Turkey Talk for 2014

[CherMoz]

I am very excited for my Palms and other heritage birds to be broody next spring. They're all only five months old right now but by next April, I expect good things.

Have fun

 

[B J Hopkins]

I have a 3.5 yr old Bourbon Red hen, a 2 yr old Blue Slate, a 1.5 yr old Bourbon red & Rusty Black. My Tom is 1yr but I'm trying to trade him for a different Tom because he's son to my oldest hen & brother to the others except the Blue Slate. My question is; how long are the hens good for brooding & raising chicks. Also how long are the Toms good for breeding?

Oh yes, all of my hens have brooded their own eggs and have been good Mommas'.

 

[chickadoodles]

I have a batch of poults roughly 3 weeks old that seem to be having issues. These are being raised no different than any of my other chicks and poults. They are indoors under a heat lamp, feed high protein chick starter and fresh water daily. The seem to have weak wobbly "drunken" legs. It all started about a week or a week and a half ago when they all got a really hard thick poopy crust layer under all their feet. I picked it off clean consistently but Im wondering if that may have caused an issue.

The reason I think their feet got like that is because I started using paper towels again once I noticed I had a shavings eater. I took the paper towels away once I noticed the feet and now their feet are fine but the poults are acting off.

Im wondering if anyone else has had this happen. I haven't lost any from this yet and they are all eating and drinking they just arent walking well at all.

Any ideas?

What kind of shavings are you using? Could be a vitamin thing. Try giving them some polyvisol childrens liquid vitamins with out iron.

 

[WeatheredWings]

Hope your weekend is as relaxing as theirs!

 

[TattooedMama]

I know I have been MIA since I put all my birds down but we have been trying to plan for a new start for next year which will also include ducks!!

Just wanted to let you guys know, for those interested, that Porter's Turkeys is now accepting orders for 2015.

PLUS it's 10% off right now. I have been checking almost daily and finally they opened for orders!! Super bummed that this year there will be no Lilacs available because I really wanted them but I ordered some Red Slate which do have some Lilac offspring and are very beautiful in their own right. We also ordered Black Spanish and what looks like a new variety (maybe I am wrong?) of Pencilled Blue Palms. I had seen the pencilled which I think are beautiful, and even Red Pencilled variety but there isn't a section for the Blue Penciled on their site and neither could I find anything by googling so I think maybe this is the first time he has offered them. I could be wrong though. You guys should take a look, they are super pretty!! http://www.porterturkeys.com/pbp.htm

My honey and I are super excited to have Turkey's back on the property and due diligence paid off since we ordered now we should have them in the beginning of Porters shipping season in early May.

 

[desertmarcy]

I know I have been MIA since I put all my birds down but we have been trying to plan for a new start for next year which will also include ducks!!

Just wanted to let you guys know, for those interested, that Porter's Turkeys is now accepting orders for 2015.

PLUS it's 10% off right now. I have been checking almost daily and finally they opened for orders!! Super bummed that this year there will be no Lilacs available because I really wanted them but I ordered some Red Slate which do have some Lilac offspring and are very beautiful in their own right. We also ordered Black Spanish and what looks like a new variety (maybe I am wrong?) of Pencilled Blue Palms. I had seen the pencilled which I think are beautiful, and even Red Pencilled variety but there isn't a section for the Blue Penciled on their site and neither could I find anything by googling so I think maybe this is the first time he has offered them. I could be wrong though. You guys should take a look, they are super pretty!! http://www.porterturkeys.com/pbp.htm

My honey and I are super excited to have Turkey's back on the property and due diligence paid off since we ordered now we should have them in the beginning of Porters shipping season in early May.

I've got Lilacs that I got from Porter last year and was offering poults this spring. I plan to offer poults of them next year as well, along with several other varieties I breed. I also have the Red Slate and really like them. I only have one hen though. I was going to raise up some more this year, but just didn't have the space. I do have one more nice Lilac hen I'm raising that I will add to my breeding group. I also raise the Penciled Palms and really like them. My pair from Porter were both tricolors and I also like the pure black and white, so I hatched and am raising a LOT of them this year, to get some of the black and white as well as tricolors. I have one pair of the black and white (without the red gene) in my older group growing up. The younger group are still too young to tell exact color and sex, but I do believe I have a few more. I also ended up with 2 Red Penciled Palm hens to go with the tom I got from Porter last year. Their penciling is not as distinct but I like their pastel buff color, very pretty! My older tom has finished molting and is looking beautiful again. Will have to get some new pics! I need to decide how to match up my Penciled Palms (I've seen it spelled both with one "l" and two) for next year since I will have the black and white, tricolor, and red to work with.

Thanks for the post about him taking orders. I believe I am turkey-d out right now (all my pens are full). He must be cutting back on some breeds but I know he did not have the Blue Penciled Palms before since I look at his site regularly! Drooling

 

[TattooedMama]

I've got Lilacs that I got from Porter last year and was offering poults this spring. I plan to offer poults of them next year as well, along with several other varieties I breed. I also have the Red Slate and really like them. I only have one hen though. I was going to raise up some more this year, but just didn't have the space. I do have one more nice Lilac hen I'm raising that I will add to my breeding group. I also raise the Penciled Palms and really like them. My pair from Porter were both tricolors and I also like the pure black and white, so I hatched and am raising a LOT of them this year, to get some of the black and white as well as tricolors. I have one pair of the black and white (without the red gene) in my older group growing up. The younger group are still too young to tell exact color and sex, but I do believe I have a few more. I also ended up with 2 Red Penciled Palm hens to go with the tom I got from Porter last year. Their penciling is not as distinct but I like their pastel buff color, very pretty! My older tom has finished molting and is looking beautiful again. Will have to get some new pics! I need to decide how to match up my Penciled Palms (I've seen it spelled both with one "l" and two) for next year since I will have the black and white, tricolor, and red to work with.

