Turkey Talk for 2014

[Arielle]

Quote: He is so lovely-- I"m sorry too AUstin.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Hi there, hope it's ok to jump in here. We currently have a breeding trio of Bourbon Reds, with one of the hens sitting on our last couple fertile eggs and then also 2 surviving 1 month old poults from 10 eggs we had incubated. Ours are just hatchery stock and while they have nice flavor...the hens were only 9lbs at 11 months. Pretty disappointed in them turning out so small. We butchered some recently and they had loads of fat on them but were just really small overall. I think we will be trying out Blue Slates this year instead. One of our Bourbon red hens "Squeaky" will be staying with our laying hens (no Blackhead here at all, so we run them together) as she became my 8 year old son's beloved pet. He adores the turkeys! I'm curious if anyone else has found Bourbon Reds to end up so tiny even when fed well. Also I would love to know if Blue Slates tend to be as friendly as the BR.

I added a pic of my son with his "Squeaky" girl. You can tell the affection is mutual!

I adore my turkeys also, as they make the best pets. Your son will always remember this beautiful bird.

I suspect it's not the breed that's the problem, but the source where you're getting them. Hatchery stock, for all breeds of fowl, are a hit or miss proposition. Many (some people would say most) of the birds from hatcheries are not even close to good quality, and regularly fall short of breed standards. Some are barely recognizable as their stated breed. It's kind of like buying a puppy from a puppy mill -- they're cute and sweet, but oftentimes they're not what you expected when they grow up.

If you only want a few birds you can try local breeders, which again are a hit or miss in regards to quality, as some breeders breed for quality and some breeders just breed for volume. But at least you can possibly see the birds, and be sure that you're getting birds from parents that are not aggressive. Alternatively you can get eggs from distant breeders and hatch them yourself. There are many different breeders out there that sell eggs, and remember that the hatch rate on shipped eggs is lower than non-shipped eggs, so order at least twice as many as you think you need. Be sure to ask the breeder if their birds are selected to have a nice temperament around children, and what the average weights are at a specific age. If you don't want to incubate them yourself, you might look on your local thread of BYC and ask if anyone would be willing to incubate some shipped eggs for you. Obviously there would be a cost, either of money or a percentage of the hatch, or something else.

If you can take at least 15 poults at a time, you can order day olds and have them shipped (if that's too many, you may be able to split an order with someone local). Turkey raisers with an excellent reputation are Porters (http://www.porterturkeys.com/), Frank Reese -- who has a reputation as one of the best breeders in the country, but does not sell through his website, so you'll need to call him to see what he's got (http://www.goodshepherdpoultryranch.com/contactus.html), Country Hatchery, which is said to have some of Frank Reese's stock (http://www.countryhatchery.net/), and Duane Urch, a private breeder who has a huge number of breeds and a good reputation. I'm not finding an easy website for him, but here's some contact information (http://standardbreedpoultry.com/breeder/Duane UrchUrch-Turnland Poultry/190).

As far as Blue Slates, I have one hen and two toms in that color, and they're wonderful. The hen is friendly, non-aggressive, and tolerates but doesn't crave attention. The toms are big time snugglemuffins!! If you go back a few days in this thread there was a discussion about temperament in the different breeds, with the conclusion that it's really the bloodline the birds are from, not the breed, that determines behavior. Birds that are bred for the total package, including non-aggression, will be good total package birds. Birds that are just bred without selection are a lottery.

 

[austinbndr28]

Oh No!!! That's awful

So Sorry for your loss

He was beautiful.

Oh austinbndr28, I'm so sorry. What a horrible morning for you.

He is so lovely-- I"m sorry too AUstin.

Thanks. His hen is calling for him, but at least i still have her. Just hope she lays eggs this week because he was breeding her and i would love to hatch some of their babies.

 

[chicken pickin]

Thanks. His hen is calling for him, but at least i still have her. Just hope she lays eggs this week because he was breeding her and i would love to hatch some of their babies.

I hope you get some eggs

 

[austinbndr28]

I hope you get some eggs

Me too. I hope the stress of the attack this morning does not mess up her laying.

 

[chicken pickin]

Me too. I hope the stress of the attack this morning does not mess up her laying.

I sure hope it doesn't mess up her laying

My duck got attacked by a hawk a few days ago. Luckily I made it to them in time screaming at the hawk and scared it off. My duck is a trooper and didnt skip a beat, she continued to lay after her attack.

 

[yinepu]

Hi everyone. I live in austin texas and have been looking for fertile turkey eggs with now luck. Does anybody have any they are willing to sell? I am hatching for a friend of the family's... does not matter on breed.

I wish I had known a few weeks ago.. I would have started tossing the broody hens off the nests...

 

[austinbndr28]

I sure hope it doesn't mess up her laying

My duck got attacked by a hawk a few days ago. Luckily I made it to them in time screaming at the hawk and scared it off. My duck is a trooper and didnt skip a beat, she continued to lay after her attack.

Last year I was playing around with my momma duck and her 13 babies and a hawk came swooping down his wings just missed my face then he realized i was there and flew away fast.

 

[BullChick]

Austin, what kind of turkey was he?

I researched SG last month. One thing I could not figure out is if they are heritage or just meat birds? I was sure it was heritage until one site (I can't remember) said something about them being "fast growing".

Third question. The bucket heater is listed as heating water to 150*. Does it actually heat higher?

 

[austinbndr28]

Austin, what kind of turkey was he?

I researched SG last month. One thing I could not figure out is if they are heritage or just meat birds? I was sure it was heritage until one site (I can't remember) said something about them being "fast growing".

Third question. The bucket heater is listed as heating water to 150*. Does it actually heat higher?

Eastern