Let's talk about them turkeys!

[Zahboo]

Any one good at it? I know the snood is the little thingy over the beak. I DIDN'T know until today that it retracts, along with the dewlap. My bronze jack (isn't that what young toms are?) has wirey black stuff on his chest, maybe 10 inches long? What is that?


YEAHHHH SOOOOO this thread is beyound my old turkeys

any turkey questions/ pictures are welcome! PLEASE no arguing or any of that.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

The "wirey black stuff" is his beard. And if it's 10 inches long you don't have a young tom. As a rule of thumb - except for White Hollands, the beard grows about an inch per year.

Steve in NC

 

[jenjscott]

A "jake" is a tom less than a year old. And a ten inch beard would indicate an older tom.

 

[Zahboo]

Dang. Really??? Then what should I be feeding them? I was told they were 5 months old...

 

[Zahboo]

I will try to find a ruler and measure it. He hasn't let me near them really and I don't want to stress them out. Baby steps. I managed to get a halfway decent pic.

 

[Zahboo]

Measured his beard. It's 8 inches. So I was 2 inches off, sorry

.

Checked him and the hen for mites, no evident mites. Didn't check around the vent because I didn't want to terrify them yet. They are in a 8x8 pen until they are through with quarentine.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

I can see the beard in the 2nd pic, he is probably about 7 ish years old. They will be fine on poultry layer, 16% protien. Ours really like whole corn as a treat, tomatoes, mellons. Do you have any extra cinder blocks? If you raise the feeder and water up some it's easier for them to eat and drink

Steve in NC

 

[Zahboo]

I might have some, if not I can build a stand with extra wood around. I though layer feed had too much calcium or someting?

EDIT they were hanging, but when he got spooked from my he kept bumping into them. Should I just hang them up again?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

layer has to much calcium for growing poults, it's fine for older birds.

Yes I would hang them back up about the height of their backs. If you put them closer to the fence they shouldn't knock into them as much. That and stop scaring them.

Steve

 

[Zahboo]

I don't mean to scare um

I went out to give the girls (the chickens) yogurt and they started talking. Walked to gate to check on them and they bumped them trying to get to far side.


Do you think the hen is the same age?