Turkey Talk for 2014

[NewToFarming]

I would let them go. She is just asserting her dominance over him. Once he gets bigger, he will probably dominate her. I wouldn't worry unless she injures him.

Thanks! Hopefully she will stop as he gets bigger and more sure of himself.

 

[chicken pickin]

I love the simple design, but do you ever have raccoons climb up to the aviary netting and chew through it? I can't use anything that can be chewed by climbing predators.

No. So far so good. We have raccoons, skunks, opossum, coyote, fox, fisher cats, hawks, owls etc. No evidence of something trying to get over or under the fence knock on wood. I do lock them in their house every night.

 

[SilkieSensation]

 

 
It's Ok.! I appreciate your help! Yes, I did post because I had no idea how to raise them.  After these pics were taken, they left for a week. Not sure where they went, but I was glad they came back. Two had disappeared. Not sure what happened to them.  The poor things were in the road, and on their own, so they could have been eaten by animals, or hit by cars, or anything. But, we caught them the day the officer gave the thumbs up. I adopted some out to other people on here, and then a couple had passed away. I was heartbroken. No warning, they just passed. That was very soon after I got them.   So, i have 4 left, and they seem to be doing very well and getting big.
I probably shouldn't admit this, but  when I go to see them, I say "Are you talkin pretty to Mommy???",  and they chirp away at me right in my face like they are. They allow me to hold them and pet them. My husband shakes his head and walks away. He thought we might eat them, but I just can't.  They are too sweet and the sound they make is so soothing to me. I LOVE THE SOUND THEY MAKE. LOL. 

I have been praying the big boy doesn't get mean with me. Never experiencing Tom turkeys before, it makes me nervous.  I hope this is as far as he goes.  If he gets nasty, i would have to butcher him. Cant risk my kids and neighbors.

If he does ever get mean and come at you snake you hand out and grab him by the neck and lift him off the ground then shake him and throw him down again. That fixed my mean gander of coming after me. I decided to pop him in the oven anyway because he beat up his mate all the time pulling feathers out of the back of her head. I was just waiting to have a clear weekend I could take the time to dress him out when he decided to go play in the traffic and that was that.

Twenty eight years ago I was lucky enough to take a graduate level class at UC Davis in poultry disease and necropsy interpretation.  The professor was one of those people that had the perfect persona for teaching -- he made every subject relevant to real life, not just minutia we had to know for the tests.  And he genuinely loved birds.  When he spoke of them or to them or handled them, he had a respect and a gentleness that was impossible to fake.  All the early lab sessions had the students looking at prepared slides, so it wasn't until mid-year that we worked with living birds.  I'll never forget the first live-bird lab.  There were 20 students, several teaching assistants, and this professor.  He was carrying a leghorn pullet around the room.  She had been quite flighty in her cage, but as soon as he pulled her out she relaxed.  He carried her around the room, walking slowly between the lab benches as he talked, speaking in a quiet even cadence to relax the hen, stroking her back and wings with a practiced gentleness until she was no longer tense and began to rest calmly in his hand.  He was talking about how sometimes farmers have numerous birds in the flock that are quite sick but none have died yet, and under those circumstances sometimes a bird will need to be sacrificed so that a necropsy can diagnose the illness and possibly save the rest of the flock.  He was saying that a very important part of being a pathologist is being able to kill a bird humanely, without doing anything that could cover up or be mistaken for a medical issue.  As he was talking he continued to pet the bird, and by this time she was chirping happily in his hand, allowing him to rub her neck and stroke her face without fussing.  And as he was calmly talking right in front of my lab bench, he ever so gently stroked the bird's neck with his thumb at the base of her skull, two fingers under her throat, and with a practiced flick of his wrist broke her neck.  She simply slumped in his hand, dead instantly, never showing any pain or distress of any kind.  It is shockingly easy to break a bird's neck, if done right.


Contrast that to a horrifying video I saw last year.  It was made by an humane society officer working undercover at a Butterball turkey grow out farm.  It showed a few workers trying to herd some BBW birds from one side of the barn to another.  The birds were huge, easily 25-30 lbs live weight or more, and couldn't walk very well.  But being BBWs, they were still just youngsters at that size, and like most young turkeys were friendly and begged for attention.  But the workers were rushed and insensitive, and moved the birds along as fast as possible, in any way they could.  For the friendliest of birds, the ones that kept getting in the way by approaching the workers making baby bird sounds, that included grabbing them by the necks or wings, lifting their huge bodies off the ground as they screamed in pain, and flinging them toward the other side of the barn.  Some of them never got up again.

