Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[dheltzel]

There is a lot of info you can read about general turkey care. They main thing I can add to that is that you may not be able to kill them when the time comes. They are much more people friendly than our chickens. I was moving our Midget White trio to their winter home yesterday and walked by 2 guys on the farm that were making comments about eating them. I told them that if I put the hen down, she would follow me to the chopping block of her own free will, so they would never be eaten!

I do hope to hatch poults next spring, and I'm sure some of the ones I sell will end up being eaten, but we can't raise turkeys for food here. Ours all all heritage breeds, besides the aforementioned Midget whites, we will (hopefully) have Royal Palms and Mottled Blacks. In taste tests, the MW's have consistently beaten out every other breed, and they supposedly lay better than most as well. They did lay a lot of eggs well into the fall, long after our other hens had stopped.

 

[chippysmom327]

Glad you got the babe back to mom!


You know what's really frustrating? Waiting for cute little serama eggs. My hen is 33 weeks old and her comb and wattles are still little. I felt the bones near her vent, and only my thumb fits inbetween them. So we got at least another month of waiting. I also have the guineas coming into the POL, but haven't seem them mating or squatting yet. They're 20(?) weeks old I think? Everyone on internet searches said theirs started laying at 16-18 weeks...

Hey Chippy:

Unfortunately, the little guy went missing today....checked and re-checked three times....and, he didn't make it back to the coop this evening...maybe he'll show up tomorrow morning?

That really stinks. I hate that feeling... Hope he shows up soon!

 

[stake]

Did he come back today?
Thanks for the warning... Not much of an issue around here though.
I need eggs for my broody, I feel bad making her wait another 2-3 weeks until I see Wing. But to drive an hour or so seems a bit of a starch to find 3 fertile eggs....Maybe I should check CL.

Anne:

Nope, I suspect he became a snack for a hawk....I've lost a few little ones to hawks...in fact yesterday there was some small rapture eating a sparrow in my front tree....I watched him pluck the down and chow down

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Anne:

Nope, I suspect he became a snack for a hawk....I've lost a few little ones to hawks...in fact yesterday there was some small rapture eating a sparrow in my front tree....I watched him pluck the down and chow down

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss

 

[fisherlady]

Anne:

Nope, I suspect he became a snack for a hawk....I've lost a few little ones to hawks...in fact yesterday there was some small rapture eating a sparrow in my front tree....I watched him pluck the down and chow down

I'm sorry... I hate hearing of anyone losing birds... and I think that losing an animal and not knowing makes it even worse (at least it does for me)

 

[wingstone]

Mother nature has issues today!

 

[barbiegirl]

There is a lot of info you can read about general turkey care. They main thing I can add to that is that you may not be able to kill them when the time comes. They are much more people friendly than our chickens. I was moving our Midget White trio to their winter home yesterday and walked by 2 guys on the farm that were making comments about eating them. I told them that if I put the hen down, she would follow me to the chopping block of her own free will, so they would never be eaten!

I do hope to hatch poults next spring, and I'm sure some of the ones I sell will end up being eaten, but we can't raise turkeys for food here. Ours all all heritage breeds, besides the aforementioned Midget whites, we will (hopefully) have Royal Palms and Mottled Blacks. In taste tests, the MW's have consistently beaten out every other breed, and they supposedly lay better than most as well. They did lay a lot of eggs well into the fall, long after our other hens had stopped.

Dhetzel do you sell the midget whites? If so how much would you sell them for? Hubby said in the past he would like the midget whites.

 

[dheltzel]

Dhetzel do you sell the midget whites? If so how much would you sell them for? Hubby said in the past he would like the midget whites.

The trio we have now is the first time we've had them. I was not able to get any fertile turkey eggs this year, but I have hope for 2015, and then we will be selling most of the poults we hatch. We'll keep a few as pets, of course. I'll let you know if we have any to sell.

 

[barbiegirl]

The trio we have now is the first time we've had them. I was not able to get any fertile turkey eggs this year, but I have hope for 2015, and then we will be selling most of the poults we hatch. We'll keep a few as pets, of course. I'll let you know if we have any to sell.

Ok cool. Thought turkey hatching season was over with for this year, but maybe next year. Hubby changes his mind more than a girl lmao. I miss having the gobble gobble.

 

[chiques chicks]

Ok everyone, I'm thinking turkeys next! What breeds do you recommend (these would be for thanksgiving and Christmas next year) and would anyone have poults or hatching eggs around Jan/feb? Give me some advice on them please. Can I raise them in with the chickens, do they need their own coop, can they free range? I hear they're dumb lol. What special stuff would I need to do for them. Thanks!

Go with heritage breed. I did bourbon reds last year, they were excellent. My hatch was all toms, so eating them wasn't as hard, but they are friendly interesting birds! Very easy to get attached to. Great personalities.

There is a cinco de mayo hatch a long that is based on turkey. That is about the right time to hatch for thanksgiving meat. I ended with 12-13 pound dressed.

Hopefully my local breeder will have some this year so I don't have to hatch. They take 28 days and my shipped eggs didn't do too well.

As far as raising with chickens, there is a disease they can get from chickens, but I know people who do it with no issue. Turkey are big, so you need to up size coops, pop doors, etc. And they like to get out and roust in trees. They fly well, a five foot fence will not contain them. Every morning they would be standing by the back door and I would herd them back to their pen.

Like I said, personable birds. Very easy to become pets.

ETA: they are not dumb. BBW may not be smart, but heritage needs are very intelligent. The first week with poults can be challenging. Most people hatch a few chicks with them to teach them how to eat. In nature they learn from mom, unlike chickens that seem to have a natural pecking instinct.