raising polts

[walkswithdog]

I have to agree with Steve. A "study" like that doesn't address long term, health, longevity and foraging and survival skills of the birds. Those could be caged animals, housed animals, penned animals. There's no referent. It doesn't address the consequences in flock health, size etc.

That every possible poult survive isn't necessarily the best thing for a breeding program, especially one on pasture. Especially a hobby farm or homestead where health, longevity and long term condition of the animals is more important than simple existence.

If you're producing just poults for butchered resources then long term health doesn't matter. Ability to forage doesn't matter as much.

But I'd rather buy poults from hen raised, pasture raised birds for a breeding program. Where survival of the fittest has already done some of the work for me. There is a benefit to breeding the stronger survivors.

Sure you can take them and increase hatch, push survival rates with careful handling. But in the case of someone wanting breeding birds over turkey dinner there are other considerations. I'd also rather eat from a pool of stronger healthier, animals. In many ways I am what I eat.

While we'd all wish that out of ten poults all ten would survive and be strong healthy birds. That's not nature's odds.

And in a business to sell poults I can see where pushing the number of survivors increases profits, aka PRODUCTION, it is not always a policy that helps the small farmer.

I prefer to buy from land raised, parent raised stock where I can, when I can. It's something each person has to sort out for themselves.

 

[dutchhollow]

That study is wild turkeys, not domestically raised turkey kept relativlely safe in pens with cover.

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

That study is wild turkeys, not domestically raised turkey kept relativlely safe in pens with cover.

Exactly, my point. This is a study of wild turkeys. But if you are to raise poults on pastures and hen raised then it would be the same as wild turkeys in a way. Now if you are raising poults in a cage/pen with cover, then you are not raising then off the land, you are feeding them food as their would be none in a pen, for a long period of time. With pen raised poults, the survivable rate would increase as they would not encounter all the same things they would if they are to be running around sleeping outside or where the hen feels safe.

A "study" like that doesn't address long term, health, longevity and foraging and survival skills of the birds. Those could be caged animals, housed animals, penned animals. There's no referent. It doesn't address the consequences in flock health, size etc.

This is a study of wild turkeys so it is all about the long term, health, longevity and foraging and survival skills of the birds.

If you're producing just poults for butchered resources then long term health doesn't matter. Ability to forage doesn't matter as much.

Very untrue. When raising pastured birds you are breeding all for foraging skills and weight gains from foraging. Long term health is another that is very closely looked at, as with out long term health, where would be your breeding stocks and future lines of turkeys. We keep some turkeys for 2-3 years as breeding toms and hens just to test out long term health of the birds.

Sure you can take them and increase hatch, push survival rates with careful handling. But in the case of someone wanting breeding birds over turkey dinner there are other considerations. I'd also rather eat from a pool of stronger healthier, animals. In many ways I am what I eat.

Only to a certain point, even the big companies with all their drugs and millions of dollars in research can not keep 100% a live.

But in the case of someone wanting breeding birds over turkey dinner there are other considerations.

I really can not see your reasoning of this statement, unless you are talking about factory farming vs homestead farming ??

I prefer to buy from land raised, parent raised stock where I can, when I can.

Then you better make sure that you are not buying cage raised poults, you would want the ones that are raised more like the wild ones. You will have a hard time finding a good source as the numbers just don't work out. Every year we have a couple hens that we let set and raise their own poults. They start off with around 10-12 poults and with in the 4 weeks of their lives they are down to 6-8 poults. and that is with them raising them on the land outside no pens,no interference from man,from nest to hatch so if this was to be the norm how many turkey poults would there really be in the world today ??

And in a business to sell poults I can see where pushing the number of survivors increases profits, aka PRODUCTION

No it called good practices. If you could take a few more precautions and save 5% to 10% of your poults/chicks, but you neglect to as you are trying to say only the fit deserve to live ?? Production is more like one that pushes their hens to the breaking point to hatch out as many eggs as one can in a 4-5 month span or longer, not allowing them to rest or have the option to stop laying, that is production. And cruel if you ask me.

Once again you never state from personal experience you always go back doing a cut and paste from somplace else?

Yes Steve as you will argue with any of my points and say they are all wrong or unheard methods, of so I figure a little bit professional studies/literature might help your urge to always bash us.

You can search out many studies on the net and find the once that suports your point. We speak from personal experience and out methods that work very well.

With the wonderful internet and google it takes a matter of a minute to type into the search bar and find anything you want so it is not hard. We too speak from personal experiences, but you always have to bash and argue that your point is so much more superior then ours and we just find it sad that you can not accept that there is others that do the same thing as you do, but none of the others ever seem to bash ?? And there is a lot of different ways of doing something,not just the way you do it. Have you ever thought that maybe some of your methods are not right/unheard of ??​

 

[DawnSuiter]

Hi Harp

I think the majority of folks on this board maintain their poultry in one way or another, even if its a huge pasture they still run food & water out to them, provide shelter...but not always enforcing the use of it.

very few of us are really raising them "au natural" I would say. Im assuming that even our resident turkey farmers keep a close eye on the flock and provide for them as needed.

This is why I asked the original poster if these were wild types or heritage breeds, an assumption that she is raising her heritage turkeys and not letting them run completely wild.

Do you really let your hens & poults find their own food and shelter, with no intervention from you?

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

Do you really let your hens & poults find their own food and shelter, with no intervention from you?

Yes seems every year we have a few hens that didn't make the cut and they are to be Easter birds and they seem to find a way to live on the other side of the fence. Last year we had caulked one hen up as a loose had not seen her for weeks, and then one day there she was with her new poults. We let all our turkeys run free except during breeding season, so we just let her do her thing. And that is the hen I speak of in the post. On our breeding hens they are all in pens and incubated eggs and poults raised in a brooder.My wifes sister had gotten some poults from us one year and she just lets them run wild and they feed (she said that a 50lb bag lasted her 6+ months with 10 turkeys),breed and lay with no help from her as well, but she does have poor survival rates on her poults,but that is the way she does it and it works for them.​

 

[moduckman]

here's how I like to do it, it does not mean it is the right way or even the best way. As my late father-in-law used to say, It may not be the right way, it might not be the wrong, but it is my way. I never liked for my hens to set and incubate eggs, until I was ready for her to. I would mark one or two of her eggs in the nest and take out the newest laid ones for my incubater. Once I had enough to start my bator, then I would see if she would set. My hatch may not have been better, but it was close. My poults lasted much longer than hers. I could control my poults in the brooder and eventually in a small pen protected from harm until they were juveniles. The hen has a lot going on. Sometimes she would keep her brood together, sometimes one would venture too far off and perish. Me, I like incubating. It also makes the turkeys more friendly when they do grow up. This is just my way.

 

[DuckLady]

Thank you for your.......participation.