turkey shelter?

[CPT]

Hi all!

We have male/female bronze turkeys and the female is starting to lay some eggs. They have mainly been outside, as it has been warm, and we don't have a shelter for them. The cold weather is starting to roll in to Idaho and we have been thinking about some ideas for night time shelter for them. We we thinking about some large dog igloos, but not sure about those. Any other ideas, or something simple we can build? If you have some schematics, that would be great.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Turkey hens will often choose to lay outside so that's normal.

I don't think turkeys will go into a dog house, too tight.

What's your low temperatures?

Turkeys need a good wind break and a roof over their head. They do often choose to roost outside if given the choice. A 3 sided shed with a roost can work well, situated to block the prevailing winds. I personally would make it a minimum of 6 feet high, to get them off the ground and so they don't hit their heads jumping up.

 

[CPT]

Our lowest temps right now are reported to go down to 39, but average low temps during fall go down to the mid-40s. Just saw that the hen as laid 4 eggs! The tom spends most of his time laying on them. ....I guess a dog house/igloo would be too tight.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some toms are goofy. Is you lows 40's or negative -40? We get wind chills down to -40's but the actual temperature doesn't get much below -20's.

 

[CPT]

Oh no, it's just 40 degrees. NO negatives yet! We live in the Valley, where more warm air gets trapped. We live at 3,0000 ft elevation.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I was wondering about winter lows, that will dictate whether 3 or 4 sides are needed.

Sounds like you might not get too cold. A 3 sided structure with a roost would be adequate if your temperatures don't fall below ten degrees or less.

 

[Turkeyraiser]

View attachment 1163223

The large shelter is an example of what we provide the pastured turkeys. The bottom picture is a portable field nest... 4 nest boxes on each side, accessed by a walkway down the center. The sides drop down for egg gathering or nest cleaning.
Both are built on skids so they can be relocated.