Thanks for the post about him taking orders. I believe I am turkey-d out right now (all my pens are full). He must be cutting back on some breeds but I know he did not have the Blue Penciled Palms before since I look at his site regularly! Drooling

I was looking at the website like crazy the past few months too trying to decide which ones I wanted. I thought I had it figured out until he opened up and I saw no Lilacs and learned the maximum number of any one color was 6. I had a feeling the Blue Penciled were new so I made sure to order them. It will be nice to have something not too many others will have. I would love some Lilacs next year, do you ship them? It's nice to hear from someone who has the Pencils and Red Slate and likes them. We can't wait to have turkeys again

 

[desertmarcy]

I was looking at the website like crazy the past few months too trying to decide which ones I wanted. I thought I had it figured out until he opened up and I saw no Lilacs and learned the maximum number of any one color was 6. I had a feeling the Blue Penciled were new so I made sure to order them. It will be nice to have something not too many others will have. I would love some Lilacs next year, do you ship them? It's nice to hear from someone who has the Pencils and Red Slate and likes them. We can't wait to have turkeys again

Yes, turkeys are addictive! I would love some of his new Self Buffs but no room right now! Yes, I ship turkeys. Only via Priority Express because they seem more delicate than chickens. I have a 15-poult minimum to ship. Thinking of charging $12 next year for the rarer breeds like the Lilacs and Penciled Palms, and $10 for the more common ones I have, Bourbon Red, Royal Palm, Slate, and Lavender. Last year I charged $10 across the board for 15 or more and $12 across the board for less than 15 poults. But I raise all my turkeys on organic feed and no free ranging here in the desert, so it is expensive to maintain them. I kept a pen of spare toms just in case something happened to my main one. So that was 5 toms not in breeding pens that I fed all year just for insurance. Some of my breeds are better layers than others. My Slates and Lavenders (Self Blues) are the best. The Lilac and Red Slate have been so-so. Pretty good during the early spring, but they have slacked off now whereas I am still getting a fair number of eggs from my Slates, Lavenders, and Royal Palms. An occasional egg from a Bourbon Red. Guess what I'm saying is, not sure if I could fill an entire order with Lilac, but I will be adding a hen. I have my Red Slate hen in with the Lilac tom, so she produces 50% of each color. Of course I don't know how many Red Slate I will have until they hatch and I don't know which eggs belong to her. Rarely catch them in the act of laying. I got my Red Slate last year because they were my second choice for the Lilac. Like you, I knew they could produce some Lilacs. Then when I got them and they grew up, I really liked the color! I think you can get a similar color by breeding a Bourbon Red and Slate, but genetically, the offspring will be much more mixed than the Red Slate and bred together will produce a whole mish-mash whereas with the Red Slate, bred together you are only getting 3 varieties and they are all easy to tell apart as poults so you know what you have.

 

[Classy Chick]

Hello! I just got my first turkey, named Pedro (after the one on The Giant) and am already in love! I was wondering if anyone knew what breed he could be? I is only about a month and a half old, but is very sweet and follows me around everywhere like a dog. He does have a crooked leg, but walks around fine on it so I think that it is ok. I am pretty sure that he is a boy, since the skin on the top of his head is turning blue and he is starting to get little red wattle like bumps on his neck.

 

[TattooedMama]

Yes, turkeys are addictive! I would love some of his new Self Buffs but no room right now! Yes, I ship turkeys. Only via Priority Express because they seem more delicate than chickens. I have a 15-poult minimum to ship. Thinking of charging $12 next year for the rarer breeds like the Lilacs and Penciled Palms, and $10 for the more common ones I have, Bourbon Red, Royal Palm, Slate, and Lavender. Last year I charged $10 across the board for 15 or more and $12 across the board for less than 15 poults. But I raise all my turkeys on organic feed and no free ranging here in the desert, so it is expensive to maintain them. I kept a pen of spare toms just in case something happened to my main one. So that was 5 toms not in breeding pens that I fed all year just for insurance. Some of my breeds are better layers than others. My Slates and Lavenders (Self Blues) are the best. The Lilac and Red Slate have been so-so. Pretty good during the early spring, but they have slacked off now whereas I am still getting a fair number of eggs from my Slates, Lavenders, and Royal Palms. An occasional egg from a Bourbon Red. Guess what I'm saying is, not sure if I could fill an entire order with Lilac, but I will be adding a hen. I have my Red Slate hen in with the Lilac tom, so she produces 50% of each color. Of course I don't know how many Red Slate I will have until they hatch and I don't know which eggs belong to her. Rarely catch them in the act of laying. I got my Red Slate last year because they were my second choice for the Lilac. Like you, I knew they could produce some Lilacs. Then when I got them and they grew up, I really liked the color! I think you can get a similar color by breeding a Bourbon Red and Slate, but genetically, the offspring will be much more mixed than the Red Slate and bred together will produce a whole mish-mash whereas with the Red Slate, bred together you are only getting 3 varieties and they are all easy to tell apart as poults so you know what you have.

Darn, I won't need another 15 poults as I just ordered 17 but we will see how many extra males I end up with. Any chance you would be willing to sell eggs or do you have any chicks you could put in as "cheap fillers"? I actually really liked the Red Slate coloration too. There's just something about them I am drawn to. Besides, I figured it makes sense to have a nice pen of Red Slates for more diversity in a Lilac breeding pen.