Turkey Talk for 2014

[Sydney Acres]

We lost our turkey hen today. Tom wanted to mate, she didn't, he didn't care, cornered her got her down and proceeded to try. He slipped and ripped her open but good as she still was trying to get away. Had them separated, he flew over the fence I'm guessing. And now that I'm thinking about it, he probably got on his roost and jumped over the fence.

We decided to cull her as her whole left side was open under her wing. It also looked like I missed a puncture from when he did this earlier in the week, as she had infection in the right wing/chest area. She also had some blood clotting internally, so we opted not to put her in the freezer. She was getting ready to lay, she had 6 large eggs all lined up ready to pop out and lots of little ones.

She weighed in at 36 lbs dead weight, with a decent amount of fatty tissue. I really didn't think she was that large. I'm guessing I did have BBB after all. Tom is huge and after this latest escapade, is now limping. He will be culled in the next couple of days. I'm scared to see how much he weighs.

If I ever get turkeys again, it will be from a breeder. No more hatchery. Tom was not a very nice bird. Hoping to have better luck with the "nasty" bred out of them.

Deb

Deb, I'm so sorry. It's so hard to lose a bird like that.

She must have been a BBB at that weight. A heritage Bronze hen should only weigh about 23 lbs at full maturity, although most of them weigh less. If he's bigger, then he's probably a BBB also, as the heritage Bronze tom should only weigh 36 lbs. They're just too big to breed naturally, and losses can be high when the tom tries.

Not all toms are mean. My two boys are the sweetest birds I've ever owned. They wait for the hens to squat down, and if the hen starts to move at all the tom backs away (which was a huge problem until he figured out not to step on her tail). They stand guard when the hens are on the nest, and gobble and body bounce into any rooster that comes near a hen on the nest. They have never tried to mount a hen while nesting (although I've heard that some toms will do that). They are both Blue Slates, which is a heritage breed. Many of the appropriate natural behaviors have been bred out of the commercial BBB birds, so they sometimes act much different than the heritage birds.

 

[chickadoodles]

We lost our turkey hen today. Tom wanted to mate, she didn't, he didn't care, cornered her got her down and proceeded to try. He slipped and ripped her open but good as she still was trying to get away. Had them separated, he flew over the fence I'm guessing. And now that I'm thinking about it, he probably got on his roost and jumped over the fence.

We decided to cull her as her whole left side was open under her wing. It also looked like I missed a puncture from when he did this earlier in the week, as she had infection in the right wing/chest area. She also had some blood clotting internally, so we opted not to put her in the freezer. She was getting ready to lay, she had 6 large eggs all lined up ready to pop out and lots of little ones.

She weighed in at 36 lbs dead weight, with a decent amount of fatty tissue. I really didn't think she was that large. I'm guessing I did have BBB after all. Tom is huge and after this latest escapade, is now limping. He will be culled in the next couple of days. I'm scared to see how much he weighs.

If I ever get turkeys again, it will be from a breeder. No more hatchery. Tom was not a very nice bird. Hoping to have better luck with the "nasty" bred out of them.

Deb

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[chickadoodles]

I am so sorry.

Wow quite stunning! But looks jake to me, how lucky!

X2 looks like a jake to me also. He is very handsome!

 

[hogster160]

Sorry to hear about your hen.  We had one get attacked by a coyote earlier this week and are trying to keep her separated from the tom so he doesn't reinjure the back skin.  It's not a fun business. 

Thank you, it's so hard knowing they are hurt, and not much can be done for them. I sure hope your hen pulls through for you,

...

Went down to feed the birds this evening and found this hanging out with our royal palms.  I think it's a girl, but beyond that, I'm not sure what it is.  She's quite tall and big bodied, stands above my other turkeys and geese.  Looks very dark from the front, but has different colors in the tail.  She looks way bigger and darker than the wild ones around here, for sure.   Any guesses?

No guesses sorry, but wow what a beautiful bird!

I am sorry

Thank you

Deb, I'm so sorry.  It's so hard to lose a bird like that.

She must have been a BBB at that weight.  A heritage Bronze hen should only weigh about 23 lbs at full maturity, although most of them weigh less.  If he's bigger, then he's probably a BBB also, as the heritage Bronze tom should only weigh 36 lbs.  They're just too big to breed naturally, and losses can be high when the tom tries.

No all toms are mean.  My two boys are the sweetest birds I've ever owned.  They wait for the hens to squat down, and if the hen starts to move at all the tom backs away (which was a huge problem until he figured out not to step on her tail).  They stand guard when the hens are on the nest, and gobble and body bounce into any rooster that comes near a hen on the nest.  They have never tried to mount a hen while nesting (although I've heard that some toms will do that).  They are both Blue Slates, which is a heritage breed.  Many of the appropriate natural behaviors have been bred out of the commercial BBB birds, so they sometimes act much different than the heritage birds.

Thank you. My neighbor gave them to me several months ago. They were 5 months old and had only been fed cracked corn. And were smaller, the runts of his flock. He wasn't sure what he ordered, just knew they were bronze. I fed them FF, and they grew nice and slow, but they grew. Being first time poultry owners we are learning as we go. They obviously weigh more then they look, and are not all fluff! I truly am scared at how much my tom weighs.

I will probably get some eggs from Jchnny as she has offered, providing I have a broody again this year. I loved my turkeys, they got along with my human family great, they just were not always the nicest to each other.

I am so sorry for your loss. 

