imprinted, but they all know who gives them their treats. They do tend to include the Saramas in the flock. If you feed them at the same time and place everyday, then they usually always show up for dinner. I feed mine a couple of cups of dog food in the early morning hours (2 cups for 4full grown turkeys, and 1 for my two poults) and then they get their kitchen treats before bed. They've been known to go visit my neighbors' garden, but I am lucky enough to have a 1/2 mile driveway so cars aren't a huge problem for us. I do put my turks up about two weeks before turkey season. All of them, we have (illegal) hen killers around here.
I didn't let my poults out to free range with the others until they were around 3 1/2 - 4 months old. The older ones are better at spotting the birds of prey, but they call to the others and fluff out as big as they can. I guess they try to make themselves look bigger. My older turks are very protective of our flock, this is including the Saramas. They chase off cats, dogs, intrusive birds, pretty much anything they find a threat
As for the flock integration, I feel that you will have a few little spats (maybe not) about dominance, but usually the flocks mix into one with very few problems. The will probably want to check out the flock next door. They are very social animals

 

[GlennLee]

Will a flock of domestic turkeys move together as one unit - or do they tend to scatter and go off by themselves? I'm trying to get a handle on if there will be singletons or "wanderers" or if they will move together as one unit.

Guineas are very social as well and they move together in a tight flock, so I'm sure there will be frequent visitations back and forth. My neighbor's property is wooded and ours is more open fields. In the spring / summer, they disappear in the tall grass and frequent the woods where it is cooler. Do turkeys like tall grass or do they prefer the open?

Thanks for responding to all my questions. I'm trying to learn about the possibilities of integrating our two flocks - to anticipate a few things before they occur and maybe prevent some problems. I appreciate your time and feedback.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mine mostly move as one flock, but it can take a year or so for young ones I've raised and added to the flock to become part of the flock, the young ones will often try to go places like over the fence where the older ones won't follow, but than they get worried if they can't see the flock.

 

[BantamTurkey]

My little ones do wonder away (not paying attention and just drifting off), but they usually do stay close. I'm not really sure if they even notice that they have wondered away until they freak out and cry to the elders. Mine just stay around the house. We have 42 acres with about 20+ of those acres being pretty open. There're wild deer and a few wild turkeys that have been trying to call my flock into the woods, but mine call back about how they have better food. Lol
Once they all find their spot in the 'pecking order' of the flock, it will be a flawlessly tight unit. The difference between the two flocks will be where they roost. If allowed your flocks could try to integrate even further. As mentioned, it could take a lot of time. My hens still try to pick fights with each and every new bird

 

[BantamTurkey]

My turkeys have been breeding. The hens have been fighting like crazy and even have squatted for Jacob. This is insane!! I walked out earlier and Jacob was mounting one of the hens. This crazy weather has them all messed up

 

[BantamTurkey]

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

He's pretty.

 

[GabrielBane]

I have a fondness for blue too!

 

[R2elk]

You may want to check with Porter about the color of your pictured tom. I am very confident that it is not a Blue Slate. The closest that I could find was an Oregon Blue but even that doesn't look like a sure match to me. My guess is that he has chocolate in him but that is only a guess.

He is very pretty.