Raising turkeys in Tractor question.

[R2elk]

How fast are your sweet grass before they reach a decent weight for processing?

I processed one tom at 4 months that dressed 7 1/2 lbs. Three toms that were processed at 5 1/2 months were 12 1/2 lbs. (1) and 13 lbs. (2). Heritage tom turkeys typically dress 18 lbs. to 22 lbs. when they are a year old for me.

 

[JB8907]

This is my friends Narragansett Tom he processed out at 18 pounds at 7 months old.

These are the fertilized eggs I picked up yesterday. There's 19 Narragansett and 5 Royal Palm eggs. Dropped them off at my breeder to incubate them on the way home.

These were the only 2 eggs that have her any concern. Would be nice if they're the only 2 that don't hatch.

Any special tips and /tricks for brooding poults compared to chicks. FYI I brood outside.

 

[JB8907]

Also for the tractor I'm thinking of getting a trampoline with the net around it mount wheels on it wrap the bottom in wire with a door in it and leave the net around the outside. But cut the center out of the mat so they can travel up onto roosts. I'll suspend a heavy duty tarp from the tops of the net poles to help protect from rain. Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?

 

[R2elk]

View attachment 1726041

This is my friends Narragansett Tom he processed out at 18 pounds at 7 months old.

Want special tips and /tricks for brooding poults compared to chicks. FYI I brood outside.

Sorry that is not a Narragansett. It looks more like a Bronze to me but may be a Red Bronze.

Poults should be started on a high protein turkey or gamebird starter (28 to 30% protein) for the first 6 weeks. They should then be given a turkey or gamebird grower (24% protein) for the next 6 weeks. After week 12 they will do well on a 20% protein all flock feed. These feeds in addition to having the appropriate protein levels for their ages also have the higher levels of lysine, methionine and niacin that turkey poults need.

I start my poults at 90°F measured at the bedding level and reduce the temperature by 5°F. each week until they are acclimated to the ambient temperature. My brooder is big enough that the poults can come and go in and out of the heat as they desire. I keep the food and water out of the heated area.

 

[JB8907]

Sorry that is not a Narragansett. It looks more like a Bronze to me but may be a Red Bronze.

Poults should be started on a high protein turkey or gamebird starter (28 to 30% protein) for the first 6 weeks. They should then be given a turkey or gamebird grower (24% protein) for the next 6 weeks. After week 12 they will do well on a 20% protein all flock feed. These feeds in addition to having the appropriate protein levels for their ages also have the higher levels of lysine, methionine and niacin that turkey poults need.

I start my poults at 90°F measured at the bedding level and reduce the temperature by 5°F. each week until they are acclimated to the ambient temperature. My brooder is big enough that the poults can come and go in and out of the heat as they desire. I keep the food and water out of the heated area.

That's what he said it was. He's not where I got mine from. Mine were bought 45 minutes the opposite directio from where he got his. And those birds looked much more like the standard. And I thought the Nags were more white than his .... However I've seen a few that had a lot more black than the one you sent a picture of. The one in your link might be an exquisite example of the standard. Wrong coloring doesn't make it any less of that variety just the wrong colors. Doesn't that just mean that undesirable genes were more dominant? That's what I learned when I had a great dane that I bread.

 

[R2elk]

That's what he said it was. He's not where I got mine from. Mine were bought 45 minutes the opposite direction from where he got his. And those birds looked much more like the standard. And I thought the Nags were more white than his .... However I've seen a few that had a lot more black than the one you sent a picture of. The one in your link might be an exquisite example of the standard. Wrong coloring doesn't make it any less of that variety just the wrong colors. Doesn't that just mean that undesirable genes were more dominant? That's what I learned when I had a great dane that I bred.

No, the link I gave you to is a Narragansett. If it does not look like that, it is not a Narragansett. Turkeys are not dogs and the reason they are just the breed Turkey is because they are so closely related. My neighbor used to raise Narragansetts and they looked like the one in the link. The only difference between a Bronze turkey and a Narragansett turkey is the Narragansett color gene. If your friend has Bronze colored turkeys, they are Bronze turkeys and not Narragansetts. One can take a Narragansett tom and breed it to a Bronze hen. The results will be Narragansett hens and Bronze toms carrying a hidden recessive Narragansett gene. If you do it the other way around, using a Bronze tom and a Narragansett hen, the result will be pure Bronze hens and Bronze toms that are carrying a hidden recessive Narragansett gene.

There are other color variations of Narragansetts such as Golden Narragansett, Black Winged Narragansett and Cross Narragansett.

 

[JB8907]

I sure wish I understood genetics like some of Yall do. I wasnt good at chemistry either. Think there's a connection?

 

[R2elk]

I sure wish I understood genetics like some of Yall do. I wasn't good at chemistry either. Think there's a connection?

Reading Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys and playing with Porter's Turkey Calculator can be helpful. The Phenotypes and Genotypes page can be helpful in finding out what the color genes and the phenotypes are for many varieties of turkeys.

 

[JB8907]

Reading Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys and playing with Porter's Turkey Calculator can be helpful. The Phenotypes and Genotypes page can be helpful in finding out what the color genes and the phenotypes are for many varieties of turkeys.

I'll have to play around with that.

 

[JB8907]

So I've considered an alternative to a tractor and free ranging. How about I put them in a tractor and allow them to range in an electric fence? How tall does it need to be and what size should I use in order to keep them happy? FYI their wings will be clipped to minimize flying.

I might even just build a cover with some roosts that's portable. TIA