space for turkey

[shmeggs]

how much space do I need per turkey? I know chickens need 4 square feet per chicken.

 

[red horse ranch]

Turkeys get pretty big! I would figure on 10 to 15 square feet per bird.

 

[shmeggs]

I'm only looking to get 2 or 3 turkeys

 

[red horse ranch]

I have 2 young toms and they seemed crowded in a 5 x7 room that they were in for a while. That's 35 sq ft. They have decided to sleep in the rafters of the barn now. I haven't had turkeys before but it seems like mine don't like to be crowded and confined.

 

[ruralmom]

What I know of turkeys they would prefer free range. Is that not an option? Where in WY do you live and what kind of turkeys do you have? I live in CO but am closer to WY. I have a nice group of 12 birds, three Beltsville white, one Merriam tom and 8 Rio Grandes.

 

[red horse ranch]

I agree that they prefer free range. Now that mine are 7 and 9 months old they are free to do what they want. Which means sleeping in the rafters near the horses and hanging around the henhouse with the chickens thru the day. Both of my toms Are Blue Slate. One was supposed to be female but that just shows that I'm not good at sexing them.

I plan on trying to get some females this year and will probably sell one of the toms.
I live in Buffalo, Wy which is 50 miles from the Montana border.

 

[shmeggs]

I agree that they prefer free range. Now that mine are 7 and 9 months old they are free to do what they want. Which means sleeping in the rafters near the horses and hanging around the henhouse with the chickens thru the day. Both of my toms Are Blue Slate. One was supposed to be female but that just shows that I'm not good at sexing them.

I plan on trying to get some females this year and will probably sell one of the toms.
I live in Buffalo, Wy which is 50 miles from the Montana border.

if I free range them will they stay around close to home

 

[red horse ranch]

My turkeys stay in the area of the house and barns all the time. I think in the spring when the guineas and chickens range out into the pasture that the turkeys will follow them. The guineas will cover our whole 25 acre pasture but the chickens and turkeys won't usually go more than a few hundred feet from the buildings.

 

[ruralmom]

My flock does venture a bit from the home front, but we live in a very rural area with no neighbors. Now that it is winter they rarely leave the front door of the house. Did you know turkeys love grapes? Mine are nuts for them.