I am not trying to accuse anyone on this site of being cruel, as I do not believe that was the intent.  And I am certainly not saying that a person can't defend themselves against a large aggressive animal.  But I have to admit that I was quite disturbed by this post -- both by the fact that a nervous novice was advised to grab a bird by the neck, lift it off the ground, shake it, and throw it down again, and by the fact that no one challenged that recommendation.  I may be relatively new to this thread, but I've been reading it long enough to know that many people who post here would never endorse this type of "discipline."  So why does no one speak out against it?  I can't be the only one who disagrees.

Aunt Kat, please do not grab your tom by the neck, lift him off the ground, shake him, then throw him down if he is acting out.  Yes, it will probably make him scared to challenge you.  Doing just about anything to him that is that painful and frightening would also probably make him scared to challenge you.  But that isn't your best option.  If you can't redirect his aggression, you can usually win the battle without causing pain or risking injury.  Every bird is different, so you have to figure out what works for each of your boys.  One of my boys is very food oriented, so the moment he starts acting out I distract him with treats, and the moment passes.  Another one would never fall for that, but he hates being restrained.  When he get feisty, I throw a towel over him and hold him until he stops struggling, then if he's really bratty, I carry him around for 4-5 minutes before letting him loose.  If he's been really bad he's carried around on his side, or rolled over on his back and held while his belly is rubbed (careful doing this with really big birds, as some won't be able to breath in this position).  One bird I just have to hold his comb and gently pull it to dominate him, as that is one of the things rooster do when they fight (although not so gently).   Start dominating them, gently but decisively, when they're as young as possible.  You'll gain confidence in working with them, and they'll grow up understanding that you're the boss.   That doesn't mean that they won't challenge you, but it won't be with the full throttle expectation of winning, so you'll be able to handle it easier.  For the occasional bird that is just plain vicious, you're probably not going to resolve that, and the freezer is probably the best place for him. 

I'll 2nd this Sydney. I have only ever had 2 truly nasty birds & they were not ones raised by me. I got them from someone who just wanted rid of "extra roos." I soon found out why. They were just plain vicious. The banty wasn't so hard to handle but I will admit to punting his butt a couple times when he tried to flog me. The other boy was a beautiful black english orp. The first time he caused problems he came after my son & just barely missed flogging him in the face. My son was screaming & had to kick him to keep him away until I could shove the bird away to yank my son out of the pen. Roo got a 2nd chance & was penned in a breeder pen with 4 hens. He still tried to bite anyone who reached in the pen.He then went into a cage by himself. I tried 4 times 1 morning to get his bowls to feed & water him. When he took a large chunk out of my arm on try number 4 I shut his cage & yelled for JJ to get my knife. He was the very first bird I processed. I was not sad to see him go.

Every bird I raise gets handled from day 1. My kids carry them around & everything. I trust every bird in my pens to be around my kids. The worst we ever have is a peck from a broody if we bother her. My kids can pick up every bird in my pens that isn't too heavy for them to lift. My kids help with the bird chores so I just plain can't have any mean birds. I have found the key is to handle the birds whether they object or not. Every new bird I bring in gets carried around, petted & talked to before it even ever makes it to a pen. I won't buy a bird without handling it first after the incident with the 2 roos.

 

[Chad Cool]

Good Morning to all, I have some question about Turkeys. I have some eggs in the bator right now. I won them off Ebay but the person selling them is aslo on here and a meber of this therad. I just want to thank them for sending me some fine eggs every one is fertile. There name is TNBEARCHICK If you ever need eggs please talk with these folks. My question is I have 5 acres of land but alot is farmed with some other land.Will Bourbon Red Turkey's Fly very much? I realy don't want them flying into a car on the road. Also do they go back to the coop at dark or do I have to heard them back to the coop? I also Bought Narragansett Turkey eggs I would Like to know the same for this breed. I didn't get the Narragansett Turkey from TNBEARCHICK. My eggs are set to hatch on Feb, 5 2014 I can wait.

 

[Ardizzone7]

Good Morning to all, I have some question about Turkeys. I have some eggs in the bator right now. I won them off Ebay but the person selling them is aslo on here and a meber of this therad. I just want to thank them for sending me some fine eggs every one is fertile. There name is TNBEARCHICK If you ever need eggs please talk with these folks. My question is I have 5 acres of land but alot is farmed with some other land.Will Bourbon Red Turkey's Fly very much? I realy don't want them flying into a car on the road. Also do they go back to the coop at dark or do I have to heard them back to the coop? I also Bought Narragansett Turkey eggs I would Like to know the same for this breed. I didn't get the Narragansett Turkey from TNBEARCHICK. My eggs are set to hatch on Feb, 5 2014 I can wait.

