My first Turkeys

[TamTurkey]

BBW I know grow faster than most but I was just a bit surprised at the feathering. My cornish rock x don't feather in 5 days lol oh well a friend of mine here says it's normal. We shall see

 

[TamTurkey]

Well I weighed them because we were stretching out their wing bands (they are for show) and the smallest was 5 oz and the largest was 6.4oz I can't believe these little buggers are only a week old. They are so different than chickens. They are so funny. This may be my only competition meat Turkeys I am afraid I am getting attached already!

Which isn't good when they are meat birds!

 

[TamTurkey]

Ok we are at 5 weeks my biggest is 4 lbs 2 oz. I did a mock cull today. Moved the biggest 6 into one pen and the smallest into another. I am feeding them all out just giving them more room to grow and less competition at the feed trough. 7 weeks to show. Pushing the protein pushing the vitamins so legs still strong. No feet problems no nothing.

 

[TamTurkey]

My turkeys are mad at me! I split them 6 and 6 into two 8x6 houses so they had more room. Now they are mad. Making noises climbing the walls to get to the others. They are talking back and forth. I am going to wait a few days and hope they get over it. I figured they would appreciate more room and less competition at the feed. Now I don't know what I should do. I didn't think about the social ramifications. Ugh any suggestions?

 

[TamTurkey]

http://www.showchampions.com/Image/Show/1db0ab55-e825-4d03-add6-6d56e7b65f4c now that's a turkey!

 

[TamTurkey]

 

[TamTurkey]

2 months old and all over 10 lbs. I have no idea if that is good or not... anyone know BBW??

 

[Celie]

This is from the Meyers Hatchery catalog:

With the sweet, tender, succulent meat on these birds, you realize why they are called the "Cadillac" of turkeys. Fast growth, good livability, and great feed conversion are some of the highlights of these birds. White feathers give the birds a neater appearance when dressed. Average mature weight: Toms 45 lbs., Hen 25 lbs.

Use the chart below to estimate when to purchase your turkeys based on the weight you would like them to reach. Keep in mind, you will lose 15-20% of the live weight at the time of processing. Due to conditions beyond our control, we can not guarantee these exact results. It is merely meant to be a guide for your reference.

Live ​

Weight

Cumulative ​

Feed

in ​

pounds

in ​

pounds

Age in Weeks​

Toms​

Hens​

Toms​

Hens
2​

0.88​

0.79​

1.18​

1.06
4​

2.81​

2.37​

4.38​

3.59
6​

6.15​

5.04​

10.30​

8.14
8​

10.57​

8.37​

19.10​

14.62
10​

15.68​

12.07​

30.51​

22.88
12​

21.18​

15.85​

44.29​

32.62
14​

26.84​

19.55​

60.17​

43.67
16​

32.46​

23.00​

77.85​

55.77
18​

37.96​

26.12​

97.39​

68.79
20​

43.27​

28.90​

118.79​

82.73
22​

48.39​

X​

142.22​

X
24​

53.38​

X​

167.83​

X​

Source: Ag Forte

It looks like you are right on course!

 

[TamTurkey]

Thanks celie I can always count on you

 

[TamTurkey]

I may only have one Jake. I had a Bird guru over who told me that just because they are having red heads doesn't mean they are male. Come to find out many of the ones I thought were male had blue on their heads so that makes them hens... Anyone agree with this?