Turkey Talk for 2014

[R2elk]

I have three pairs of turkeys that I want to breed this year. They are currently all together in a single pen. The Jakes (all yearling males) are continually deciding on who's the best looking; so much so that they aren't spending quality time with the girls. (Kind of reminds me of junior high school boys that really like girls, but are more comfortable talking and acting tough, than asking any of them to the dance!) Should I separate the pairs I want into separate pens? Should I play Barry White and set out wine & candles? ".. can't get enough of your love babe!" I'm long on ignorant but short on answers! Heck I'm still wondering how I ever got my beautiful wife of 34 years to ever give me the time of day! Any advice would be very much appreciated! Thanks, Mick

If you seriously want to choose who mates with whom, you will have to pen each pair separately. It will work best if the toms can not see each other from their individual pens. If they share a common see through fence they will spend most of their time trying to fight through the wire. Another option is to choose one tom to mate with all of the hens and put the other two toms in a pen out of sight from them.

I currently have one tom with 3 hens but would prefer to have a couple more hens in there with him.

 

[Reyvaughn]

My kids have been looking into miscroscopes since I had to lift them to look----swimmers!!  Having farm animals is a great intro to the subject. My oldest at 12 will not talk to me about the discussions in health class!!   Seems sex is more personal now. lol  Is barnyard activity G-rated?

They have seen the chickens and ducks mating but not turkeys, obviously. I had to explain how she kind of gives permission and he needs to figure it out and he has to stand on her. I had to explain it so he understood why she wasn't getting up. Otherwise he may have kept running back and forth telling me something was wrong.

 

[Gwen14]

My hen turkey just laid her first egg today! Should she be on a layer feed and oyster shell? Shes currently on flock raiser. Thank you!

 

[callieisspooky]

Are predators really a problem for turkeys? I understand for poults, but I am asking if a weasel is going to eat a 35# BR sitting up on the roost?
But, to ease your mind, I will have wire in the ground or along the ground a foot or so if I go with a mobile coop.

Oh yes. We've had our flock wiped out twice by raccoons. They are vicious and will rip all your turkeys apart even if they can't eat but a fraction of their kill. They have tunneled several feet underneath our new wire gauge floor trying to get in. Thank goodness it now goes all the way across the coop. Weasels only go after poults and eggs. We have a bobcat in the area who has taken chickens only so far but I've seen them chase the turks too. They are better fliers than the chickens, though, if you don't clip them.

 

[NewToFarming]

One of the girls is laying in the nest!!! Maybe today is the day I will get my first turkey egg!!!

 

[uphilljill]

 

[NewToFarming]

Yep, here it is!!

 

[chickadoodles]

Yep, here it is!!

Congrats!

 

[chicken pickin]

Yep, here it is!!

SO EXCITING!!!!! YAY!!!!!

 

[Momhunter]

How do you tell if humidity is to high during incubation? How big should the air cell be by lockdown time?? Is that what causes fully developed poults to not hatch when they were moving when placed in lockdown?? Any advice greatly appreciated. Incubator has been running with water pan having humidity at 42-50%. Hatcher was at 70%.
Second question: any damage to be done by decreasing humidity/switching to dry incubation, when I have quail, chicken and turkey eggs 1/3 to 2/3 if the way to lockdown???