Turkey Talk for 2014

[AmericanMom]

Day 24 for the goose, Turkey and chicken...... I think my temp was running a full degree below what it should have when I candle the turkeys there is just a bit of fluid at the pointy end and the air cell still looks to be alittle behind... the goose eggs look to be a bit further along which makes sense as they were a touch higher.. Hopeful that it works out in the end.. holding off lockdown until I have an internal pip...

 

[Thriftymom6]

I have a couple question or clarifications for the turkey experts. My tom (Bob) is a BB right? He's my profile pic. He can't mate naturally right? My hen has laid consistently all fall and winter until the last couple weeks. Recently I haven't found any of her eggs. They free range all day with the chickens (or stand at the door for treats, I know they try to mate. But I didn't think they could. She has been known to be an egg eater. But since I have read some posts, I wonder if she is collecting a bunch. She a white hen. They are of unknown origin my son brought them home from TSC. They never made it to the table, the kids have named them I was just loving eating her eggs and now I can't find any. I read a post earlier that made me laugh, someone called them yard ornaments so true...

 

[Sydney Acres]

I have a couple question or clarifications for the turkey experts. My tom (Bob) is a BB right? He's my profile pic. He can't mate naturally right? My hen has laid consistently all fall and winter until the last couple weeks. Recently I haven't found any of her eggs. They free range all day with the chickens (or stand at the door for treats, I know they try to mate. But I didn't think they could. She has been known to be an egg eater. But since I have read some posts, I wonder if she is collecting a bunch. She a white hen. They are of unknown origin my son brought them home from TSC. They never made it to the table, the kids have named them I was just loving eating her eggs and now I can't find any. I read a post earlier that made me laugh, someone called them yard ornaments so true...

It's tough to tell from the avatar if he's a BBB or a Heritage Bronze. Can you post some other pictures of him in the thread? How old are your turkeys? Did they frequently fly when they were young (more a heritage trait than a BB trait)?

Theoretically if he is a full sized BBB then he should be too big to mate, although there are exceptions that have been posted. Do you know how much he weighs?

Your hen laid eggs all fall and winter? That is unusual. Typically they lay starting mid to late winter. If she started in fall and continued through winter, then she may be done by spring. Do you have her under lights to increase her perceived photoperiod and keep her laying in the off season??

Turkeys make wonderful pets. I'm sure you and your son both enjoy them.

 

[NewToFarming]

Well, Turkey girl did it again. She was missing last night. I could not hear her calling and again looked everywhere. I am starting to suspect she might have eggs hidden somewhere, I just have no idea where. Her 2 sisters are have decided to go broody and they are in the barn. Is there any types of places they like to hide. Really there is only pastures all around us with nothing growing up as of yet and I looked in all the bushes here. I don't have a clue where she is going! I just hope wherever it is, she is safe!

 

[Thriftymom6]

I hope these pictures show. They are a little over a year. Don't mind his feathers it was an unusually cold winter and his poor tail feathers are not looking great. They flew to the top of the grill which my husband did not like and rooster end with the chicken. Is was comical to see him bowing the bar and all of them huddled together.
I have no idea what he weighs, he looks pretty big to me and yes they have been under lights for the winter the winter was unusually cold. and now a soft rose light for a night light just because I have always given them one. Should I not?

 

[Sydney Acres]

I hope these pictures show. They are a little over a year. Don't mind his feathers it was an unusually cold winter and his poor tail feathers are not looking great. They flew to the top of the grill which my husband did not like and rooster end with the chicken. Is was comical to see him bowing the bar and all of them huddled together.
I have no idea what he weighs, he looks pretty big to me and yes they have been under lights for the winter the winter was unusually cold. and now a soft rose light for a night light just because I have always given them one. Should I not?

I can't tell for sure from these pictures, but my guess is that these birds may not be BBs. Someone else with more experience may be able to be more definitive. It's hard to tell the body size of a tom when he's displaying, or the leg and breast size in any of these pictures, but on the first picture you've also included a chicken, which I'm guessing is a LF Americana (could be really wrong there). The tom appears to be reasonably mature in that picture based on head ornamentation, but he isn't HUGE compared to the chicken, which votes for heritage Bronze instead of BBB.

Also, you said these pictures are over a year old, so the birds must be at least 1 & 1/2 years old now, and they're still walking around. BBB tend to have significant leg problems long before that (although there are exceptions), and most don't even live that long. But yours are still trying to breed, so that's another vote for heritage Bronze.

