Turkey Talk for 2014

[chicken pickin]

Turkeys will typically start to lay eggs the thefirst Spring the following year after hatch if that makes sense. Depending on the region turkeys usually start laying roughly March through Sept sometimes starting a little sooner and ending a little later. They are seasonal layers and usually don't lay in the colder winter months.

 

[chickadoodles]

Quote: I would take a swap or collect a couple poo samples and take them to a vet to have them test it to find out what is wrong? They can and then they can tell you what to treat them with.
Good luck!

 

[TattooedMama]

I'm not an expert, but I've never had a scrambled ones hatch. I just got 15 Japanese bantams and 14 were scrambled upon arrival. The packaging was great and the box was completely I in tact. Just looks like they shook the crap out of them.

So they won't develop at all right? So if these have clear growth and veins, they should not be scrambled? or is it that they will grow and just not hatch?

 

[Wasson6Pack]

So they won't develop at all right? So if these have clear growth and veins, they should not be scrambled? or is it that they will grow and just not hatch? 

Mine never start. If you tilt them and the air Bible moves, it is different than when you tilt them and all the insides move. If all the insides move, I consider them scrambled and tell the USPS so I can get my money back.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Anyone know at what age a turkeys wing should be clipped? My young poults are flying around everywhere and I am wanting to keep them out of my neighbour's field where his 3 terriers killed one of my blue slates when she went over the the 10 ft fence. The poults are only 4-5 weeks now.the neighbor told me their mother was trying to climb up the fence using the back of the barn as a support.
Thanks for any help.

You can clip the wing feathers at any age. However, the younger they are the more likely you'll run into a blood feather (just don't cut that feather), and the more likely you are to have to trim them again fairly soon, as they will grow new feathers frequently a they grow, and only yearly or less as adults. But if your poults are flying over the fence where they are in danger, then they probably need to be trimmed. As sad is it is to have to do it this early, better trimmed than dead. Here's a cut and paste with detailed directions for trimming wings that I posted about 6 months ago (since your birds are so young, you might be able to still uses sharp scissors to trim their wings -- as they get older you either need the strongest hands in the world for scissors, or nail trimmers, and you may need to hold younger birds differently, as this was written for larger birds):



If you've never clipped wings before, here's how I do it. Ideally, have a second person available to help you who isn't scared of them, a table to stand them on so you don't have to bend over, and some sharp, heavy duty dog nail trimmers (the scissor type, not the guillotine type). You might be able to trim their wings with scissors, but the quills are very strong, and it will be more difficult on your hand, and the birds. If your table is slippery, put something down for traction. I use the rubbery mesh shelf liner. It doesn't slip at all, it's cheap, it's available from Costco (and probably every store with kitchen supplies), and has thousands of uses.

First lift the bird onto the table. Place the bird such that the bird is standing up, and its side is against your assistant's belly or chest (so if your assistant is facing either north or south, the bird is facing either east or west). Have you assistant hold the bird by first putting his/her arms underneath the body (one arm in front and one behind the legs), the wrap the arms upward until the hands are on the bird's back, and pull the bird close enough to keep it from moving (but not so close as to squeeze it -- birds don't have a diaphragm, so they can't breath if they can't expand their ribs). You should be standing on the other side of the table, or at the end of the table if very close, however you can reach the wing most easily.

To clip, first gently extend the wing out about 1/4 to 1/2 of the way. The bird will likely fuss and try to get away, or pull the wing back, unless you've handled it in this way before. If the wing gets out of your hand, just gently extend it out again. Some birds tolerate it better if you aim the wing straight out to the side, but most of mine are more cooperative if you aim the wing downward as much as outward.

There are many ways to cut wings, but heritage turkeys are strong fliers, so I haven't been able to control their flight adequately unless I cut the last 10 flight feathers. All other patterns I've tried haven't worked. (Note: If showing, I've been told you are only allowed to cut one wing so the judges can evaluate wing feathers on at least one side. I don't show, so I don't know if this is true or not.) Since I don't show, I clip both wings so that they're not off balance when they try to fly, or when they glide down from their roost.