If you have chickens and plan on keeping your turkeys with the chickens then yes they will go back to the coop at night. That is how I raise mine. If not I am not sure. I have read some people heard them at night, but still that isn't difficult. As far as flying I can only tell you what mine do and they rarely fly. I have blue slates and the female seems to be the only one who makes the effort to fly. Even still it isn't like a sparrow. They just fly a little ways then land. Although I have seen her fly over my husbands head to get to some scratch grain he was throwing down for them.

 

[Chad Cool]

If you have chickens and plan on keeping your turkeys with the chickens then yes they will go back to the coop at night. That is how I raise mine. If not I am not sure. I have read some people heard them at night, but still that isn't difficult. As far as flying I can only tell you what mine do and they rarely fly. I have blue slates and the female seems to be the only one who makes the effort to fly. Even still it isn't like a sparrow. They just fly a little ways then land. Although I have seen her fly over my husbands head to get to some scratch grain he was throwing down for them.

Thank you for the reply.

 

[chicken pickin]

Good Morning to all, I have some question about Turkeys. I have some eggs in the bator right now. I won them off Ebay but the person selling them is aslo on here and a meber of this therad. I just want to thank them for sending me some fine eggs every one is fertile. There name is TNBEARCHICK If you ever need eggs please talk with these folks. My question is I have 5 acres of land but alot is farmed with some other land.Will Bourbon Red Turkey's Fly very much? I realy don't want them flying into a car on the road. Also do they go back to the coop at dark or do I have to heard them back to the coop? I also Bought Narragansett Turkey eggs I would Like to know the same for this breed. I didn't get the Narragansett Turkey from TNBEARCHICK. My eggs are set to hatch on Feb, 5 2014 I can wait.

I have Bourbon Reds and yes they can fly well and very high if they want to. Typically they just wander about the yard they lounge with the chickens and roost on my deck railing. But they do sometimes like to fly on top of cars(maybe not driving ones lol) they fly up onto the roof of my house they have flown up on top of my parents camper(the driving type). I do hear they also like to roost up in trees though I haven't experienced that.

As for sleeping in the coop, mine will put them selves to bed in the coop at dark or just after IF they are already penned up in their run. If they are let to free range for the day and not herded back they will choose a spot that is to there liking. My turkeys prefer the railing to the front deck of my house since they have a large bay window to gaze at us in the kitchen. You likely will need to herd them back each night before dark and before they start to settle down. Once they are settled they can be stubborn and hard to herd to the coop.

 

[Penny Hen]

Twenty eight years ago I was lucky enough to take a graduate level class at UC Davis in poultry disease and necropsy interpretation. The professor was one of those people that had the perfect persona for teaching -- he made every subject relevant to real life, not just minutia we had to know for the tests. And he genuinely loved birds. When he spoke of them or to them or handled them, he had a respect and a gentleness that was impossible to fake. All the early lab sessions had the students looking at prepared slides, so it wasn't until mid-year that we worked with living birds. I'll never forget the first live-bird lab. There were 20 students, several teaching assistants, and this professor. He was carrying a leghorn pullet around the room. She had been quite flighty in her cage, but as soon as he pulled her out she relaxed. He carried her around the room, walking slowly between the lab benches as he talked, speaking in a quiet even cadence to relax the hen, stroking her back and wings with a practiced gentleness until she was no longer tense and began to rest calmly in his hand. He was talking about how sometimes farmers have numerous birds in the flock that are quite sick but none have died yet, and under those circumstances sometimes a bird will need to be sacrificed so that a necropsy can diagnose the illness and possibly save the rest of the flock. He was saying that a very important part of being a pathologist is being able to kill a bird humanely, without doing anything that could cover up or be mistaken for a medical issue. As he was talking he continued to pet the bird, and by this time she was chirping happily in his hand, allowing him to rub her neck and stroke her face without fussing. And as he was calmly talking right in front of my lab bench, he ever so gently stroked the bird's neck with his thumb at the base of her skull, two fingers under her throat, and with a practiced flick of his wrist broke her neck. She simply slumped in his hand, dead instantly, never showing any pain or distress of any kind. It is shockingly easy to break a bird's neck, if done right.


