Turkey Talk for 2014

[SilkieSensation]

Question.... Can turkeys eat chicken feed and can I keep 1 turkey hen alone with 4 other chicken hens?

I feed my turkeys with chicken feed I use scratch feed. Keeping Turkeys with chickens is not advisable due to black head disease. Chickens can be carriers of the disease which do not affect them but it is deadly on turkeys. I was raising 3 royal palms with my chickens I lost all three to the terrible disease. I learned my lesson I have not lost any for a long time    

I hatch, brood, raise & pen chickens & turkeys together with no issues. Hatching & brooding together should not be a problem even if your area has blackhead (mine does not) since blackhead lives in the soil. The birds are exposed to it when they are put out on the ground. If blackhead is in your area, you are likely to have a problem raising turkeys whether they are with chickens or not. The only way to avoid exposing turkeys to blackhead is to pen them off the ground on wire or concrete. Check with your local npip or ag office to see if blackhead is an issue in your area.

 

[klilly20]

I hatch, brood, raise & pen chickens & turkeys together with no issues. Hatching & brooding together should not be a problem even if your area has blackhead (mine does not) since blackhead lives in the soil. The birds are exposed to it when they are put out on the ground. If blackhead is in your area, you are likely to have a problem raising turkeys whether they are with chickens or not. The only way to avoid exposing turkeys to blackhead is to pen them off the ground on wire or concrete. Check with your local npip or ag office to see if blackhead is an issue in your area.

Yea I agree not every one has black disease I just happen to be one of the some that does. I posted on BYC back in the summer during the the time I was fighting to keep my turkeys alive I was told to not put chickens and turkeys together due to the disease. I did and my turkeys are thriving and very healthy, Iam currently keeping them in a concreted pen as much they would like to wonder I can not let just knowing the will die as soon I do. I did brood a Royal Palm with chickens that hatched the same time in a concreted brooder. It died of that disease. So I am not sure the chicks were carries as well or I tracked it in on the bottom of my shoes when I walked in It died at six weeks like the others

 

[Attila the Hen]

I have kept my turkeys and chickens together for over a year. In fact the turkey has raised 2 groups of chickens.
I have a question please.
Are turkey poults less hardy than chickens? In general are turkeys more fragile and prone to disease? I would appreciate any feedback.
thank you

 

[holm25]

Yes poults r WAY more fragile than chicks!!

 

[TattooedMama]

I have kept my turkeys and chickens together for over a year. In fact the turkey has raised 2 groups of chickens.
I have a question please.
Are turkey poults less hardy than chickens? In general are turkeys more fragile and prone to disease? I would appreciate any feedback.
thank you

Turkey poults are much more fragile than chickens. I am not sure that they are any more prone to disease necessarily though.

In general they take longer to learn to eat and drink and are more likely to be affected by incorrect temperatures. For these reasons people tend to lose some of their babies. You really have to make sure you teach them to eat and drink or they will starve/dehydrate with food and water right in front of them.

Also, I have heard many people prfer to keep them indoors for a longer period of time. I live in Southern California and put my chicken chicks out about 6 weeks so long as there are enough to keep warm at night. When I last had poults I kept them in much longer.

 

[WalnutHill]

Turkey poults are much more fragile than chickens. I am not sure that they are any more prone to disease necessarily though.

In general they take longer to learn to eat and drink and are more likely to be affected by incorrect temperatures. For these reasons people tend to lose some of their babies. You really have to make sure you teach them to eat and drink or they will starve/dehydrate with food and water right in front of them.

Also, I have heard many people prfer to keep them indoors for a longer period of time. I live in Southern California and put my chicken chicks out about 6 weeks so long as there are enough to keep warm at night. When I last had poults I kept them in much longer.

My personal experiences with turkeys are different. My turkey poults are more curious, and find food and water before they are even feeling hunger. While people recommend colored glass marbles and such things to attract the turkeys to the water, I find that their curiosity forces them to plunge their faces in to examine them more closely rather than just get a drink. I've never had one starve that did not have a serious issue at hatch.

Turkeys see many colors, and especially trigger on red and blue. I like to raise them under white light.

I don't keep any chicks or poults in the house for more than two weeks unless there is snow on the ground. They move out under a heat lamp in the coop, which is a tarp roofed, wire fence sided metal pole building (like a greenhouse with wire sides).

Broad breasted turkeys do seem to have more accidents because of their bulk after the first couple of weeks.

If cold and damp weather blows in, I do find that turkeys seem to find it more disturbing than chickens do, especially broad breasted birds with a low activity level. The heritage turkeys don't care for it but other than ruffled feathers, they don't seem to care too much. And, unlike the chickens, the turkeys will avoid standing out in the rain.

The turkeys are much gentler on turf. They eat blades of grass and don't disturb the roots unless the grass is gone. Chickens will scratch it to oblivion.

