Turkenstein25's Turkey Talk for 2015

[Ironsights]

You don't have to worry about predators at night? Or raptors during the day? I have to cover everything and use heavy fencing like your chain link.

 

[Finnie]

Well, the reason I even got the turkeys was because a hawk killed one of my chickens, and I read that having a larger animal mingling with them can be a hawk deterrent. I'm also planning to cover that 6' chain link fence with bird netting. But it seems like right now the hawks have enough of their normal prey and haven't been coming around. They were more of a problem in the winter.

As for night predators, I think the coyotes are wary of coming this close to the house. And now that we are getting a lot of subdivisions built up in this area, I have not been seeing any raccoons. The raccoons usually teach me not to be lazy and leave the cats' food out overnight. But for the past couple of summers, I have been able to get away with it. So we'll see how it goes. Eventually I will finish the turkey sleeping roost I am building to put inside the pen once it's covered and they can't sleep on the edge of it anymore.

You don't have to worry about predators at night? Or raptors during the day? I have to cover everything and use heavy fencing like your chain link.

 

[Ironsights]

Well, the reason I even got the turkeys was because a hawk killed one of my chickens, and I read that having a larger animal mingling with them can be a hawk deterrent. I'm also planning to cover that 6' chain link fence with bird netting. But it seems like right now the hawks have enough of their normal prey and haven't been coming around. They were more of a problem in the winter.

As for night predators, I think the coyotes are wary of coming this close to the house. And now that we are getting a lot of subdivisions built up in this area, I have not been seeing any raccoons. The raccoons usually teach me not to be lazy and leave the cats' food out overnight. But for the past couple of summers, I have been able to get away with it. So we'll see how it goes. Eventually I will finish the turkey sleeping roost I am building to put inside the pen once it's covered and they can't sleep on the edge of it anymore.

If I had put up chainlink to start I would have been better off. I had two Narragansett hens get out a gate this evening and my grandson chased them and they hid. Hopefully they'll be waiting on chow in the morning.
If you keep the coons well fed on cat food maybe they'll leave the birds alone!

 

[Finnie]

If I had put up chainlink to start I would have been better off. I had two Narragansett hens get out a gate this evening and my grandson chased them and they hid. Hopefully they'll be waiting on chow in the morning.
If you keep the coons well fed on cat food maybe they'll leave the birds alone!

Ha Ha! Either that or bring all their friends to the party!

I hope your Nari girls are home this morning.

 

[Ironsights]

Ha Ha! Either that or bring all their friends to the party!

I hope your Nari girls are home this morning.

Yes they were standing outside the gate this morning. I've lost a lot of turkey's the last couple of years. I've got some red bourbons poults coming up to rebuild my flock along with a couple BBBs.
I'm rebuilding chickens too mutts for eating and cinnamon queens for eggs.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Wrong thread lol

 

[TurnipTruck]

I've got a 1 year old jersey giant hen that is broody. I'm going to slide some turkey eggs under her tonight. Anyone have an idea about how many of my narraganset eggs she could safely brood.

This will be her second hatch this summer. She hatched some chicks this spring layed for a couple months and now she wants more babies... This time she's getting poults.

 

[Book Em Danno25]

Im not sure if that'll work... but its worth that try. I havent done that before so i dont know how it turns out.

 

[R2elk]

Im not sure if that'll work... but its worth that try. I havent done that before so i dont know how it turns out.

It will work fine. I have even had bantams hatch a turkey egg. I routinely give turkey and guinea eggs to broody chickens to hatch. They do fine. The hardest part is determining how many eggs the chicken can cover well.

 

[teria]

I am having so much fun with my two Bourbon Reds. I have a tom and a hen, both 8 weeks old or so. They are so curious and play with absolutely everything. Their favorite thing is a huge inflatable whale that my kids use in the backyard pool. If it ends up on the ground, both turkeys insist on either sitting on it, or curling up next to it. If they see it in the pool they sqwak and chirp at it as if to call it by name.

They play Marco Polo all over the yard looking for the flock of little hens, about 10 weeks old, that they think are their siblings. They freak out until they find them.

At night they have learned to go into their little turkey house, and just need a little coaxing that it's bedtime. I use a child's garden rake that has a yellow rake head on it. It makes my arm seem so much longer, and they have learned that when I start walking behind them with that outstretched they need to get back to their run.

Hank (the Tom) is starting to gobble, but only by accident. He is usually trying to find Chris (the hen), and the gobble sort of slips out and surprises him.

Everything they find is a toy, and I have watched them taking turns picking up a stick, waving it around like a bow staff, and throwing it.