Turkey Talk for 2014

[duluthralphie]

Wonderful babies..

 

[AmericanMom]

Our first Midget White babies:

Aw... so cute!!

 

[Regin]

I want some midget white baby turkeys!

 

[duluthralphie]

I took this video this morning.

This poor guy wants a girlfriend so badly...

If I knew how to do it I would have edited this to add the song "looking for love, in all the wrong places" onto the video.

 

[B J Hopkins]

I have a pair of midget whites and one offspring that survived the first clutch. The second time she was fertile I gave her chicken eggs to raise because it was almost winter and I think the chickens are hardier. She is ready to mate again.

Since the beginning the mating process has always included me. She will come over to me and squat waiting for the tom. I think it is because the tom is in love with me and she thinks the way to entice him is to hang out with me.
It is even more complicated now with the jake--all four of us. She used to have to sit on my foot to mate--just to make sure he'd come over. Very funny. I'd really rather not be involved.........

So it looks like she'll start laying again. I'm not sure what to do with the turkeys that survive. I really don't have room for more. I won't try to stop her broodiness. It seems cruel -- she is such a good mother.

I know everyone will laugh at me but I don't want to sell my birds to someone who won't let them free range.

Where are you located? I have 3 Royal Palms 2 Bourbon Reds a Blue Slate & a Rusty Black as well as 44 chickens. They all get to free range on our 2 acres nearly every day but are fenced in at night.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I am in North Georgia. Too far away.
What do you do with your turkeys? Do you sell them or eat them? Just curious.

 

[B J Hopkins]

Both. I sell surplus polts and keep several for eating. Plus I make sure we have a tom and 2-4 hens for breeding. I just recently acquired the Royal Palms. I'm very surprised at how much smaller they are than the Bourbon Reds.

 

[Attila the Hen]

Poor guy. You need to get some girls for him ASAP.

 

[chickadoodles]

Both hens now laying, one every other day and they are neither laying on the same day so we get one egg a day!! Sacrificed the first egg to check fertility and had one off day before Hen #2 ( I call her Penny) started laying... Got 3 eggs saved and the new bator on order. Bought one from our local feed store, a Little Giant digital with fan... Decided to test it on chicken eggs and day five did a test candle.. realized the front row wasn't developing like they should so checked the temps... Crazy!! 103+ in the back, spot on 99.8 in the middle and 95 in the front.. Called the feed store, they agreed it was defective and I took it back, exchanged it for the same model, plugged it in and waited for temps to stabilize and this was even worse! 110 in the back, 99.6 in the middle and 93 in the front! Taking it back for a full refund tomorrow. Ordered my Hova bator online and the receipt says it should be here Friday.. Thursday will be day 7 on the oldest Turkey egg... I hope it isn't any later than Monday in getting here! Needless to say, yesterday was a very nerve wracking day!

Turkey will lay eggs till they get a clutch of 18-20 eggs before they decide to sit on them. As long as they are kept cool they should be ok till you get your bator.

 

[gevshiba]

I would never call anyone hard hearted for butchering their own food. Mu wife and I do it all the time, What I meant by that was my turkeys have become such pets to me they have broken that barrier I have between pets and meat animals.

I grew up on this farm, I think processing your own food is the best way to live.


I am sorry I did not make myself clearer. I am really impressed with people that did not grow up on a farm and learn to process their own food. I know it is harder for them than those of us that grew up with it.

I admit, I couldn't butcher my BBB hens. They were so sweet!