Turkey Talk for 2014

[SilkieSensation]

Someone asked about head space needed above a roost several pages back. I never saw an answer to this question. I would also like to know.
Second question. So far, everyone has shown nests on the floor. Would a turkey hen use a nest three feet up?

My heritage girls roost 7ft up in the rafters of my poultry shed & have 1-2 ft of clearance depending on where they choose to roost. My heritage tom only roosts about 3-4 ft up on a tree branch roost. It has a "ladder" up to it so he just walks up & down & doesn't have to jump. The hens hop up to the lower roost & then into the rafters but jump/fly down when I open the door in the morning. I do not clip wings & they rarely try to hop my 4 ft fence though they easily could. There's no cover over my run & most of my birds could easily get out but choose to stay where the food is.

For bb turkeys, roosts should only be about a foot off the ground. I never saw any of my bb on the higher roosts after they were about 4-5 weeks old.

 

[Jryan18]

I may be getting some beltsville small white turkey hatching eggs from a true BSW breeder. Thinking about switching from the royal palms to those. Not as pretty but need their numbers increased and a nice small table bird. What do y'all think???

I don't know who you are getting them from but my advice if no one has said is be careful. I researched this breed for approx. 6 months before I was confident that I was getting a true Beltsville, and now I am not really happy with this source but it was the one person that no one had even question the authenticity of his birds. I have since purchasing found a few other people that have them that might be willing to part with some pouts when they have extra. There are also a few hatcheries that advertise having them but I have found also that those are questionable as to whether they are purebred. I am not going to put any names out but if you pm me I will give you the information I have on hatcheries but if it is a local small scale breeder I probably don't know.

 

[TurnipTruck]

My heritage girls roost 7ft up in the rafters of my poultry shed & have 1-2 ft of clearance depending on where they choose to roost. My heritage tom only roosts about 3-4 ft up on a tree branch roost. It has a "ladder" up to it so he just walks up & down & doesn't have to jump. The hens hop up to the lower roost & then into the rafters but jump/fly down when I open the door in the morning. I do not clip wings & they rarely try to hop my 4 ft fence though they easily could. There's no cover over my run & most of my birds could easily get out but choose to stay where the food is.

For bb turkeys, roosts should only be about a foot off the ground. I never saw any of my bb on the higher roosts after they were about 4-5 weeks old.

Thank you for this answer! I have searched everywhere for this overhead clearance info.

 

[R2elk]

Second question. So far, everyone has shown nests on the floor. Would a turkey hen use a nest three feet up?

It depends on the turkey. I have one hen who must think she is a chicken because she wants to and has laid her eggs in the 2nd level of the chicken nest boxes. They are approximately 2 feet above floor level. She is however the only turkey hen that I have had who has chosen to lay eggs above ground level.

 

[SilkieSensation]

 
Second question. So far, everyone has shown nests on the floor. Would a turkey hen use a nest three feet up?

It depends on the turkey.  I have one hen who must think she is a chicken because she wants to and has laid her eggs in the 2nd level of the chicken nest boxes.  They are approximately 2 feet above floor level.  She is however the only turkey hen that I have had who has chosen to lay eggs above ground level.

My nests are currently old tires sitting on the coop floor. My new place has a coop already there with 3 or 4 nest boxes about 3 ft off the ground. I plan on putting a couple of the tires on the floor under them just so the girls still have the option they are used to as well. My old coop had old dresser drawers stacked & attached to the wall about a foot apart & the chickens loved them...but the turkeys were separate then.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Hey, everyone. A couple months ago subscribed to this thread because we were getting 6 Bourbon Red poults. They are a month old now. People always say not to handle male chicks too much. Does the same hold true for turkey poults? The 4 that look like males to me are so extremely friendly. Is handling them too much a bad thing? Thanks!

You know, people say a lot of things that don't make sense!!

I handle all my cockerels constantly. The ones that are naughty are handled even more. Most turn out to be the sweetest lap roosters that know their place, because they are taught to respect me. The ones that are so aggressive that they aren't safe, which are very few and far between, are delicious. I don't tolerate birds I can't trust.

I have seven turkeys, 2 toms and 5 hens, all 11 months old now. I handled them extensively as poults. One hen was a high strung poult from day one and is a high strung adult that doesn't enjoy being carried around and petted, but she has learned to tolerate it. I won't have a bird that I can't handle or control when needed. The others are absolutely wonderful. Two of the hens and both toms absolutely need attention, and won't go to sleep without some good night snuggles. Both my toms are now 100% trustworthy, which is good because they're huge. I have no concerns about having their heads near my face while they're calm, and they regularly press their forehead against my cheek as they nuzzle in the evening. There have been a few times when they've been fighting and I've had to step in between them to break it up, and they go through considerable effort to avoid hurting me even under those circumstances (although I'd never get my face near them when they're that focused on attack -- I love them but I'm not stupid). My hens aren't aggressive while trying to go broody -- just a little hiss when I approach the nest and some cute little pleas to stop when I reach under them and take the egg away, then pick them up off the nest and carry them to the rest of the flock. Personally, I like having tame birds. I get to enjoy them, and they're less stressed on a day to day basis, and definitely less stressed if I have to do anything to them.