Contrast that to a horrifying video I saw last year. It was made by an humane society officer working undercover at a Butterball turkey grow out farm. It showed a few workers trying to herd some BBW birds from one side of the barn to another. The birds were huge, easily 25-30 lbs live weight or more, and couldn't walk very well. But being BBWs, they were still just youngsters at that size, and like most young turkeys were friendly and begged for attention. But the workers were rushed and insensitive, and moved the birds along as fast as possible, in any way they could. For the friendliest of birds, the ones that kept getting in the way by approaching the workers making baby bird sounds, that included grabbing them by the necks or wings, lifting their huge bodies off the ground as they screamed in pain, and flinging them toward the other side of the barn. Some of them never got up again.

I am not trying to accuse anyone on this site of being cruel, as I do not believe that was the intent. And I am certainly not saying that a person can't defend themselves against a large aggressive animal. But I have to admit that I was quite disturbed by this post -- both by the fact that a nervous novice was advised to grab a bird by the neck, lift it off the ground, shake it, and throw it down again, and by the fact that no one challenged that recommendation. I may be relatively new to this thread, but I've been reading it long enough to know that many people who post here would never endorse this type of "discipline." So why does no one speak out against it? I can't be the only one who disagrees.

Aunt Kat, please do not grab your tom by the neck, lift him off the ground, shake him, then throw him down if he is acting out. Yes, it will probably make him scared to challenge you. Doing just about anything to him that is that painful and frightening would also probably make him scared to challenge you. But that isn't your best option. If you can't redirect his aggression, you can usually win the battle without causing pain or risking injury. Every bird is different, so you have to figure out what works for each of your boys. One of my boys is very food oriented, so the moment he starts acting out I distract him with treats, and the moment passes. Another one would never fall for that, but he hates being restrained. When he get feisty, I throw a towel over him and hold him until he stops struggling, then if he's really bratty, I carry him around for 4-5 minutes before letting him loose. If he's been really bad he's carried around on his side, or rolled over on his back and held while his belly is rubbed (careful doing this with really big birds, as some won't be able to breath in this position). One bird I just have to hold his comb and gently pull it to dominate him, as that is one of the things rooster do when they fight (although not so gently). Start dominating them, gently but decisively, when they're as young as possible. You'll gain confidence in working with them, and they'll grow up understanding that you're the boss. That doesn't mean that they won't challenge you, but it won't be with the full throttle expectation of winning, so you'll be able to handle it easier. For the occasional bird that is just plain vicious, you're probably not going to resolve that, and the freezer is probably the best place for him.

You are quite right that I was and still am a novice with poultry. My advice was not geared to be humane but self defensive. If you do not wish to be so rough with the bird just hold him in the air so he knows that you can neutralize his attack and take all his power away. And then release him. I do admire your professor and wish I could have had class with him. At the point I did this to the bird he had just gone after my 9 year old daughter and bitten her and she came running behind me and he rushed me. This pattern of aggressiveness had been growing. He had not responded to milder rebukes. The source of his discontent with the world was because his mate preferred the other gander, Duke. But Duke had chosen Duchess not her and she settled for him. He was insanely jealous but there was nothing that I could do that would solve it. But attacking my little girl was the last straw. I truthfully didn't care whether the rough treatment killed him or not because he had jumped my girl.

 

[chicken pickin]

Twenty eight years ago I was lucky enough to take a graduate level class at UC Davis in poultry disease and necropsy interpretation. The professor was one of those people that had the perfect persona for teaching -- he made every subject relevant to real life, not just minutia we had to know for the tests. And he genuinely loved birds. When he spoke of them or to them or handled them, he had a respect and a gentleness that was impossible to fake. All the early lab sessions had the students looking at prepared slides, so it wasn't until mid-year that we worked with living birds. I'll never forget the first live-bird lab. There were 20 students, several teaching assistants, and this professor. He was carrying a leghorn pullet around the room. She had been quite flighty in her cage, but as soon as he pulled her out she relaxed. He carried her around the room, walking slowly between the lab benches as he talked, speaking in a quiet even cadence to relax the hen, stroking her back and wings with a practiced gentleness until she was no longer tense and began to rest calmly in his hand. He was talking about how sometimes farmers have numerous birds in the flock that are quite sick but none have died yet, and under those circumstances sometimes a bird will need to be sacrificed so that a necropsy can diagnose the illness and possibly save the rest of the flock. He was saying that a very important part of being a pathologist is being able to kill a bird humanely, without doing anything that could cover up or be mistaken for a medical issue. As he was talking he continued to pet the bird, and by this time she was chirping happily in his hand, allowing him to rub her neck and stroke her face without fussing. And as he was calmly talking right in front of my lab bench, he ever so gently stroked the bird's neck with his thumb at the base of her skull, two fingers under her throat, and with a practiced flick of his wrist broke her neck. She simply slumped in his hand, dead instantly, never showing any pain or distress of any kind. It is shockingly easy to break a bird's neck, if done right.


