LONE Turkey

[Dinaschickens]

On an impulse while getting some ducklings, my son also picked up 5 turkey chicks of various breeds. Four of the 5 died within the first week. We think the reason was that he wasn't feeding them the right amount of protein. NUMBER 5 is doing very well and really growing. This is week 3 it seems to be growing as expected. OUR problem is that it doesn't seem happy and chirps CONSTANTLY. I would like to it a friend or two as I know that turkeys social and need a friend.. Any suggestions??? Right now I have 3 wire cages bumped up next to each each other.. chicks, ducklings, and turkey. I don't want to order 15 and I AM NOT purchasing from the original store again. (not a good survival rate and no care sheet offered, didn't even suggest turkey food because they were sold out. -- found out after the fact)) Suggestions?

 

[AltonaAcres]

I keep my poults with my chicks. Many people disagree with this because Blackhead parasite can be transmitted to the poult, but I've never had issues. Turkeys are very social animals and will not thrive without a companion, so I think that's your best bet. Poults can give chicks more immunity to several strains of Mareks.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I keep my poults with my chicks. Many people disagree with this because Blackhead parasite can be transmitted to the poult, but I've never had issues. Turkeys are very social animals and will not thrive without a companion, so I think that's your best bet. Poults can give chicks more immunity to several strains of Mareks.

I do the same. My turkeys were raised as chicks, lived with my bantams and recently became guard turkeys to our broody hen. Her choice since she started brooding in their pen, but smart since mice don't survive long with the turkeys

 

[Dinaschickens]

I keep my poults with my chicks. Many people disagree with this because Blackhead parasite can be transmitted to the poult, but I've never had issues. Turkeys are very social animals and will not thrive without a companion, so I think that's your best bet. Poults can give chicks more immunity to several strains of Mareks.

Right now the turkey is only slightly bigger than the chicks. Do I need to worry about the size difference? I do have the wire cages touching so I suppose if disease was supposed to be a concern they are already sharing

 

[R2elk]

On an impulse while getting some ducklings, my son also picked up 5 turkey chicks of various breeds. Four of the 5 died within the first week. We think the reason was that he wasn't feeding them the right amount of protein. NUMBER 5 is doing very well and really growing. This is week 3 it seems to be growing as expected. OUR problem is that it doesn't seem happy and chirps CONSTANTLY. I would like to it a friend or two as I know that turkeys social and need a friend.. Any suggestions??? Right now I have 3 wire cages bumped up next to each each other.. chicks, ducklings, and turkey. I don't want to order 15 and I AM NOT purchasing from the original store again. (not a good survival rate and no care sheet offered, didn't even suggest turkey food because they were sold out. -- found out after the fact)) Suggestions?

Check your local Facebook or craigslist for available poults. If you have a local feed store (not a chain feed store) they will know which of their customers have turkeys.

FYI, baby turkeys are poults and all domestic turkeys are the bred Turkey. There are many possible varieties of turkeys.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Right now the turkey is only slightly bigger than the chicks. Do I need to worry about the size difference? I do have the wire cages touching so I suppose if disease was supposed to be a concern they are already sharing

If there's plenty of food, heat and space, I wouldn't worry about size didference, especially with only one. Again, I had turkeys with bantams and I only moved them when they were about 4x the bantams size, and for reasons other than bullying

 

[AltonaAcres]

Size difference is no issue. Poults are generally calmer than chicks so won't bother them or hurt them. Mine are bigger than my chicks and we've had no issues.

 

[R2elk]

Size difference is no issue. Poults are generally calmer than chicks so won't bother them or hurt them. Mine are bigger than my chicks and we've had no issues.

This is not always the case. Things can change very rapidly.