Turkey Raising in the Philippines

[PhilPalm]

Hi guys, so I am living out in the Philippines, with a fairly small space to create my own good life.. One of my neighbours raises turkeys, and he offered me a breeding pair. SO I have netted off a section of the garden, perhaps 15 feet squared, included within is a covered structure, previously used for chickens I believe. The area has banana trees and a nice covering of gabi and sweet potato tops. I have had them for two weeks now. I think they are Royal Palm, and I have had 4 eggs from the female so far.

I am asking for any advice, as the language barrier here does quite often lead things to get lost in translation. I think my friend who sold me the turkeys recommended me to collect the eggs as she lays them, to keep them warm at night and also to protect them from the heavy footed male, who has broken a few eggs in the past. Is this a good idea, as my gut instinct would be that removing the eggs may cause the female some stress, plus how will they ever hatch if they are kept in a box in my bedroom!! My friend says I will know when the female is ready to hatch, as she will make a nest and stop walking around and sit looking broody. Any advice on this would be highly appreciated.

I am also a little concerned about food. The guy who I brought them off said to feed them grower for pigs, as there is no specialist foods available for turkeys on the market here. I have also tried them with other things, such as chopped up carrots, cucumber, banana etc. They do seem to like the pig pellets, but the veggies dont get touched. They are kind of free range, they are in a natural environment, not kept indoors, and they do seem to feed themselves, it is not often I have to refill the bowl of pig pellets I leave out for them.

A quick question about mixing chickens and turkeys. Is this advisable.. I have plans to buy 4 or 5 layers, native chickens, just for the eggs. It makes sense space wise to keep them in the same area as the turkeys. WOuld this be an advisable thing to do?

Lastly, can anyone offer me thoughts on rain? We do have downpours, at the moment they are not too bad, but during the wet season it does come down pretty heavy. They have 2 covered areas to retreat to, but they seem to not like either of them. I have observed them in the rain, they prefer to shelter under the rambatan tree rather than use the 2 manmade shelters. DO turkeys suffer from too much exposure to rain?

Thank you for reading my admittedly lengthy message, and to anyone who can offer advice, I offer my deepest gratitude.

 

[R2elk]

I am asking for any advice, as the language barrier here does quite often lead things to get lost in translation. I think my friend who sold me the turkeys recommended me to collect the eggs as she lays them, to keep them warm at night and also to protect them from the heavy footed male, who has broken a few eggs in the past. Is this a good idea, as my gut instinct would be that removing the eggs may cause the female some stress, plus how will they ever hatch if they are kept in a box in my bedroom!! My friend says I will know when the female is ready to hatch, as she will make a nest and stop walking around and sit looking broody. Any advice on this would be highly appreciated.

Yes, collect the eggs daily but put at least one fake egg in her nest to keep her using the same nest. Most turkeys do not like their nests being messed with and have been known to abandon a nest in order to find a more hidden nest. If the tom is allowed access to the hen when she is broody, he will take her laying down as an invitation to breed and when the hen resists the breeding attempts, eggs can get broken as well as the hen can be injured.

You can find various hatching egg storage techniques in @Sally Sunshine Hatching Eggs 101.

I also do not recommend having a pair of turkeys. I try to keep at least 4 or 5 hens for one tom.

I am also a little concerned about food. The guy who I brought them off said to feed them grower for pigs, as there is no specialist foods available for turkeys on the market here. I have also tried them with other things, such as chopped up carrots, cucumber, banana etc. They do seem to like the pig pellets, but the veggies don't get touched. They are kind of free range, they are in a natural environment, not kept indoors, and they do seem to feed themselves, it is not often I have to refill the bowl of pig pellets I leave out for them.

Adult turkeys will do fine on a good quality chicken feed with free choice oyster shell available for the hens. It is the poults that will benefit from a higher protein and higher concentrations of niacin and methionine than is found in chicken starter. A helpful addition for the poults is hard boiled eggs that have been peeled and chopped up.

You may want to check out Getting the flock out of here by @ozexpat . He has a place in the Philippines and the thread touches on all sorts of things including his process of making his own feeds. He no longer contributes to the thread but does still maintain a Facebook page about his farm in the Philippines.

A quick question about mixing chickens and turkeys. Is this advisable.. I have plans to buy 4 or 5 layers, native chickens, just for the eggs. It makes sense space wise to keep them in the same area as the turkeys. Would this be an advisable thing to do?

