Roost at night

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Do you let your turkeys roost at night? Do you have enclosed pens? How high do they have to be to be completely safe?

 

[Blisschick]

Mine free range, so they roost where they want. I have netting over my chicken pens, so they roost on the edges of the pens on the top rails. My guess is that they're about 6 - 6 1/2 ft. high. In the wild they usually roost in trees, so they'll roost as high as they need to feel safe. I've read that if they're penned, you'll want to make them a roost at least 4 ft. off the ground.

 

[ivan3]

The Wild Easterns, here, prefer to be up between thirty and forty feet (they seem to like White Oak better than Hickory - Oak bark being more tractable to the `grip' than Hickory). Raccoons have no problem with the climb, but the turks tend to roost as far out on branches that will just support their wt., as they can. It takes them a while to get settled in and we know they are roosting in the woods out back because of all the dead branches being knocked off as they try to find the least `coon friendly' spot. The coon, having reached the proper ht., then has to decide if it can get out to the turks, or if it will be eating the ground instead if the branch gives way.

If unable to rig up electric fencing or covered run, then they will have to have to be locked down at night. We keep three live traps out and baited at all times. In the 5yrs we've had the turks (6ft. welded wire/no cover/shed door open in the summers), the coons have always gone for the easy meal (traps).

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

I have merriams, rio grandes, osceolas, and royal palms, All are kept in 25 x 50 foot aviaries 12 foot tall, with rooste at 8-9 foot hig in the center of the pen, all outsides are circles by 2 strands of electric fence for the REAL preditors.
We also have about 10 spare toms that free range, like the others said, they go straight for the tree tops every evening. It's best for both safety and disease to alow them to rooste as high as possible. This way disease wise, they arent sleeping in dirt or poop or any thing like that, also, about 40% of you poo will be under the roost which makes clean up a lot easier too

 

[chickenannie]

When mine roosted in the trees (20-40 feet up) they were safe. However, when I clipped their wings, and put them in a fenced pasture with 4.5 foot welded wire fencing, I lost turkeys to fox attacks. They were fine for several months, then the fox 'discovered' them and kept coming back for a couple of weeks before I figured out what the predator was. I had had no idea there were any foxes around here. Duh! now I know and the birds get locked up at night.