Plus you said he flew to the top of the grill (OMG, so dangerous -- hope it wasn't hot at the time). BBB don't fly much, or perch much, except when very young. So another vote for heritage Bronze.

Do you know how much your son paid for these birds. Heritage Bronze tend to be more expensive. If you remember, or can look it up, call the store where they were purchased and ask which variety was most likely purchased at that price. If the person you speak with is no help, ask to speak to the manager.

As far as the lights, the reproductive cycle of the hen is regulated by something called photoperiod. That is the number of hours in a day that she is exposed to light vs dark. When the days start getting shorter, nature tells her that winter is coming, and when she is exposed to only a certain minimum threshold of light hours per day, she stops laying. When the number of hours of light starts to increase, then nature tells her that spring is coming, and when her brain detects a certain minimum threshold of light hours per day, she starts laying. If we interfere with that pattern by putting hens under artificial lights, then we can change their laying cycles. Many farmers with laying (chicken) hens do that intentionally to keep birds laying through the winter. Some breeds (of chickens) have been selected specifically for winter laying. But if you've had her under lights in the winter, that's why she laid all winter and is now stopped, because her TOTAL hours of light have now decreased because it's not so cold, and you've switched to a different kind of light that is probably lower intensity, so it doesn't affect her cycle, or at least affects it less. You've not injured her at all, but her pattern is just a little mixed up right now. If you want to provide a night light for them, the soft rose color is good, but make sure it is a very low wattage (4-10 watts is typical for a nightlight). It's not necessary, but can make it easier if you need to run out to their coop in the middle of the night, or if a bird falls off a roost and needs to get back up. (I'm not sure that's enough for a bird to see, but maybe it could help a little.) If you don't want her to lay all winter next year, then use a red heat lamp instead of a white lamp. It won't affect their cycle as much, probably not at all, and will allow them to sleep better. White heat lamps aren't recommended for poultry, for this and several other reasons.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Well, Turkey girl did it again. She was missing last night. I could not hear her calling and again looked everywhere. I am starting to suspect she might have eggs hidden somewhere, I just have no idea where. Her 2 sisters are have decided to go broody and they are in the barn. Is there any types of places they like to hide. Really there is only pastures all around us with nothing growing up as of yet and I looked in all the bushes here. I don't have a clue where she is going! I just hope wherever it is, she is safe!

Oh, that bad little miss!!! But again no sign of predation, and no stranger on the farm this time to suspect theft, I assume. It's amazing how far they can travel, these heritage birds. Is there a wild flock that might be drawing her in somewhere nearby? Hopefully she comes home safe again this time. At least there's less reason to panic now.

 

[NewToFarming]

Oh, that bad little miss!!! But again no sign of predation, and no stranger on the farm this time to suspect theft, I assume. It's amazing how far they can travel, these heritage birds. Is there a wild flock that might be drawing her in somewhere nearby? Hopefully she comes home safe again this time. At least there's less reason to panic now.

Well, I am not so sure she is OK. I found a fairly large amount of feathers at the end of the pasture but no signs of her.

I could not find any signs of a nest either. What predator would be large enough to carry her off like that. I assume a coyote could but is there anything else? Her sisters are sitting on some of her eggs so at least I can hope for some of her babies. Turkey boy has been looking and calling for her ever since she left.

 

[Thriftymom6]

Thank u so much. And ur right he walks all day long. Their coop is in the back part of the yard, and he has to go up a hill to get to the front yard. We have fruit trees along the side and they like to wonder around looking for snacks. (Sorry I was unclear those pictures were from today.) He is very social with our family. I guess I just thought turkeys laid eggs like chickens. I am really new at this. I still have a few of her eggs in the fridge. Maybe next year I will try to incubate one and see what happens. I really did not realize how much I would enjoy them. Oh the grill wasn't on! After they made it their spot at night, we lost the grill for the season we were in the process of building the coop and they stayed close to the house. We are happy they have a home and we can grill again again thank you, it is nice to have somewhere to learn and ask questions.

 

[BullChick]

I have decided I am concerned.

The BBW are still growing plenty tall, but they seem to not be putting on weight. I have them on FF, 28% grower. They are five - weeks-old, and the scale says they are only about 3 pounds each.