Turkey tips

[PotterWatch]

I have seen people say that turkeys shouldn't be put out on the ground until they are a couple months old. Is this for disease prevention of some sort? I am planning to tractor my poults with some broilers until the broilers are ready to be processed at 8wks. They will go into the tractor at about 3wks old. When the broilers are processed, the turkeys will be going into their own 25 x 30 pen. What are your opinions on this plan? What complications might I run into? What type of housing should I provide for the turkeys in their pen? Do they need an enclosed area to sleep in or do they just need an area where they can have shade during the day?

 

[bryan99705]

Sounds kinda young to be out but you do what you have to. You should protect them from excess heat and cold including drafts and wet. Maybe give them something to nest in at night like a low sided box with straw so they can keep warm and either move them in at night or cover them with a tarp in case of weather. Still pretty fragile at this age. Start thinking about perches (I cut saplings and stick them thru the wire side to side so I can adjust or remove them easily).

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

Mine were 2 weeks old yesterday and have been in a outdoor pen with a small run for days. The weather has been very mild at night and hot during the day and its even rained alot on and off. They are all soaking wet right now and heading towards the heatlamp to dry off. I will go out after dark and they will all be snuggled in or spread out depending on how warm it remains....but if it was colder they would be still in a warm brooder!

Only thing to add to what bryan posted was protection from predators.