Thanks,

 

[fintuckyfarms]

Which hatchery did you use?

I purchased from the local feed store but my special order that came in from them was ideal. I have no idea if they are using the same hatchery.

 

[ChevyChick88]

Everyone Has Such Beautiful Birds And Ideas And Suggestions!! Hopefully I can answer all the questions Next Year! lol

First Time Raising Turkeys I'm Very Excited! I've had chickens for a few years Now just for Eggs But Would love to go one step farther with the Turkeys.

I have baby's in the Brooder One Broad Breasted White Turkey and Three Wild/Domestic Mix.

If these workout at the end of the Year and I'm pleased with the meat I'm thinking about a Flock of Bourbon Reds or Narragansett! Maybe keep my own back yard flock growing yearly and learn to be more self sufficient!

Any Tips for raising turkeys In South Florida Would be greatly appreciated! Maybe Local Sources for Heritage Breeds (That would sell Less than 12-15Birds!!) I'm having a tough Time Online. Organic Feed recommendations I would love to go that route but No one seems to stock It. I will start constructing the Turkey House Soon! I've lost chickens due To Predators So

These will make It to the end of the year and Into My freezer!

Well Anyways Here's My Babies!!

 

[nanclapper]

We lost our turkey hen today. Tom wanted to mate, she didn't, he didn't care, cornered her got her down and proceeded to try. He slipped and ripped her open but good as she still was trying to get away. Had them separated, he flew over the fence I'm guessing. And now that I'm thinking about it, he probably got on his roost and jumped over the fence.

We decided to cull her as her whole left side was open under her wing. It also looked like I missed a puncture from when he did this earlier in the week, as she had infection in the right wing/chest area. She also had some blood clotting internally, so we opted not to put her in the freezer. She was getting ready to lay, she had 6 large eggs all lined up ready to pop out and lots of little ones.

She weighed in at 36 lbs dead weight, with a decent amount of fatty tissue. I really didn't think she was that large. I'm guessing I did have BBB after all. Tom is huge and after this latest escapade, is now limping. He will be culled in the next couple of days. I'm scared to see how much he weighs.

If I ever get turkeys again, it will be from a breeder. No more hatchery. Tom was not a very nice bird. Hoping to have better luck with the "nasty" bred out of them.

Deb

I am so sorry to read about the loss of your hen. My White Holland Tom did the same thing to my WH hen about three weeks ago when trying to mate her. Her left side under her wing skin was torn down with feathers and she had a puncture wound. I found her soon after it happened and sprayed her with vetricyn wound care then wrapped her with a gauge bandage & vet wrap. I wasn't sure how to wrap her to protect that area and allow her wings to be opened, but figured it out eventually. I changed her bandaging a couple times a day and treated her with vetricyn. Cleo is healing and thankfully her wound did not get infected. Cleo layed her first egg last week and everyday since then. My tom was not being mean just trying to breed her, he just is big and clumsy. I saved other's advice on a word document from last year on how to protect the hen during mating: 1) purchased several sizes of "thread protectors from feed store" and super glued them onto each of the tom's nails. This has worked great so far and they are still on after three weeks! 2) purchased hen aprons and Cleo is now sporting a denim apron to protect her back. The apron does not protect though, so the combination of the two hopefully will keep her injury free. I am so thankful for everyone's great advice on this site!

 

[hogster160]

I am so sorry to read about the loss of your hen. My White Holland Tom did the same thing to my WH hen about three weeks ago when trying to mate her. Her left side under her wing skin was torn down with feathers and she had a puncture wound. I found her soon after it happened and sprayed her with vetricyn wound care then wrapped her with a gauge bandage & vet wrap. I wasn't sure how to wrap her to protect that area and allow her wings to be opened, but figured it out eventually. I changed her bandaging a couple times a day and treated her with vetricyn. Cleo is healing and thankfully her wound did not get infected. Cleo layed her first egg last week and everyday since then. My tom was not being mean just trying to breed her, he just is big and clumsy. I saved other's advice on a word document from last year on how to protect the hen during mating: 1) purchased several sizes of "thread protectors from feed store" and super glued them onto each of the tom's nails. This has worked great so far and they are still on after three weeks! 2) purchased hen aprons and Cleo is now sporting a denim apron to protect her back. The apron does not protect though, so the combination of the two hopefully will keep her injury free. I am so thankful for everyone's great advice on this site!

I am glad Cleo is doing better! It was a hard decision to make. However, that happened last week too, DH found her upside down and unable to right herself. I checked her over, treated with Vetrcyn wound care as well. But I missed a puncture. Which we found while cleaning her. It was up in the wing joint on her right side. (armpit area) It did look to pierce her muscle. I thought I checked her over well enough, but I don't recall see that one. Her muscle was discolored so infection had already set in. So I'm glad we made the decision we did.

Thanks for the advice on how to protect her from mating. They mated in the fall, he was clumsy at first, but got better with time. She started laying last fall. I will be getting supplies when we decide to raise turkeys again. I sure don't want to go through that again. Its very sad

 

[DaisyMeadow]

Well, mystery turkey is still around today, and was gobbling. So I guess it is a male. I saw a couple of wild turkeys on the road to town today that looked awfully similar. I guess I just never got close enough to one to notice all the coloring. So we may have our own domestic wild turkey. He doesn't want to fight with the males, which makes him fine by me.

 

[sonderah]

My very 1st baby turkey just hatched!!!! All 3 of the others r pipped!