New Chick Mom

[Chicks5006]

I have been reading and reading and reading and still have so many questions. We recently walked in a feed store and bought 2 chicks and 3 poults. I have never raised chickens and certainly not turkeys. I am not sure how old they are the feed store said the poults were 3 weeks old. They are Bourbon Reds. As of right now they are in a cage which is partitioned off to keep them separate from the chicks. One of the poults kept pecking at the chicks so I wanted them separate. they had been kept together for a couple days until something could be built for them. There is wire that separates them and for the most part they are fine, in the evening they do all go to the same corner to sleep but I live in Texas and its been quite hot. The cage is outside and is all wire and totally enclosed but it is inside and open building. The temperature at night is about 77 at the lowest, should I get a lamp for them? Or are they in the corner for safety? They do have roosts but do not sleep on them. I have learned that I need to get high protein for the poults should I put something in the corner where they chose to sleep? The bottom of the cage is wire.
Since they are this close do I still risk the chance of imprinting? I do believe the turkeys are older than the chicks but they are starting to "feather".

Please be kind.. I am totally new to all of this (city mouse turned country mouse)
Thank you!!!

 

[R2elk]

I have been reading and reading and reading and still have so many questions. We recently walked in a feed store and bought 2 chicks and 3 poults. I have never raised chickens and certainly not turkeys. I am not sure how old they are the feed store said the poults were 3 weeks old. They are Bourbon Reds. As of right now they are in a cage which is partitioned off to keep them separate from the chicks. One of the poults kept pecking at the chicks so I wanted them separate. they had been kept together for a couple days until something could be built for them. There is wire that separates them and for the most part they are fine, in the evening they do all go to the same corner to sleep but I live in Texas and its been quite hot. The cage is outside and is all wire and totally enclosed but it is inside and open building. The temperature at night is about 77 at the lowest, should I get a lamp for them? Or are they in the corner for safety? They do have roosts but do not sleep on them. I have learned that I need to get high protein for the poults should I put something in the corner where they chose to sleep? The bottom of the cage is wire.
Since they are this close do I still risk the chance of imprinting? I do believe the turkeys are older than the chicks but they are starting to "feather".

Please be kind.. I am totally new to all of this (city mouse turned country mouse)
Thank you!!!

If the poults are 3 weeks old, they should be fine at 77°F at night. If it makes you feel better, you can put a lamp on them just make sure it isn't getting over 80°F at the bedding level. You don't want the whole brooder heated because they need to be able to go in and out of the heat and cooler temperatures freely.

You could stick a piece of cardboard in there so that they can't see the chicks. They most likely will need a bigger area than a little cage before they start using roosts. While it is natural for turkeys to roost, if they were kept in a small confined area by the feed store, it may take them awhile to change their current behavior.

Good luck

 

[Chicks5006]

If the poults are 3 weeks old, they should be fine at 77°F at night. If it makes you feel better, you can put a lamp on them just make sure it isn't getting over 80°F at the bedding level. You don't want the whole brooder heated because they need to be able to go in and out of the heat and cooler temperatures freely.

You could stick a piece of cardboard in there so that they can't see the chicks. They most likely will need a bigger area than a little cage before they start using roosts. While it is natural for turkeys to roost, if they were kept in a small confined area by the feed store, it may take them awhile to change their current behavior.

Good luck

 

[Chicks5006]

Thank you!!!

If i keep them segregated now will they get along later or will they always need to be separated? Supposedly the chicks are female and I have one male turkey and two females. Although I’m not sure i was told two different things by two different people from the feed store.

After doing some research I’m a little (a lot actually) nervous about the turkeys. Everything i read makes it seem like they’re so difficult to raise.

 

[R2elk]

Thank you!!!

If i keep them segregated now will they get along later or will they always need to be separated? Supposedly the chicks are female and I have one male turkey and two females. Although I’m not sure i was told two different things by two different people from the feed store.

After doing some research I’m a little (a lot actually) nervous about the turkeys. Everything i read makes it seem like they’re so difficult to raise.

Every turkey is its own individual. They all have their own personality. The main thing to keeping turkeys and chickens together (other than blackhead) is lots of room. Turkeys need much more personal space than chickens need.

If your turkeys are 3 weeks old, it is very unlikely that they are able to be sexed yet. I don't know what kind of feed store you got them from but if it is a chain feed store the odds of them having an employee who can tell the sex of a three week old poult are zero.

Relax and enjoy your new turkeys. It is my opinion that they have lots more personality than do chickens.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hey welcome to Backyard Chickens is it chicken wire or hardware cloth
predator can reach through chickens wire to kill them

 

[Skipper7410]

Relax and enjoy your new turkeys. It is my opinion that they have lots more personality than do chickens.

Can confirm

 

[Chicks5006]

If your turkeys are 3 weeks old, it is very unlikely that they are able to be sexed yet. I don't know what kind of feed store you got them from but if it is a chain feed store the odds of them having an employee who can tell the sex of a three week old poult are zero.


No, it wasn't a chain store it was a local feed store, and I'm not even sure if they are 3 weeks old I wonder if they are older. They told me the chicks were a week old and they have way too many feathers to just be well 2 weeks old at this point.

 

[Chicks5006]

Hey welcome to Backyard Chickens is it chicken wire or hardware cloth
predator can reach through chickens wire to kill them

Thank you, the cage we built was a temporary one for just the week so that they could be separated and have a little more room. We are starting the build on the new one this weekend. It's basically in an open garage, it still a good bit of shelter.

 

[R2elk]

No, it wasn't a chain store it was a local feed store, and I'm not even sure if they are 3 weeks old I wonder if they are older. They told me the chicks were a week old and they have way too many feathers to just be well 2 weeks old at this point.

Most people cannot sex turkey poults until they are at least 3 months old. If it is a late developing tom, it may not fully show its male characteristics until 6 months or older.