Turkey Talk for 2014

[Attack Chicken]

Got my first turkey egg yesterday! So excited LOL. She hatched June 19th of last year.

Hopefully next time these two meet I'll be getting fertile eggs. He's a little ruffed up from winter so can't wait til he moults!

 

[Arielle]

I am fairly new to turkeys and I have a question for you guys. My Tom seems to have air on his breast area which I am assuming it is his crop. I have dealt with sour crop in chickens and this doesn't feel quite the same. The chickens were fluid filled but this feels like air filled. Any ideas???

Quote: I have not had a moment to look at the above info but I will . . .

On my toms I have wondered about this, if we are talking the same "issues", and when butchered I had a closer look. THe area of the chest behind the beard always seems bloated and when I evaluated the carcass, this characteristic was gone. A big fat layer yes, but not the pocket of air I was expecting . . . the examination didn't reveal an answer and otherwise the area looked healthy and "normal".

 

[Arielle]

"Yes it is normal for turkeys to have an air filled crop, they use the air filled crop to gobble, and make other noises."

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
If you put a very sturdy table in front of his perch he will learn to use it as a step down. Depending on how high his perch is, you may need two tables at two different levels.

You can also put some foam interlocking tiles (like they have on gym floors) on the floor under his bedding (as long as the floor will remain dry). They have some at Costco occasionally, but they always have them at Sears.com (http://www.sears.com/best-step-2-ft-x-2-ft-6/p-00962361000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1). And right now they're on sale for the same price as Costco. I have my turkeys inside an enclosure with a concrete floor, so I put these down to prevent them from injuring their legs when they jump off their roosts. It has really made the coop more comfortable for them, and I don't worry as much that they'll break a leg if they fall off their perch, or when they fight, or during the other normal events of life. It also keeps the pen warmer. If the landing is easier, he might be more willing to learn to jump down on his own, once he feels more confident that he won't hurt himself and has practiced on the steps. When I first cut my hens' wings they went from a beautiful glide off the perch to a thud and tumble landing the first day. But the landing was soft, and they quickly learned to control it. It will be more difficult for the larger tom though (I don't cut my tom's wings -- they stay with the girls, so there's no need. It's the girls that fly over the fence and explore the neighborhood.)

If your tom isn't too huge, you can train him to stand on your hand instead of lift him by his chest. My 20 lb tom gets on my palm when asked, and all my hens do. Actually, so does my 26+ lb boy, but I don't ask him anymore!

His feathers are probably looking bad because of the wear and tear of life. He may have been in a crowded pen at his previous home, or for some other reason may have damaged them. When he molts, many of the old damaged feathers will fall out and new beautiful feathers will grow back in place. If he has missing feathers, as opposed to broken or damaged feathers, then the missing feathers have probably molted out, and new ones should be on the way back in soon. Be sure that he is on a good quality, well balanced diet so that he has all the nutrition needed to grow good quality feathers.

 

[callieisspooky]

So that's why my Tom makes wheezy noises when I pick him up! Thank you for the info

 

[callieisspooky]

I have a breeding question. I have one hen and one Tom. I really want babies. Tom is just sexually mature. She sits, but he has only tried to mount her once that I've seen, for about 3 seconds. I stopped collecting her eggs the day I saw him mount. Now, two days later, she has gone broody.

Will she stop laying now that she's broody? Think there is any chance of any fertile eggs in there?

 

[NewToFarming]

If you put a very sturdy table in front of his perch he will learn to use it as a step down. Depending on how high his perch is, you may need two tables at two different levels.

You can also put some foam interlocking tiles (like they have on gym floors) on the floor under his bedding (as long as the floor will remain dry). They have some at Costco occasionally, but they always have them at Sears.com (http://www.sears.com/best-step-2-ft-x-2-ft-6/p-00962361000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1). And right now they're on sale for the same price as Costco. I have my turkeys inside an enclosure with a concrete floor, so I put these down to prevent them from injuring their legs when they jump off their roosts. It has really made the coop more comfortable for them, and I don't worry as much that they'll break a leg if they fall off their perch, or when they fight, or during the other normal events of life. It also keeps the pen warmer. If the landing is easier, he might be more willing to learn to jump down on his own, once he feels more confident that he won't hurt himself and has practiced on the steps. When I first cut my hens' wings they went from a beautiful glide off the perch to a thud and tumble landing the first day. But the landing was soft, and they quickly learned to control it. It will be more difficult for the larger tom though (I don't cut my tom's wings -- they stay with the girls, so there's no need. It's the girls that fly over the fence and explore the neighborhood.)

