Turkeys and chickens - had to seperate due to severe pecking. now what

[nsz]

Hello everyone! I have gathered a lot of great and helpful info from this forum, but this is my first time posting as I could not find the answer to my question.

So anyway, the girl and I decided this would be the year for us to raise some chickens and turkeys. I will try to keep this long story short, but, we get the 2 day old chicks and poults and keep them together in the same box. They are doing great. After the first week, the poults killed 2 of the chicks due to continuous pecking of their butts. I tried vicks vapor rub to deter them but it didn't work.

So, we get another box and seperate the 2 poults from the now 10 remaining chicks. So, here is my question/greatest concern:

When all of these little guys are ready to be moved outside, what do I need to do as far as re-introducing the turkeys to the chickens? Or, am I out of luck and the turkeys are now going to kill all of the chickens...

Thanks in advance,

nsz

 

[Joker69377]

I am sorta in the same boat. I have two copper turkey chicks and 6 New Hampshire chicks. They are around 3-4 weeks old and are all residing in the same tub. The turkey chicks are starting to peck the chick noses and are causing bleeding.
Since the turkeys are now feeding fine, should I separate them and will I have problems reintroducing them in with the chickens when they get larger?

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Welcome to BYC, nsz!

I have turkey and chicken eggs in the incubator, and hope to not have the same issues y'all did. My plan is to have two brooders ready, keep the poults and chicks together for a few days (until they're eating, drinking, and walking) then separate them. The brooders will be in the same room, so they'll be able to hear each other, anyway.

I've had the best flock integrations when I keep the two groups separated by chain link fence for a few days. They get used to each other, but can't fight. Then I let them mingle starting on a Saturday when I'm home all day and can keep an eye on things. There will always be several pecks as the pecking order gets "revised", but nothing deadly. However, this works for adult birds, and I haven't tried it with juveniles yet, so......

Good luck!

Bryan

edited to correct spelling of nsz