Thinking about adding turkeys to my flock

[smpezzi]

Quote:
Thanks

 

[vickiemontana]

I heard turkeys can be great for eating yard bugs. We have an infestation of hoppers right now in Southwestern Montana. If I get babies now, will they be big enough to be in the outside hen house by winter? Glad to know I'm not the only one trying these things for the first time.

 

[Struttn1]

I am not familiar with the winter weather in your area but I am assuming you get cold long before we do in southern Illinois. You would be pushing it getting babies now if it gets cold there in early fall. It might work if you have an enclosed barn or shed to house them in where you can provide heat.

 

[Omniskies]

Give it a try - don't let the weather stop you. The worst that can happen is having pet turkeys in the house. How bad is that?

 

[Frosty]

vickiemontana - we had a Royal Palm/Bourbon Red hen hatch out a clutch in late July or early August a few years ago, then got a blizzard on Oct 15th with lots of snow. Mom and one of the babies disappeared for a few days but showed up again. All babies and mom made it through just fine. I still let them run loose until an owl started picking off some wild turkeys while they were roosting in the trees, then I caught mine and locked them up. If you get poults now, wean them from the lights as fast as you can, and give them plenty of room (I have found that doing that makes them grow faster and feather out faster), you should have plenty of time before the cold hits. And yes, they do love grasshoppers! Depending on where you are in Montana, I think there are a few members of Rare Heritage Turkey in your state. I can check if you want me to and see if I can get some locations for you. I'm waving 'Hi' from North Dakota...

 

[freshegg]

HOW BAD IS IT TO HAVE TURKEYS IN THE HOUSE? i had them for 2 weeks in the house the first week was ok I cleaned daily, The 2nd week I cleaned 3-5 times a day and the stench is enough to kill you. Now they are outside and pretty cool fun to watch.

 

[Mycookoonest]

OK I just won a red pencilled palm egg auction... SO 28 days incubation... YIKES how the heck am I going to handle 28 days I thought 21 was bad for chickens...

How much brooder time do they need then? My Chicks now stay in for about 4 weeks (or until they have a decent amount of feathers).

 

[MissPrissy]

Turkey poults are much more fragile than chicks. My turkeys were 7 weeks old before I put them out in a barn coop. They need to be taught what to do. They are not dumb just fragile until about 10 weeks or so. Then they are pretty much hardy. I have 18 bronze turkeys and so far they are doing great and I haven't lost any of them. I feel like I have been extremely successful from hatch to the barn coop so far.

 

[warcard]

oohh, pretty.

Like Miss Prissy said, I would keep them off dirt as long as you can. Once they hit dirt you need to watch them like a hawk until at least 10wks. Be prepared with anti-biotics and wormer (I like Eprinex, see this site: http://shilala.homestead.com/ivomec.html , it really helped us)


Good luck with your hatch.

 

[DawnSuiter]

does anyone have pics of thier turkey coops/pens?
How much space does a turkey need? do they run like crazy chickens? are they more sedintary? do they roost by preference? do they use nest boxes?