If your tom isn't too huge, you can train him to stand on your hand instead of lift him by his chest. My 20 lb tom gets on my palm when asked, and all my hens do. Actually, so does my 26+ lb boy, but I don't ask him anymore!

His feathers are probably looking bad because of the wear and tear of life. He may have been in a crowded pen at his previous home, or for some other reason may have damaged them. When he molts, many of the old damaged feathers will fall out and new beautiful feathers will grow back in place. If he has missing feathers, as opposed to broken or damaged feathers, then the missing feathers have probably molted out, and new ones should be on the way back in soon. Be sure that he is on a good quality, well balanced diet so that he has all the nutrition needed to grow good quality feathers.

Thanks for all the info! The perch he is on is about 4 1/12 feet high now with all the straw I have on the barn floor. It is the horse feeders in the barn. The right under that is an extra large dog crate I have there and that is what he uses to get up onto the horse feeders. So maybe the crate is 3 feet off the ground??? Is that too high? I think he just can't figure it out. LOL Yes, so you have balancing turkeys also??!! LOL The girls will do that from where they perch. They perch about 12 feet off the ground in the barn on the railing around the horse stalls. They will balance on my hand for me to get them down. My Tom is getting there though. He was very standoffish and now he lets me pick him up without fraking out at least so hopefully soon he will learn to balance like the girls. And here I thought I was the only one who had a balancing act with Turkeys! LOL

 

[Sydney Acres]

I have a breeding question. I have one hen and one Tom. I really want babies. Tom is just sexually mature. She sits, but he has only tried to mount her once that I've seen, for about 3 seconds. I stopped collecting her eggs the day I saw him mount. Now, two days later, she has gone broody.

Will she stop laying now that she's broody? Think there is any chance of any fertile eggs in there?

Whenever there's a male and a female together there's a chance of fertility. How good a chance, well that's different. If you collected eggs before you saw them breeding, did you ever check one for fertility? It's possible that they've bred many times when you haven't seen it.

Typically the hen will either stop laying when she goes broody, or only lay one more day. The eggs ideally all hatch on the same day, so hens don't usually lay any more after the brood starts, as that would produce a staggered hatch.

If you want her to brood her own eggs, and you have some that you've collected to place under her, you can let her try to hatch them. If they're not showing veining at the right time then you can break her brood before she sets the entire month or more. If you have some eggs that have only been in the refrigerator for a few days you can try them under her also. Theoretically eggs for hatching should not be refrigerated, but people post about hatching refrigerated fertile eggs they bought from the store that were marketed for eating, so clearly refrigeration doesn't kill all embryos.

Alternatively, you can try to break her brood now, and start collecting her eggs when she restarts laying to store properly for her next brood. However, there is always the risk that she won't restart for a long time. The eggs are best stored at cool room temp (~50-55 degrees) for up to 7 days for best hatching, but some will still hatch with up to 14 days of storage, although the fresher the better. They should be stored in an egg carton, pointy end down, and tilted about 30-45 degrees, alternating right and left, 2-4 times daily. I personally try to store for no more than 10 days (unless I'm desperate for chicks from a particular hen, then I'll go up to 14 days), and as the "expiration date" appears I send the egg to the refrigerator for eating. Wash your hands before handling eggs for hatching to avoid contaminating the surface. Eggs should not be washed, just brushed off lightly to preserve the bloom, which protects the eggs from germs getting through the shell. Eggs that are severely soiled should not be saved for hatching, if possible. First time broodies should not be given too many eggs (6-8 is the maximum number I've seen recommended), as they don't have the experience to consistently turn and properly cover 12-18 eggs, so many eggs will get poor care at sometime during the incubation, resulting in poor hatch rates. Best to give a new hen a manageable number to learn on.

