Turkey question

[chicnchic]

I brought a turkey home from a swap on Saturday, and put him in an enclosure with a large old dog house (that had chickens in it this spring). He lays outside all night rather than go into the house - with it's nice dry, warm shavings!!

- and then hollers in the am because he's dumped his water over and is shivering....what am I doing wrong??

(I replaced the water tub with a 5 gallon pail figuring he can't dump THAT over - unless he tries to climb on it!!)
When I checked on him at other times during the day, he was not shivering, but he was this morning...and he's sleeping on the cold wet ground again tonight!

HELP!!

Should I make a roost for him instead of the house?

 

[KungPaoRooster]

Quote:
I use a dog bowl to give water to my Black Heritage turkey. The kind that doesn't flip when they stand on it. My turkey wants to roost at night and will fly up to the highest thing he can find. Maybe his jumping is causing the Water bowl to be dumped. My turkey doesn't seem to mind the cold or rain but will chatter loudly when they are all alone.

 

[chicnchic]

Quote:
I use a dog bowl to give water to my Black Heritage turkey. The kind that doesn't flip when they stand on it. My turkey wants to roost at night and will fly up to the highest thing he can find. Maybe his jumping is causing the Water bowl to be dumped. My turkey doesn't seem to mind the cold or rain but will chatter loudly when they are all alone.

Thanks! I'll try to build a roost for him tomorrow...tonight, after I wrote my "cry for help", I went out and took the lid off the dog house and put him in it, he came right back out and laid on the ground.

I finished closing up the pen again, and then prodded him a little, until he went onto the shavings and immediately shut the light off and waiting until it sounded like he had settled, and looked quick and he HAD!! YAY!

It's 32 degrees out there now

so I feel MUCH better that he is on the shavings and not the cold wet ground!!

 

[medan]

my turkeys have a very nice brand new coop they visit it sometimes cause it has food and water in it but they sleep in the trees about 40 foot high on branches maybe because i didnt feel right about clipping their wings. also turkeys are social birds you will need other turkeys or it will never be happy also dont let any foul roost on the ground in winter they will freeze their feet and die even an old chair will work for a roost they have to be off the ground

 

[chicnchic]

Thanks medan....

I just got this one for Thanksgiving, so I am not prepared to build a permanent place for it to live...that will be next year when I get a pair to begin raising them

I am just trying to keep this one healthy and as happy as a lone turkey can be, for a few weeks....I removed the top half of the dog house and placed him in there, and he finally "got it" and stayed put....so he's now off the ground, laying on clean dry shavings....if he'd be better off roosting I'll make sure to get on built in there tomorrow, but look forward to the time when I can have a 'family' of them in my trees next year!!

I have hear that chickens and turkeys can get very sick if the are housed together....is that true? If it's not, I'll let TD in with my Silkies and rabbits (in hutches suspended over the Silkie's pen) that might make him feel happier but I want to be sure I am not jeopardizing any of their health.....?

 

[thaiturkey]

Maybe he's an outdoor type. What's for certain is that turkeys like to roost at night.

 

[chicnchic]

Thanks everyone!

I'll be building him a roost this afternoon!!

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
About three or four feet above the ground and about two inches diameter is roughly right.

 

[RedRoosterFarm]

LOL, He is a turkey! Thats whats wrong with him.... Mine stands on the dog house all night. Rain, snow or hail. He almost froze there last year. He is so fat that he wont even come off the doghouse to eat in fear he can not get back on top. At times I feed him up there. I also pull him off to get excercise too. We have 8 turkeys and the Tom is the oldest and seems dumb as a brick but he is the sweetest too. They are always donig crazy stuff. Every now and then I will be missing one and I have to look around for upside down buckets or comtainers. Sure enough they are under them.
Quote:

 

[chicnchic]

LOL! Thank you RedRoosterFarm!!

I feel a LOT better LOL!!

I need to make his enclosure taller

to put a roost in there, so it'll have to wait until Thursday, my day off

(I was gone longer than I thought I would be today) But at least he wasn't shivering this am,

just hollering because he couldn't drink his water! The 5 gallon pail was still full, but had a layer if ICE over it!!

TOO early even for NH!!