Contrast that to a horrifying video I saw last year. It was made by an humane society officer working undercover at a Butterball turkey grow out farm. It showed a few workers trying to herd some BBW birds from one side of the barn to another. The birds were huge, easily 25-30 lbs live weight or more, and couldn't walk very well. But being BBWs, they were still just youngsters at that size, and like most young turkeys were friendly and begged for attention. But the workers were rushed and insensitive, and moved the birds along as fast as possible, in any way they could. For the friendliest of birds, the ones that kept getting in the way by approaching the workers making baby bird sounds, that included grabbing them by the necks or wings, lifting their huge bodies off the ground as they screamed in pain, and flinging them toward the other side of the barn. Some of them never got up again.

I am not trying to accuse anyone on this site of being cruel, as I do not believe that was the intent. And I am certainly not saying that a person can't defend themselves against a large aggressive animal. But I have to admit that I was quite disturbed by this post -- both by the fact that a nervous novice was advised to grab a bird by the neck, lift it off the ground, shake it, and throw it down again, and by the fact that no one challenged that recommendation. I may be relatively new to this thread, but I've been reading it long enough to know that many people who post here would never endorse this type of "discipline." So why does no one speak out against it? I can't be the only one who disagrees.

Aunt Kat, please do not grab your tom by the neck, lift him off the ground, shake him, then throw him down if he is acting out. Yes, it will probably make him scared to challenge you. Doing just about anything to him that is that painful and frightening would also probably make him scared to challenge you. But that isn't your best option. If you can't redirect his aggression, you can usually win the battle without causing pain or risking injury. Every bird is different, so you have to figure out what works for each of your boys. One of my boys is very food oriented, so the moment he starts acting out I distract him with treats, and the moment passes. Another one would never fall for that, but he hates being restrained. When he get feisty, I throw a towel over him and hold him until he stops struggling, then if he's really bratty, I carry him around for 4-5 minutes before letting him loose. If he's been really bad he's carried around on his side, or rolled over on his back and held while his belly is rubbed (careful doing this with really big birds, as some won't be able to breath in this position). One bird I just have to hold his comb and gently pull it to dominate him, as that is one of the things rooster do when they fight (although not so gently). Start dominating them, gently but decisively, when they're as young as possible. You'll gain confidence in working with them, and they'll grow up understanding that you're the boss. That doesn't mean that they won't challenge you, but it won't be with the full throttle expectation of winning, so you'll be able to handle it easier. For the occasional bird that is just plain vicious, you're probably not going to resolve that, and the freezer is probably the best place for him.

I honestly skimmed through the last few pages and missed this conversation completely. I do not approve of physical discipline here at my home. When it comes to aggressive males so far I have only had one Tom and one Rooster challenge me but I don't back away from them nor do I run. Im the boss and they all know that. The 2 that challenged me I did not attempt to "dominate" them, they simply ended up on the dinner table. I don't try to fix bad behavior because those bad genetics can get passed on to the offspring. I don't tolerate bad behavior nor will I breed it into future birds, for my sake and for the others buying from me.

 

[chicken pickin]

You are quite right that I was and still am a novice with poultry. My advice was not geared to be humane but self defensive. If you do not wish to be so rough with the bird just hold him in the air so he knows that you can neutralize his attack and take all his power away. And then release him. I do admire your professor and wish I could have had class with him. At the point I did this to the bird he had just gone after my 9 year old daughter and bitten her and she came running behind me and he rushed me. This pattern of aggressiveness had been growing. He had not responded to milder rebukes. The source of his discontent with the world was because his mate preferred the other gander, Duke. But Duke had chosen Duchess not her and she settled for him. He was insanely jealous but there was nothing that I could do that would solve it. But attacking my little girl was the last straw. I truthfully didn't care whether the rough treatment killed him or not because he had jumped my girl.

And no worries, I know Im not judging you. Your child was involved. I know my DH would have taken the ax to it right then and there if it attack one of our girls.