New to Narragansett and Bourbon turkey questions????

[lindsay297]

I am new to turkeys and am getting 2 Narragansett and 2 Bourbon turkeys for butchering purposes. They are about 3 months old and am wondering about shelter, feed, special needs (compared to my layers), time till butchering, information on wintering (if nessasary), recommended butchering time for this breed, also minimum space requirements for run and coop. I live in Ontario and our winters here can be cold and we get an average of 3-4' of snow. We have lots of wild turkeys around so I know they can winter here.

I would like to know what I need to do differently for them then I would for my chickens. In general differences would be great to know.

Also what sort of feed is best for these breeds. They will not grow as fast as some of the other breeds.....wondering what is best to do with this breed for that purpose.

What is the optimum time for butchering these breed?? Months?? Years?? I have heard around 1-2 years is the best but, wondering if sooner is as good.

If I have to winter these birds what do they need for heat and feed? Is there any difference in nutrient values between summer and winter??

What are the minimum space requirements for a run and coop for these breeds?? I am unable to free range my birds due to predators both from the sky and land.

Thanks in advance for any help, insights and suggestions that you turkey people can pass on!!

 

[lindsay297]

Any suggestions.....any at all????

 

[EeyoreD]

I can't answer a lot of your questions and I don't have a lot of experience. But I have a Nar breeding trio that hatched out 6 surviving poults this spring. I got them about 2 months before that - so early spring.

My Narrs do not live in a coop or anything. I have coons, hawks and owls around. I can't speak for the young ones but my adults fare pretty well against these. One poult got stolen and another injured... once. Occasionally I found some tail feathers around so there were some battles, but those turkey hens, while fine with me, can be downright aggressive and mean. Full disclosure, i also have 7 geese around - but the feathers from the battle were all turkey, not goose.

I live in MI and the woman I bought them from has wintered them outside for 2 years before I got them.

I can't say that yours will survive since they're younger, but I do wonder if your free range options during the day are broader than you realize (I also free ranged 8 week old chickens - brooder raised - out in my hawk area. Course they have woods to use for cover and there are a ton of red-winged blackbirds and kingbirds that often run the hawks off. I've lost none free-ranging during the day. And I can't believe 8 week old chicks are any smaller or smarter than 3 month old poults)