Her in the U.S. there is a concern about keeping chickens and turkeys together because of the disease Blackhead which chickens can survive and transmit to turkeys. Turkeys can be very susceptible to Blackhead. Sorry, I have no idea whether Blackhead exists in the Philippines. I do remember that @ozexpat did have turkeys there at one time.

Other than disease, there can be issues between turkeys and chickens getting along with each other, Some people here have minimal issues while others have had turkeys kill chickens. A critical item in having them getting along together is to make sure they have lots of room. Keeping them together in cramped quarters can definitely lead to problems.

Lastly, can anyone offer me thoughts on rain? We do have downpours, at the moment they are not too bad, but during the wet season it does come down pretty heavy. They have 2 covered areas to retreat to, but they seem to not like either of them. I have observed them in the rain, they prefer to shelter under the rambatan tree rather than use the 2 manmade shelters. DO turkeys suffer from too much exposure to rain?

In a place where large amounts of rain are possible, the turkeys need to have an area where they can get out of the mud. They can get quite bedraggled looking from long exposure to rain but as long as they have somewhere to get out of the weather whether it is a man made shelter or natural growth such as your tree they should be fine. These same sites can offer the shade that is critical during the times of bright sunshine.

Good luck.

 

[rjohns39]

Most hog feeds are very close to layer, without the calcium.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

@R2elk seems to have covered pretty much everything for you. Congratulations on becoming a turkey parent! I'd like to invite you to join us over in the turkey talk thread, that way any time you have a new question, you can post there for a quick response. Plus, we just love to talk turkey https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...talk-2000-2100.966414/page-1935#post-19527013

 

[PhilPalm]

Guys, thanks for the great responses and yes, @R2elk does seem to have covered most angles.

Just a couple of points. The talk of putting fake eggs in the nest.. I have scoured our towns market and toy shops, alas no fake eggs could be found. Would a couple of real chicken eggs work to keep the lady laying in her nest?
I will check out the links provided, my main queries are how to store the eggs and how to know when to put them back for the female to hatch them

I have the option to buy a second female, I was waiting to see if these two could produce me with live poults. I am now thinking buying the second lady early may be a better option.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Guys, thanks for the great responses and yes, @R2elk does seem to have covered most angles.

Just a couple of points. The talk of putting fake eggs in the nest.. I have scoured our towns market and toy shops, alas no fake eggs could be found. Would a couple of real chicken eggs work to keep the lady laying in her nest?
I will check out the links provided, my main queries are how to store the eggs and how to know when to put them back for the female to hatch them

I have the option to buy a second female, I was waiting to see if these two could produce me with live poults. I am now thinking buying the second lady early may be a better option.

Thanks again for the advice.

If you can't find fake eggs anywhere, even plastic easter eggs, filled with something and glued shut would work. I know a lot of people use golf balls for chickens. They would probably work for turkeys too. I wouldn't hold eggs indoors for longer than 2 weeks though. Once they get to that point, I'd just eat them since hatch-ability decreases after that point. Also, not every hen will brood. You may want to leave more than one fake egg or golf ball in the nest to try to encourage her by making her think her nest is filling up but there's no guarantee that she'll sit. Of my 8 turkey hens, only 2 have been inclined to go broody. Another thing to consider is that if she does decide to brood, you'll have to watch yourself. Some broody turkeys can be extremely aggressive and protective of their nests. It depends on the hen of course. My girls are very mellow but I've heard some stories...

I think it would be a great idea to add another hen!

 

[R2elk]

Just a couple of points. The talk of putting fake eggs in the nest.. I have scoured our towns market and toy shops, alas no fake eggs could be found. Would a couple of real chicken eggs work to keep the lady laying in her nest?

I raise guineas and no one sells a fake guinea egg just like no one sells a fake turkey egg. I got some no bake Sculpey clay and hand made fake guinea shaped eggs and cooked them in my oven. Afterwards I did coat them with the finish they sell and they have worked well for years. You do need to make them hollow.

For the turkey eggs, I purchased fake goose eggs from Ceramic Eggs. Fake chicken eggs are readily available online from various merchants including Amazon. You could also hard shape a fake egg from a piece of wood which is how I made my first fake chicken egg.

If you plan on using real chicken eggs, I would recommend hard boiling them first so that they won't break as easily. If they do break them, they also won't make as much of a mess if they are hard boiled.

Good luck.

 

[MrsMistyReal]

Welcome aboard to BYC family gr8 people tons of information loads of fun enjoy shake your tail feathers, gobble up all the info you need