Thinking of getting some turkeys. Need info on raising them.

[JoshR]

HI. We're planning on getting about 5 turkeys next year as well as 15 chickens (we have 19 chickens and 1 rooster right now). But I need some info on raising then as I have only raised chickens. I'll just list my questions.

1. Can chickens and turkeys share the same coop and yard?
2. How big of a coop is needed to house 30+ chickens and 5 turkeys?
3. How big of a yard is needed for the 30+ chickens and 5 turkeys?
4. Can turkeys eat the same food as chickens and vice versa or do they need their own food?

Those are all the questions I can think of right now. But I'll take what ever info I can get. So feel free to share anything that you think I need to know.

 

[Whittni]

1. Can chickens and turkeys share the same coop and yard?
- Yes but there is a disease called "black head" that you have to worry about. It can kill your turkeys.

2. How big of a coop is needed to house 30+ chickens and 5 turkeys?
- Something like a 30 ft by 15 ft should work.

3. How big of a yard is needed for the 30+ chickens and 5 turkeys?
- The more room you can give them, the better. An acre or more would be great.

4. Can turkeys eat the same food as chickens and vice versa or do they need their own food?
- Nope. Turkeys need a high protein feed special only to them and other game breeds.

 

[JoshR]

Thanks for the info.

1.Yes but there is a disease called "black head" that you have to worry about. It can kill your turkeys.
-What is black head and how do they get it?

2. Something like a 30 ft by 15 ft should work.
-I'll have to measure our coop to see hoe big it is. But I think it's pretty close to what you listed.

3. The more room you can give them, the better. An acre or more would be great.
-That's what I was thinking. Sadly we can't give them that much. The current chicken yard is 6000 sq ft. And I know it's going to need to be bigger then that. We have about 1.5 acres and I'm trying to convince my parents that we need to give them the half acre. But I don't think that's going to work since that's where the pool and garden is. We do have some empty land next to us that were hoping to buy next year. its about 2 acres so if we do get it then that's where the chickens and such will be.

4. Nope. Turkeys need a high protein feed special only to them and other game breeds.
-Okay. Thanks.

 

[Whittni]

Blackhead disease just appears on your turkeys, their heads just turn black and they die. Some chickens are just carries and once they are, they are for life. I used to keep turkeys with my chickens until the tom (male) scalped one of my hens and she took a couple weeks to heal up and then I rehomed them.

Realistically, once you have so much space in a run, you don't really need more space. Just have enough room for all of the birds to walk around and not hit each other and have room for them to escape the other animals, which you will with your big coop. A half acre is a pretty big piece of land but an acre or more would still be ideal. If you even feel like the run is over crowed just re-home a few.

 

[JoshR]

Thanks for the help. Right now the "run" isn't over crowded. But that's with only 19 chickens and a rooster. I know that when we add more chickens and the turkeys it's going to need to be bigger.