Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[SilkieSensation]

 

 
before I do any moving around, is anyone interested in a breeding age pair of eastern wild turkey (cheap, make offer ). my plan was to breed them into a nice little flock and then turn them loose.....this coyote problem has me thinking twice...

sorry- I dont think it tagged you last time, we may be interested if you are not too far

mount joy, lancaster county
be aware, these are eastern wild turkeys. nowhere near as pretty or as meaty as you are used to with the Bourbon Reds..
they are a hatch from last june and just starting to breed, have not found any eggs yet, just witnessing the ritual

You don't have to have permits for Eastern Wilds in PA? We have to get a propagation permit from our local game warden to have them in OH or I would be interested in them.

 

[dheltzel]

mount joy, lancaster county
be aware, these are eastern wild turkeys. nowhere near as pretty or as meaty as you are used to with the Bourbon Reds..
they are a hatch from last june and just starting to breed, have not found any eggs yet, just witnessing the ritual

Are they tame? My experience with wild-type gamebirds (ringnecks, bobwhites and mourning doves) is that even captive bred, that get panicked whenever people are around. Our existing turkey are very tame and they will come right up to you, looking for treats. If they were tame enough to tolerate people walking by them all the time, I would consider putting them into an aviary we have close to the house.

I wonder what a Midget White crossed to an Eastern Wild would produce?

 

[Chicadoodle]

mount joy, lancaster county
be aware, these are eastern wild turkeys. nowhere near as pretty or as meaty as you are used to with the Bourbon Reds..
they are a hatch from last june and just starting to breed, have not found any eggs yet, just witnessing the ritual

we are familiar with them, and currently have a pair living in our yard- could you email me?

 

[18angovem]

Are they tame? My experience with wild-type gamebirds (ringnecks, bobwhites and mourning doves) is that even captive bred, that get panicked whenever people are around. Our existing turkey are very tame and they will come right up to you, looking for treats. If they were tame enough to tolerate people walking by them all the time, I would consider putting them into an aviary we have close to the house.

I wonder what a Midget White crossed to an Eastern Wild would produce?

Totally agree with gamebirds still being flighty!

 

[emorems0]

Question about chick food... I've read that Cornish cross should be fed higher protein starter to avoid growth problems (I've seen turkey starter ~25% protein recommended). I'm going to have my meat birds in a brooder with the 4 turkeys I got from Chicadoodle for the next few weeks, so it would be really convenient if I could feed them the same thing. My question is about the Delaware and Dark Cornish that will also be in the same brooder... will it be really bad for them to eat the same food? Do I need to somehow feed them regular chick starter (I'd have to figure out how to divide the brooder to keep them separate from the meaties and turkeys).

 

[fisherlady]

I am not used to the workings of a small flock but for me I have roosters that will run away from certain other birds, no fight they just run on sight....I have 1 hen that scares the crap out of all my roosters.that is funny to watch, I have seen her pin them down..

I agree. Once a rooster has been bested they tend to avoid the one who beat them. They give ground to them immediately and will often squawk and jump away if surprised by the winning bird at a later time.

 

[fisherlady]

Question about chick food... I've read that Cornish cross should be fed higher protein starter to avoid growth problems (I've seen turkey starter ~25% protein recommended). I'm going to have my meat birds in a brooder with the 4 turkeys I got from Chicadoodle for the next few weeks, so it would be really convenient if I could feed them the same thing. My question is about the Delaware and Dark Cornish that will also be in the same brooder... will it be really bad for them to eat the same food? Do I need to somehow feed them regular chick starter (I'd have to figure out how to divide the brooder to keep them separate from the meaties and turkeys).

I am not familiar with the growth rate of the turkey, but I am with the CornishX, I think what you will find is the CornishX will outpace the Delaware and DCs by 2 to 1 after the first few days. Within a week or so you can easily make a restricted feeder (creep feeder) for the Delawares and DCs which the Cornish X (and maybe the turkey) won't be able to fit into to eat. Creep feeders are simply made by using fencing which the wanted chicks can fit through to eat from but the unwanted birds can not fit through. A piece of scrap fencing with the right size spacing can work well for this.

For our meat birds (cornish X) we use a 22% meat bird/turkey feed. We are giving the same to the 2 other barnyard mix chicks who are in with them for now. I don't think it would hurt the regular chicks to start out their first week or so on the meat bird feed, after the size difference makes it possible you can make a creep feeder for them to give them regular chick starter if you prefer.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Hello.  I am new to the group and live outside of Claysville.  Admin sent me to this thread from Introductions.  I am hoping to meet other people in the area who raise bantam breeds, mainly silky.  I had several types of chickens, mostly rare breeds, silkies, guinea fowl, button quail, and some muskovy ducks back on my farm in VA years ago.  Now I am looking to get back into bantams on my new farm. 
Thank you in advance!
Lori

Welcome!

 

[wingstone]

Quote: i do not like to feed anything else with cornishx...I just find them to be essy and slop in water more...just an overall bad environment for other breeds

but then I feed wet food most of the year

 

[stake]

I agree. Once a rooster has been bested they tend to avoid the one who beat them. They give ground to them immediately and will often squawk and jump away if surprised by the winning bird at a later time.

Ha, thats my junior roo... he's never had the nerve to challenge the big guy and the only time the big guy really cares is if he's messing with the girls or if there's food involved...