Talk to me about Turkey housing

[Jocasta]

We don't have a HUGE amount of space, and money is pretty tight. I've got about 100m of chicken wire coming (well, I'm doubling up for height so it'll actually only be 50m). I'm worried about turkeys flying off so want it completely enclosed with the wire.

Now I've gotten that out of the way, what sort of housing do they need within the enclosure? We have foxes around here so ideally I'd like to make an enclosed hut that can be shut up entirely at night, but the set ups I've seen online depict something looking like a bus shelter, i.e. open fronted. Is there a reason that I can't make the hut entirely enclosed?

I'm not planning on starting the build project until the turkeys have hatched as I don't know how big I'll need to make it yet, but any tips and ideas shared (and photos would be awesome) would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:
for new poults figure a windproof rain proof enclosure with an attached enclosed run. The poults have to be kept warm and dry for the first month or two then they are pretty easy to keep. I have 3 hens and 2 toms that on rare occasions in the winter get locked up atnight in a 5x7' container to keep them warm and dry. it is tight but have had no problems with it. it is attached to a fully enclosed run about 8x24' long. I used horse fencing on the sides and a shade cloth from Lowe's with PVC hoops to support. I need to go thru and use chicken wire on the bottom foot or so of my run to keep the poults from sticking their heads thru but otherwise has been working great.

 

[Jocasta]

Cool, thank you! That's the same sort of set up I was planning so thanks for the reassurance. I'm thinking I'll probably have six birds and although the run won't be quite as long, it'll be a good few feet wider so I'm thinking it should work