Be warned, though, it is harder to slaughter them once you get attached. I have one turkey and several chickens that are not breeding quality, but will never be culled because they became precious pets. But that's ok, I have plenty of room for them, and most of my pet birds are also breeding quality, so it's a win:win.

 

[chickadoodles]

I also waited to see if some old timers would answer the question on head space for turkey. I am fairly new to turkey but I have done alot of reading about raising them. Books written by Frank Reese showed their nest boxes on the ground with a board across the front to keep the eggs in the box but the boxes had like 10 nest boxes made in one piece but there was a divider between them and the top opened up to get the eggs.
I have also read to keep roost's low to the ground so they do not break their legs or have problems with their feet. Even just a concrete block to keep their nails down and beaks down to size.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Someone asked about head space needed above a roost several pages back. I never saw an answer to this question. I would also like to know.
Second question. So far, everyone has shown nests on the floor. Would a turkey hen use a nest three feet up?

I free range my turkeys over an acre, and each of 5 hens has created her own nest. One dug a hole in the ground behind a pile of wood, which she covers with dry leaves every day (smart little girl). Three have created soft round bowls of leaf litter that are well hidden underneath three different bushes, with very little head space. The last one alternated among the other hen's nests for a few months, then created her own nest about 3 feet off the ground, in the very center of a huge multitrunked maple tree. The main trunk of the tree is about 5 feet across, and rises out of the ground about 3 feet before dividing into five separate trunks, which are arranged somewhat in a circle around the periphery, with the central area vacant. Over the years that central area has become filled with leaf litter that has decomposed into wonderful soft organic material, and being elevated off the ground and surrounded by large tree trunks it is nicely hidden. There's about a 2X3 foot space available, so it's absolutely perfect for a turkey nest.

Now realize, that's a self-selected nest. There's no guarantee that a hen will use any nest that you want her to use. Before they each created their own nests, there was a large cardboard box, about 1.5'W X 1.5'H X 3'L that I put on its side, on a shelf that was about 8-10" off the ground. I put some padding in it, and had the opening facing the wall, with only about 8 inches between the wall and the box to get in. Four out of the five birds loved that box (all except the one that dug the hole and covers her nest daily). It was darkish inside, it was small enough to be enclosed, but large enough to fit two comfortably, it was long enough for their tail to stretch out, it was softish on the bottom, and it was easy to defend if a nosy rooster decided to peek inside. But they later decided to go with natural nesting, which is fine as long as they keep their nests where I can find them.

Regarding head space above a roost, that depends on the circumstances. Obviously, a tom is larger and needs more room. Birds that need to fly up on a roost need more headspace to accommodate flapping wings than birds that hop up to their roost. I have one roost that is 6 foot off the ground with a 3.5 foot headspace, and I wish I'd left another 6-8 inches up top. My large tom flies up to it off a 3 foot step, and he sometimes rubs a wing on the ceiling. Rarely, he even bumps his head when he stretches up. But those are minor issues that don't cause problems, so it's less than ideal but it works. I have another roost that is only 3 feet off the ground and has about 2 feet of headspace. That is perfect for the most of the hens, but way too tight for the toms. I have another roost that only has 1.5 feet of headspace, and the hens can fit but don't like it. The chickens prefer that roost. Those are the favorite roosts, although others are available. I wish that my toms would use a lower roost, as there are some with plenty of headspace, but they like being up as high as possible. Unfortunately, the jump down is worrisome for the largest one, as he refuses to use steps and just flies to the floor, where he chest flops in daily. At least there's lots of padding on the floor.

 

[Sydney Acres]

I've had 3 broody hens sitting on two nests of eggs. (One hen seems to go back and forth). It was recommended that I separate the hens so they wouldn't fight over the poults. I couldn't figure out a way to separate them without moving nests, which I also heard was bad. So, in my indecision, I did nothing.

A few days ago, I saw broken egg shells that looked like hatched eggs, but no poults. Thought I must have lost them.

Today, it appears I lucked out. I watched at least 4 poults running from nest to nest and mommy to mommy. It appears they are also ok with communal raising. The tom isn't entirely happy now though. The girls won't let him in the coop. They make him stay in the run. They hiss and flare up all together, and he beats a retreat.

Communal nests can either be disasters, or absolute successes. It sounds like your girls did great. It must be quite fun to watch. Pictures???

 

[BullChick]

Thank you for the responses. I see a few others appreciated it too!