You can also save eggs, once she starts laying again, to put in an incubator.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
If he is a heritage breed he would likely have excellent balance, although it's quite compromised with trimmed wings. If he's a commercial broad breasted variety, then his balance is likely quite poor. I didn't think about that possibility -- I wouldn't hand train him if he's a BB. He's much more likely to hurt himself severely, or injure your hand or wrist from his weight. But there would be no reason to trim the wings on a BB bird -- they can't fly much.

How high is safe depends on the type of flooring he will land on, how hard he will hit (since his wings are trimmed, he won't be able to catch air and control his landing well), and how heavy he is. My birds (including the 26+ lb boy) jump down from 6 foot high perches. The flooring is concrete, covered with the foam tiles, then covered with 2-6 inches of soft wood shavings, so it's not a hard landing. Alternatively, they can jump onto a 2'X4' very sturdy metal table right beside their roost. The top is covered with the same foam padding, and then two thick towels. They alternate between jumping onto the table or the floor with essentially no preference. The dog crate may not be sturdy enough for them to land on, as it likely has some "give" to it when they're on it, and they might be scared that it will tip over or break if they land on it. Jumping down onto something requires the surface to be much more stable than jumping off from something.

I don't know how wide the rail is on your horse feeder, but be sure that your tom has a perch that is at least 3-4 inches wide. A narrow perch puts pressure on too small an area of the foot and can cause or contribute to pressure sores, or bumble foot. That can be very difficult to resolve in a heavy bird. When a bird roosts in the same place every night, you can sometimes cover the perch with pipe insulation, then wrap it tightly with vetrap. That provides comfortable padding for a large bird's feet. I recently did that for one of the perches, and now it's every bird's favorite. Since they don't all fit on one perch, I need to find time to get the other perches padded.

 

[NewToFarming]

If he is a heritage breed he would likely have excellent balance, although it's quite compromised with trimmed wings. If he's a commercial broad breasted variety, then his balance is likely quite poor. I didn't think about that possibility -- I wouldn't hand train him if he's a BB. He's much more likely to hurt himself severely, or injure your hand or wrist from his weight. But there would be no reason to trim the wings on a BB bird -- they can't fly much.

How high is safe depends on the type of flooring he will land on, how hard he will hit (since his wings are trimmed, he won't be able to catch air and control his landing well), and how heavy he is. My birds (including the 26+ lb boy) jump down from 6 foot high perches. The flooring is concrete, covered with the foam tiles, then covered with 2-6 inches of soft wood shavings, so it's not a hard landing. Alternatively, they can jump onto a 2'X4' very sturdy metal table right beside their roost. The top is covered with the same foam padding, and then two thick towels. They alternate between jumping onto the table or the floor with essentially no preference. The dog crate may not be sturdy enough for them to land on, as it likely has some "give" to it when they're on it, and they might be scared that it will tip over or break if they land on it. Jumping down onto something requires the surface to be much more stable than jumping off from something.

I don't know how wide the rail is on your horse feeder, but be sure that your tom has a perch that is at least 3-4 inches wide. A narrow perch puts pressure on too small an area of the foot and can cause or contribute to pressure sores, or bumble foot. That can be very difficult to resolve in a heavy bird. When a bird roosts in the same place every night, you can sometimes cover the perch with pipe insulation, then wrap it tightly with vetrap. That provides comfortable padding for a large bird's feet. I recently did that for one of the perches, and now it's every bird's favorite. Since they don't all fit on one perch, I need to find time to get the other perches padded.

He is a Narragansett. I will post a picture of the feeders he perches on but he does tend to perch on edge. Maybe what I can do when the weather breaks is run a piece of wood along that edge to make it wider. The padding and vet wrap is an excellent idea!! Right now there is about 10-12 inches of straw on the barn floor. They needed it with this winter we had. I do not look forward to cleaning all of that out when the weather breaks!! But here is a picture of the feeders he perches on.

You can see him in the background and he does tend to roost at night on the edge of it.



Here you can kind of see the upper edge of the feeders. He has all the wide feeder space but chooses the upper edge. I could run wood to extend it out a bit for him. I never thought about him getting pressure sores. The girls seem to prefer the thinner perches also and I will have to figure out something for them also. As you can see, everyone loves to perch on the feeders. LOL I filled them with straw and top it off with shavings.