Turkey Talk for 2014

[mcf3kids]

This is my first post in the Turkey section as we are going to give it a try this year for the first time. We are going to raise some for meat (thinking of getting 12 and hoping for 8 to process) and are thinking about starting with BBW. We have raised Cornish X for meat purpose about 70 each year for the last 3 years and we also raise two pigs each year and have egg layers. I am sure I will have many questions and look forward to learning from all of you!

 

[Saskfarmgirl]

Just wanted to say hello. Took me awhile to read everyone's post and get caught up. I have been raising and breeding Blue Slates for the past two years and purchased Narragansetts in the fall. Good buy that was, she has already been laying eggs for me here in Saskatchewan for 4 weeks. I have managed to save ten from freezing that are going in the bator tonight.

 

[chickadoodles]

Wecome mcf3kids and Saskfarmgirl to the Turkey thread! Ask away on any questions there are alot of turkey people on here that are very helpful!
Good luck on your hatch Saskfarmgirl I loved my Nari's I had last year.

 

[Turkeytruff]

Hi everyone. Just a dumb question...

I have 3 blue slate hens, a blue slate tom (Bruce), a 2 year old Narragensett Tom formerly known as Mr. T and now known as Pffft Daddy. I also just got a black (from blue slate parents) tiny turkey hen sweetie which I am feeding up in quarantine. She is supposed to be 8 months old but she is 1/2 the size of my 8 month old turkey hens and is eating like a pig so I think she was being half starved.

Is 8 months old too young to start laying eggs - will they perhaps lay eggs later in the spring? The toms are having the odd sparring match, with the alpha turkey hen, Madge, getting in between them to stop them and pecking Pffft Daddy. No turkey hens are showing the slightest interest in laying down for anybody.
Any advice? Saskfarmgirl, If your turkeys can lay eggs in Saskatchewan at this time of year, clearly it's not the weather!
thanks for any advice!

 

[SilkieSensation]

I guess we have an Elliott.....I was convinced I had an Ellie as she made all sorts of hen calls never heard a tom cluck or purr before.

All of my young toms have made hen noises. My slate tom still does because my palm tom is dominant & several months older. The slate tom is submissive & refuses to challenge my big boy as long as they are penned together. I plan to separate them as soon as weather allows me to get a couple pens built. I'm sure once my slate boy is on his own with his girls he will have no problem strutting & displaying for them.

 

[Saskfarmgirl]

Yes your eight month olds should have no problem laying this spring. You might see them start squatting down for no reason before they are going to start laying. I think they get confused when their bodies start getting them ready. Hopefully your small hen doesn't have any issues laying or maybe she will just lay smaller eggs. I would continue to keep her seperate you don t want a giant Tom hurting her.

Yes pretty weird my Narragansett is laying, my Blue Slates won t start till warm weather. I can t complain but I have had to make trips every two hrs to check for eggs. They didn t have any artificial lighting until she started laying. Now they get 2 heat lamps to keep eggs from freezing. So nothing to do with that either.

 

[SilkieSensation]

At least 2 of my turkey hens are laying now. Got 2 eggs today & 1 yesterday. I'm guessing it's my palm girls who are under a year old. I had the slate girls last year & their eggs were a pale cream with dark brown speckles. These eggs are tan with light brown speckles. My slate girls started in March last year. Guess my palm girls have other ideas.

 

[TeaChick]

I've had a few adventures with blu-kote myself...lmao


This was about 3 weeks ago. I was literally coveted in purple dots from head to toe for about a week (had to wear off) when 2 of the birds I was treating for frostbit combs decided to share the pretty purple stuff by shaking their heads as the applicator touched their conbs.

If I used blue kote, I would look like this. lol
I have had chickens for such a short time that I have not needed it (and I've been on BYC long enough to be extremely thankful for that fact).

 

[TeaChick]

My old mill would special order non-medicated for me. Then I found out they had an unmedicated meatbird feed that was 24% protien that would work for all of my birds so I switched to that. I moved recently & had to switch mills. The new mill has what they call Turkey Fast Grow. It's 22% unmedicated so still works for everyone. The new mill also mixes my layer feed for me with exactly the grain mix added that I want. It's almost half the price of buying it all individually, especially if I got it at a farm supply instead of a mill.

Questions to all:
How do I find a mill in my area?
What is a mill?
I have a general understanding, but I wouldn't know how to go about finding a mill or what, if anything, in my area might be "close enough".

I do the same thing, but for years I felt like I was the only one! Several years ago the feed store in town actually ridiculed me for doing such a thing, and I had to talk to the manager each time to get them to special order non-medicated chick starter (initially the sales clerk said it wasn't made anymore). After a few years of that I started driving to a feed store in a nearby town for all my farm needs. The owner of my new store is wonderful -- respectful of each customer's different preferences and abilities, and will special order anything you want without any hassles. If you special order something in bulk he sells it to you at cost plus tax plus a small fee for his time, but not at full retail since he doesn't have to stock it or market it. And lots of his customers use non-medicated chick starter, since he gives them good husbandry advice and discusses what it takes to raise chicks without meds vs with meds.

Yeah, I like the guy at the feed store in town. I don't like the ppl in the feed store that's most convenient to us though. They're so slow and they stand there and talk to other customers for lengths of time (not just hi and I'll be with you in a moment, George; we're talking about how's the family and what about that cow last week and when you gonna fill in the blank; ugh). Anyway, the one in town is much better; it takes time for them to run the credit card machine, but they're friendly and they work with their customers and try to get them what they want. A friend of mine who raises her chickens, turkeys and other animals naturally too, asks them to order this, that or the other and they just do it "It'll be in thus and such a time, Ma'am." and with a genuine smile.

I never use medicated for anyone. If you expose your babies to a little sand, grass or dirt from your yard while still in the brooder they will build the cocci immunity naturally.

I did this accidentally with my original flock of chickens, and I've never had a problem with any of them getting sick. =)

 

[TeaChick]

This rooster beats up my turkey hens constantly. This is the third time he's come at my face. If I hadn't been wearing glasses, he'd have gotten my eye. He and 3 others came with my turkey poults last year as males for warmth. I never wanted Buff Orpingtons. I want Speckled Sussex. So he's going and I'm looking for SS eggs to hatch. BTW, he's the first to run for cover if there's a threat, lol! (I have a CMA rooster too, but he's young and he's learning well, he's also gentle with the girls and submissive to me, so I'm giving him time.)

If my rooster acted like that, I'd have Cock Au Vino for dinner that night (or the next).

My "new" pair from October are still not laying or my younger poults. still waiting....
Will be so excited when I can start poults! We are still seeing a few sub zero temps so its ok.
I do egg checks as often as possible, and see my tom is strutting and shaking that tail!
He gobbles, struts and shows me he is a handsome guy but is not aggressive at all.He is much more curious than the hen.
The hen is still really timid but will at least take mealies from me now.
No active breeding here yet.

I'm way south of you and waiting on a friend's turkeys to start laying (she's going to give me eggs to hatch).