Questions Molting in cold weather

[Noellereagan]

is anyone else having problems with their turkeys still molting with cold weather? I live in Wisconsin and we woke up to a blanket of snow today and I’m a little concerned. My birds are, by no means in a full molt but they do still have some bald spots. See photo.
They sleep indoors but not in a heated building. The building, while very secure, seems drafty to me. There are no windows or doors left open at night.
They’re in runs some of the day outdoors. Sometime free range if I’m outside.
They obviously sleep on a roost
They’re 23 weeks and are BBB.
They’re on a 15% grower/ finisher but I just mixed it 50/50 with a 19% game bird food.
They get fresh produce daily.
They are pets.
They separated into three rafters as follows:
2 toms
2 toms
1 Tom and 2 hens
Today, they don’t even want out. They’re fluffing up a bit more that normal and shaking while they do that- something like they would if they’d display. They seem a bit chilled but that could be my imagination because I’m cold.
It’s in the 20s here today.


Should I put a heat lamp in the coop? Or two? Maybe 3- one for each group of birds? I have 250 watt bulbs on hand. Would this make it harder for them to acclimate to the cold when they went out- if they had heat amps in their coop? Would their feathers take longer to grow in?
The coop is about 35’ long x 12’ wide (their indoor coop that I’m thinking of putting lamps in.

The Tom on the right, you can see bald spots. They all have this somewhere on their body. The largest bald spot be the size of an average palm on a human without fingers. There are feathers that surround these spots that cover them at least in part.
Thanks for any guidance!

 

[R2elk]

is anyone else having problems with their turkeys still molting with cold weather? I live in Wisconsin and we woke up to a blanket of snow today and I’m a little concerned. My birds are, by no means in a full molt but they do still have some bald spots. See photo.
They sleep indoors but not in a heated building. The building, while very secure, seems drafty to me. There are no windows or doors left open at night.
They’re in runs some of the day outdoors. Sometime free range if I’m outside.
They obviously sleep on a roost
They’re 23 weeks and are BBB.
They’re on a 15% grower/ finisher but I just mixed it 50/50 with a 19% game bird food.
They get fresh produce daily.
They are pets.
They separated into three rafters as follows:
2 toms
2 toms
1 Tom and 2 hens
Today, they don’t even want out. They’re fluffing up a bit more that normal and shaking while they do that- something like they would if they’d display. They seem a bit chilled but that could be my imagination because I’m cold.
It’s in the 20s here today.


Should I put a heat lamp in the coop? Or two? Maybe 3- one for each group of birds? I have 250 watt bulbs on hand. Would this make it harder for them to acclimate to the cold when they went out- if they had heat amps in their coop? Would their feathers take longer to grow in?
The coop is about 35’ long x 12’ wide (their indoor coop that I’m thinking of putting lamps in.
View attachment 1585595 The Tom on the right, you can see bald spots. They all have this somewhere on their body. The largest bald spot be the size of an average palm on a human without fingers. There are feathers that surround these spots that cover them at least in part.
Thanks for any guidance!

Turkeys are tougher than you might think. Your coop should be well ventilated.

It isn't just their feathers but also their layer of subcutaneous fat that keeps them warm in cold weather.

Giving them supplemental heat is actually harmful as it prevents them from properly acclimating to the cold temperatures.

Twenty degrees is not cold to a turkey. It was 8°F here this morning. With the sun shining the turkeys were seeking the shady places to get out of the sunshine.

I have chickens that have not finished molting and one 10 year old turkey that is still molting. They don't all necessarily molt at the same time.

 

[Noellereagan]

Turkeys are tougher than you might think. Your coop should be well ventilated.

It isn't just their feathers but also their layer of subcutaneous fat that keeps them warm in cold weather.

Giving them supplemental heat is actually harmful as it prevents them from properly acclimating to the cold temperatures.

Twenty degrees is not cold to a turkey. It was 8°F here this morning. With the sun shining the turkeys were seeking the shady places to get out of the sunshine.

I have chickens that have not finished molting and one 10 year old turkey that is still molting. They don't all necessarily molt at the same time.

Thank you. That’s exactly what I thought but now that you confirmed I feel good about it.
On another note, I wanted to say thank you for all the help you provide in this site. You really put a lot of effort into helping people and I know I speak for so many when I say thank YOU!