First, quickly check each feather that you plan to cut to be sure that it's not a blood feather. A blood feather is a young feather that still has blood in the quill (shaft). The quill will look quite different than normal. Do not cut a blood feather, as it will bleed for a long time. If you find a blood feather, leave it and one feather on either side of it (to protect it from breaking). Check it weekly, and cut it when it has matured into a regular feather.

Once you've checked for blood feathers, be sure that there isn't anything in the way of your scissors/clippers that you don't want to cut. Having an assistant makes this much easier. I have seen people accidently cut off birds toes, wing tips, sides of wings, snoods, etc. when birds moved at the wrong time. Nail trimmers are much safer than long, sharp scissors in this regard. You cut the shaft (quill) of the feather with the nail trimmers, and the side barbs will separate away automatically.

Clipping the feather in the right place is very important. Many people cut as close to the wing as possible, and that can create many problems for the bird. I've seen chronic pain from feather shafts splitting (often unseen, like when a person gets hit in the mouth and the tooth looks fine, but the tooth root is invisibly cracked), infections at the feather insertion site, damage to the body or leg from the short shaft stubs, etc. Flight feathers should be cut to be even with the secondary wing feathers. When you spread out the wing and look at the wing feathers, the longest ones (the flight feathers, about 8-14 inches long on 6 month olds, originating from the bottom of the wing) will be on the bottom. The secondary feathers (about 4-8 inches long and originating on the side of the wing) will be on top of those, but not as long. And the shortest feathers, originating near the top of the wing, will be on top of those. So there's three layers. Cut only the bottom layer, cut only the outer 10 feathers, and cut only enough length to make the bottom layer even with the middle layer. If you cut both sides, it will decrease their lift by more than 95%. Be sure to put some padding in the landing area where they fly down from their roosts for the first week, because they will likely crash down until they get used to having no air lift to control their landings. If you cut only one side it may not work quite as well, as I have seen some birds that can partially compensate for uneven lift.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
They really shouldn't develop at all if they're truly scrambled. Turkey eggs are notoriously hard to candle, so not seeing a "normal" yolk shadow doesn't necessarily mean that they're scrambled.

 

[desertmarcy]

(Note: If showing, I've been told you are only allowed to cut one wing so the judges can evaluate wing feathers on at least one side. I don't show, so I don't know if this is true or not.) Since I don't show, I clip both wings so that they're not off balance when they try to fly, or when they glide down from their roost.

Nice write up on clipping! If you are going to show, you cannot clip any wings. Page 33 of the 2010 SOP: under Disqualifications, Wings: All Breeds Chickens and Turkeys: Primary or secondary feathers clipped.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
Thank you for looking that up. I think I got my original (mis)information from a local show or fair, so it may have had it's own rules.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Have you received money back from the USPS?? I put in 2 calaims that were never paid; and a friend shipped me express chicks which is guarenteed and was not reimbured shipping. Empty promises-- so I"m interested in knowing how you were able to be re-imbursed??

 

[TattooedMama]

They really shouldn't develop at all if they're truly scrambled.  Turkey eggs are notoriously hard to candle, so not seeing a "normal" yolk shadow doesn't necessarily mean that they're scrambled.

Okay, thanks! These eggs had a short trip from WA to CA, I only had one crappy air cell and the rest looked great. I had one egg with a crack but honestly I may have done it. My daughter started screaming in pain so I may have set it down roughly. I opted not to incubate that one as it was also fairly dirty. I cracked that one open, just out of curiosity. When I did the yolk was runny but it may have only broke when I cracked it so I was curious as to how that worked with viability of a potential embryo. I will candle on day 10 to see where we stand on the clear, hard to see, and my possible early quitter.