Turkey tractors

[Jared77]

Anybody doing this? Would you mind sharing your measurements and number of birds kept in your tractor? Ive had great success with chickens and wanted to add a few turkeys for next year. I can't find anything solid to go on so I can do this right.

Any major do's or don'ts with raising turkeys?

Thank you for your time

 

[SED]

I am curious also. Would this be an okay way to raise heritage turkeys or should it be reserved for Broad Breasted Turkeys only?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I had mine in a tractor until it got hot as hell here, then I let them free range so they could find shade and get the good breezes (in the woods). My tractor was a used model, so I don't have exact measurements.

Here's a blog post showing me moving the tractor. I'm not sure how much you can see of the actual tractor.

Here's an updated post showing their current size.

 

[Lagerdogger]

We do meat chickens in tractors, and we bought are tractors from someone who used to keep turkeys in one. Her turkey tractor was 10 X 10, and about 8 inches taller than the chicken tractors. I don't know how many turkeys she crammed in there. I would guess you could raise about as many pounds of turkeys as chickens. We raise 40 chickens to about 8 lbs, so that's 320 pounds of birds. That's about 16 20-lb turkeys.

I'm not sure that's the best rate, but it would be a reasonable place to start.

I would think you COULD raise heritage turkeys this way, but would you really want to? For me, part of the joy of the heritage turkey is watching them run around, coming up to greet you, and milling around you when you sit with them. They are so personable. We do have presators around, so they can't just wander the farm. So I fenced in some field and woods and they love it!

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

Here is a picture of my turkey tractor. It is 14 x20 about 7 feet tall. My poults stay in this for 3 months to imprint on their tiny brains that this is home. They come back throughout the day to eat and get water and roost at night. I lock them in at dark and open the next day... I ordered 12 heritage turkey chicks and they sent me 17.

I move this every other day to fresh grass to keep the turkey dropping from getting so bad under the roost...I have a tub in the pen with sand and DE for them to dust in and during the day they return to bathe and eat from the bucket feeder...

 

[MiHomesteader]

Hey Mr. Bojangles can you offer any dimensions, or basic material list for this turkey tractor? (including how many you can raise in here... I always tend to give more space than "needed" to keep everyone happy). I see it's been almost 2 years since your original post but this is just what I've been thinking about doing. I want to add some Standard Bronze turkeys to my family this year. Also, if covered with a uv resistant tarp, would this be sufficient housing for winter months? (I'm in Michigan)

Thanks!!

 

[LLMama]

Here is a picture of my turkey tractor. It is 14 x20 about 7 feet tall. My poults stay in this for 3 months to imprint on their tiny brains that this is home. They come back throughout the day to eat and get water and roost at night. I lock them in at dark and open the next day... I ordered 12 heritage turkey chicks and they sent me 17.

I move this every other day to fresh grass to keep the turkey dropping from getting so bad under the roost...I have a tub in the pen with sand and DE for them to dust in and during the day they return to bathe and eat from the bucket feeder...

I know this post is old, however, I am looking to getting a few turkeys for meat this year for the first time. I have been raising egg chickens for 2 years.

My first question is, Do I want the turkeys penned until we butcher them or can I let them free range after they know where home is? I am worried the meat will be tough if they are free to roam.

My second question is this, I live in the woods for the most part and I am worried the turkeys will take to the trees if they are not penned up all the time.
Any help on these topics would be greatly appreciated.

 

[schnauzerpup]

Here is a picture of my turkey tractor. It is 14 x20 about 7 feet tall. My poults stay in this for 3 months to imprint on their tiny brains that this is home. They come back throughout the day to eat and get water and roost at night. I lock them in at dark and open the next day... I ordered 12 heritage turkey chicks and they sent me 17.

I move this every other day to fresh grass to keep the turkey dropping from getting so bad under the roost...I have a tub in the pen with sand and DE for them to dust in and during the day they return to bathe and eat from the bucket feeder...

What’s your experience with predators with this? Do you lock them up in this at night, or move them to a more permanent structure?

 

[R2elk]

What’s your experience with predators with this? Do you lock them up in this at night, or move them to a more permanent structure?

This thread is from 2010. The person you replied to hasn't been on BYC since 2015.