Keeping a broad-breasted bronze turkey as a pet

[jmtrestle]

Thanks ColbyNTX!
Good idea on the door!!.... I about did that,...didn't want him to be coon bait though.

 

[Calen]

I know this is probably past your need for help, but I live in Central Georgia, and it gets VERY hot here, as well. I have a Broad Breasted Bronze that is nearly 4. His pen gets shade all the time except in the morning, and I use a tray from a rabbit cage for him to soak his feet in. It is the droppings collection box for a rabbit cage. It is low enough that he can get in and out, and he will stand in there during the hot weather. It also helps with foot problems because they can't clean their feed like chickens do. Now, it does have to be cleaned daily. He has an inside and outside enclosure. I put a fan inside after he turned 2 because he was panting so much. In the winter, I put in a heat lamp for him. I also tried feeding him alfalfa pellets to help with his weight. He did not like them at all so I ended up not giving them to him anymore, but maybe they helped him because he is still alive today. I say today because he stopped walking and is not getting up. It happened 2 days ago. I have not been looking forward to this day because I think he is great.

 

[frank53061]

I put a Kiddy pool out for my Turkeys and Spray them down on really hot days I have Red Bourbons and they do fine.

 

[Calen]

My turkey would never be able to get in a kiddie pool. We thought of that first, but he could not step in. Plus, he is way to big to pick up. I wonder if he would like getting sprayed with the hose? I have never intentionally tried that. Good way to keep everyone cool though.

 

[ivan3]

Calen I say today because he stopped walking and is not getting up. It happened 2 days ago. I have not been looking forward to this day because I think he is great.

In order to buy our first chickens, we had to purchase a dozen. Cass had picked out 10 and told me to choose two more. Under the heat lamps, with all the chicks, in the store, were three poults. Unlike the chicks, the poults seemed to focus their attention on me (I moved left - poult heads swung around to follow my movement - very unlike the chicks). So, we got a `baker's dozen' with the three poults making up the total. We had to put down two of them within the month as they developed spraddle leg almost immediately. The third `turkeybird' seemed to improve with treatment and was perfectly mobile at four months - then he decided to fly off the back deck. This exposed the `unfixable' undercarriage. He had to be put down as well.

What I found most interesting (and sad) was that, though BB's possess approx. 30% less brain volume than heritage turks, our BBB was by far the most easy going and sociable.

That your big guy has had 4 yrs of what has obviously been a high quality life is the rare exception - in a variety bred for quick doom and `dinner'.

 

[jellobutt]

we had started off with 4 turkeys and had no ides that they were BB three whites and a bronze. We lost one white and the bronze when they broke their legs just from their weight. We were getting eggs from the white female untill it got too cold. They are kinda weird tasting. Now the tom ( named thanksgiving) has lost almost all his feathers on his breast. I like him he is the mellowest bird we have. He weighs about 45 lbs and cannot mate with his hen, not for lack of trying just too big. We got two heritage goldens and they were supose to be a hen and tom but we got two toms instead. Will our hen (named Easter) ever accept the heritage toms or is she stuck with the broad breasted tom. Thanksgiving and Easter are now pets only to be eaten if they cant walk anymore. She is over 25 lbs. At 11 months. I would like to get some babies from her if she does not crush her eggs in the spring.

 

[hcurrie7]

I say keep it, love it and enjoy the time you have with her. If you do the best you can to take care of her it will be fine. Who cares what everyone else is doing?

 

[ivan3]

jellobutt

we had started off with 4 turkeys and had no ides that they were BB three whites and a bronze. We lost one white and the bronze when they broke their legs just from their weight. We were getting eggs from the white female untill it got too cold. They are kinda weird tasting. Now the tom ( named thanksgiving) has lost almost all his feathers on his breast. I like him he is the mellowest bird we have. He weighs about 45 lbs and cannot mate with his hen, not for lack of trying just too big. We got two heritage goldens and they were supose to be a hen and tom but we got two toms instead. Will our hen (named Easter) ever accept the heritage toms or is she stuck with the broad breasted tom. Thanksgiving and Easter are now pets only to be eaten if they cant walk anymore. She is over 25 lbs. At 11 months. I would like to get some babies from her if she does not crush her eggs in the spring.

You might want to hunt down a heritage hen as backup/brooder. If the GN over BBW is successful, and results in hatch, please post up shots Couple of suggestions before breeding season gets going strong: Separate out your BB tom/hen from the GN's. Introduce only one GN to BB hen (for breeding purposes - preferably out of sight of other toms - keeps all of them calmer) at a time. Keep GN's separate from BB tom. Heritage toms tolerate fierce sparring. usually without long term ill effects, most of the time - a couple of heritage toms ganging up on `El Gordo' might well finish him off (will try to spar with the GN's and likely go down with an infarct/leg-hip injury). A heritage hen that is laying can have eggs from BB hen slipped into her nest to adopt as hers.

Our closest neighors had a BIG Bourbon tom and a `waddling', BBB hen. Two hatches in two years (15 poults - none `crushed' by hen). She was torn apart, by a raccoon, while brooding, on her nest, during her third summer.

More foraging than feasting on commercial product (use Search function for diet threads) will sometimes extend BB's lives.

 

[Calen]

I used to get a lot of eggs from my first female broad breasted bronze. I think it was about 40, one each day, then she would stop for awhile and start up again later. I had so many eggs at one point. The second female had weak-shelled eggs that broke more than not, and she did not lay daily. My first female would lose the feathers on her chest. I used to see her picking at them, but I was not sure if it was her pulling them out or just attempting to groom herself after the feathers were out. I thought she may have had some kind of deficiency so I supplemented with calcium. Either way, they would grow back. I remember that she was very fond of the wild strawberries that grow here in Georgia. She would chirp and eat them like crazy. Each spring when the strawberries were ripe, I would try one = yuck. I don't know why I kept doing it, maybe because she liked them so well. I saw recipes where people use them, but me well, not so sure about that.

 

[jellobutt]

I will try to seperate the two for breeding we are down one heritage tom he thought it would be a good idea to spar with the bull, and lost, but he tasted great. I will definately post pics of the BB/ heritage mix when I get babies. I hope she takes to the heritage tom she loved the BB golden we had but he broke his leg at 26 lbs