New to Turkeys

[new2chickens2011]

Hello all,

I raise laying chickens, and am relatively new to that too, but wanted to raise just a few turkeys for holiday dinners. (Not this year, obviously). So I have a few questions, which may be kind of dumb, but if anyone wants to bear with my ignorance, it would be appreciated!!

1. I live in the city--are turkeys loud?
2. What do they need as far as housing?
3. Do they need to be with other turkeys, or are one or two fine on their own?
4. Since they're so big, will small dogs (i.e. terriers) or cats even bug them?
5. Are they , with relativity to chickens, hard to raise and care for?
6. What are the best breeds in your opinions that are friendly and good for meat?
7. I doubt that I will do the actual butchering/processing myself......for any of you who are like me ( I have zero experience with that), where do you take them?

Thank you all so much! I'm sure I'll be back with more questions

Again, sorry that I know NOTHING!

 

[SkyWarrior]

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1. Not really, unless you have a gobbler. Males tend to gobble, but I find it amusing and not that loud.
2. Someplace to say out of the weather. That's about it.
3. I don't think so. Others may disagree.
4. Dogs, yes. Cats, no.
5. Harder, IMO. Chicks are dumb as rocks and fragile. They need to be shown how to drink and eat and forget how to. They often need chickens to show them.
6. Most meat birds are the broad-breasted bronze or white. All heritage birds are good. Some folks love the palms.
7. I do it myself.

Hope that helps!

 

[new2chickens2011]

Thank you!! Helps alot! One thing, when you say some place out of the weather, I'm assuming you built them a coop? And then you let them free range?

 

[flocksalot]

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[SkyWarrior]

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My BBW stays inside the barn, but he's Thanksgiving. When I get my 15 turkey chicks early summer, I'll raise them in the barn and then free range them when they're old enough. A full sided coop isn't necessary for them -- some place to get out of the wind and rain, plus a place to roost. We have wild turkeys out here and they survive the Montana weather pretty well.

Chicks, as I said, are fragile and dumb as rocks. They need a lot of care. After that, you can plan on less to worry about than your chickens.

If they get a little out of hand (15 turkeys -- you think?

) I'll probably come up with a coop-like arrangement.

 

[Evelle]

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[lynn1961]

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Talking about cats, I was watching our tom cat when he was in the bird yard the other day. The tom and 2 hens surrounded him, the fluffed out their feathers and bullied him, so now he makes a wide birth of them, he looks out the back door to see where they are before he will go out of the back door, was so funny to watch. The turkys did not do anything to him, just bully him.

 

[lynn1961]

Turkeys will roost where they want, not where you want unless you pen them up. Ours have a coop, asnd a shed to get in, yet they roost on an old table or on top of the big feeder cover, spent a lot of time on the coop and shed, maybe when it gets colder in our area they will move to a warmer, drier area.