While I am by no means an "expert", I've raised thousands of chickens and many hundreds of turkeys from day old to market age, and have kept several pairs /trios of breeders over the last few years.

 

[AmericanMom]

My personal experiences with turkeys are different. My turkey poults are more curious, and find food and water before they are even feeling hunger. While people recommend colored glass marbles and such things to attract the turkeys to the water, I find that their curiosity forces them to plunge their faces in to examine them more closely rather than just get a drink. I've never had one starve that did not have a serious issue at hatch.

Turkeys see many colors, and especially trigger on red and blue. I like to raise them under white light.

I don't keep any chicks or poults in the house for more than two weeks unless there is snow on the ground. They move out under a heat lamp in the coop, which is a tarp roofed, wire fence sided metal pole building (like a greenhouse with wire sides).

Broad breasted turkeys do seem to have more accidents because of their bulk after the first couple of weeks.

If cold and damp weather blows in, I do find that turkeys seem to find it more disturbing than chickens do, especially broad breasted birds with a low activity level. The heritage turkeys don't care for it but other than ruffled feathers, they don't seem to care too much. And, unlike the chickens, the turkeys will avoid standing out in the rain.

The turkeys are much gentler on turf. They eat blades of grass and don't disturb the roots unless the grass is gone. Chickens will scratch it to oblivion.

While I am by no means an "expert", I've raised thousands of chickens and many hundreds of turkeys from day old to market age, and have kept several pairs /trios of breeders over the last few years.

I have to second everything you said, as soon as I put my poults in the grow out pen (2.5 weeks) they were already searching for bugs. I am tempted to hatch out a set without chickens to prove my theory. I have yet (knock on wood) to lose a poult and the oldest if around 6 weeks.

 

[TattooedMama]

My personal experiences with turkeys are different. My turkey poults are more curious, and find food and water before they are even feeling hunger. While people recommend colored glass marbles and such things to attract the turkeys to the water, I find that their curiosity forces them to plunge their faces in to examine them more closely rather than just get a drink. I've never had one starve that did not have a serious issue at hatch.

Turkeys see many colors, and especially trigger on red and blue. I like to raise them under white light.

I don't keep any chicks or poults in the house for more than two weeks unless there is snow on the ground. They move out under a heat lamp in the coop, which is a tarp roofed, wire fence sided metal pole building (like a greenhouse with wire sides).

Broad breasted turkeys do seem to have more accidents because of their bulk after the first couple of weeks.

If cold and damp weather blows in, I do find that turkeys seem to find it more disturbing than chickens do, especially broad breasted birds with a low activity level. The heritage turkeys don't care for it but other than ruffled feathers, they don't seem to care too much. And, unlike the chickens, the turkeys will avoid standing out in the rain.

The turkeys are much gentler on turf. They eat blades of grass and don't disturb the roots unless the grass is gone. Chickens will scratch it to oblivion.

While I am by no means an "expert", I've raised thousands of chickens and many hundreds of turkeys from day old to market age, and have kept several pairs /trios of breeders over the last few years.

I'm certainly not an expert myself, just repeating the general cautions associated with turkeys that I have heard. I have only raised a handful of turkeys. I have never personally lost any chicks and did not find it particularly hard to brood them either.

I don't like to put heat lamps outside; I know that sounds odd but it just makes me uncomfortable.

I do not have an elaborate setup as I am guessing some do (I have seen some that made me green with envy!!) I would rather move birds to the garage than put them outside but I use a Brinsea Ecoglow now anyways.

 

[duluthralphie]

Every poult I lost can be attributed to an eagle!

With one exceptionally stupid one that crawled under a fence and got stuck there when Ethel was raising them.

I have only lost two adult turkeys, one was the female I got with JJ and Ethel, they were not healthy when I got them I think the pace I got them from was abusive in the living conditions they came from. The hen that died was weak and had a breathing problem and died within three weeks of my getting her. ( they lived in the city under a deck to a house with about 30 other birds (ducks, chickens and turkeys) on top of 2 feet of rotting smelly manure, it was disgusting)

I raised my poults with chickens from the start. I find them tougher than keets by a factor of 10 and on par with chicks, maybe a tad tougher.

 

[Attila the Hen]

The reason I raised the question was because last year I lost 3 out of 4 of the babies at about 12 weeks old--if I recall correctly. They were pretty big. I found the tom stomping on 2 of them but I feel sure he didn't kill them. I saved the last one with a course of antibiotics.
Because it was so difficult I didn't let the hen sit on her clutch in the fall with winter coming on. Instead she raised some chickens. She is a very good mother and is currently sitting on 8 eggs. I'm hoping I don't see a die off like I did last year. I recall last year was very wet and the feed was moldy at the bottom. That may have been the cause of death. I'll make sure that won't happen again but any input anyone can give me is much appreciated.
Thank you to those of you who already responded.