Soon will have two baby Turkey's

[LoveThemBirds]

Ok.I.will soon have two baby Turkey's,and please know,I am VERY new with Turkey's.

I am looking for pet Turkey's.I would like a somewhat hardt breed,and something that I can care for easily.

What supplies do the turkey chicks require?(water stakes foid stakes?)

Also,what age can they start going in the coop?Whem can they free range?

Are there breeds genetics,genes,egg color etc things I should know about?

How well do they so with chickens,ducks,and dogs?

 

[ivan3]

Are you getting two poults from someone, or are you planning to buy two poults?

There is good info. in the stickies at the top of the turkey subforum, main page.

Varieties to ogle: http://www.porterturkeys.com/

Turkey Manual (pretty definitive & downloadable): http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/resources/internal /turkey-manual

 

[LoveThemBirds]

I will be buying them st a feedstorr

 

[ivan3]

I will be buying them st a feedstorr

If you want pets, ask plenty of questions about the variety(s) they are selling. DO NOT buy Broad Breasted Bronze/Broad Breasted White, those are meant to grow fast and be eaten. They are prone to sudden death from dissected aortas and are infamous for leg/hip problems. Lots of members, thinking all turkeys are the same, buy Broad Breasted turks at retail outlets and then post up questions about turkeys that can no longer walk & other sad tales (BB's are somewhat slower moving than heritage varieties and, in general, more "social/friendly" making for more grief).

 

[JonathanL23]

agree dont buy commercial white/bronze. for the first 2 weeks feed the turkey starter and fresh water . when there 2 months old they can go to the coop , continue to feed turk starter till there about 5 months old. then they can eat scratch. they well be fine with ducks and chickens. you well have to watch your dogs tho.

 

[ChickenMack]

For pet turkeys, go for the heritage breeds; Royal Palm, Narragansett, Blacks, Bronze (not broad breasted), Midget Whites. The broad breasted varieties are meat birds, they will put weight on very quickly and will have all kinds of leg issues. The heritage breeds are pretty hardy and good foragers. For feed , go with a game bird starter, the protein is at 22%, and poults do better with a higher protein than you find in chick starter. I use water bowls for water and put fresh in every day. They can leave the brooder for the coop once they are fully feathered out- no chick fuzz. They can be let out to free range when they get larger and you feel they can return to the coop on their own. Turkeys only have one breed- turkey. But there are different varieties, mentioned above. Basically the only differences are color of body feathers, size, i.e. midgets and Royal Palms tend to be smaller than the bronze and are they meat or heritage. Turkeys will lay a large speckled egg, they do not have different colors for the different varieties. Once your turkeys are grown, you can put them on a flock raiser feed or high protein layer pellet. They will be fine with your other birds and dogs, as long as your dogs are good with them. I keep my turkeys with chickens and guinea fowl and I have dogs that don't bother them.