Turkeys as pets?

[brd lady]

I have had pet turkeys for many years. Turkeys are very loving and loyal pets, if you raise them they will heel like a dog, protect you, and gobble whenever someone pulls into your drive like a dog wood bark.
Turkeys will stick close to the house but you will need a fence when you are not there as neighborhood dogs will get them if they are not fenced when you are gone. Moreover, turkeys get so attached they may follow your car as you leave for work. They do fine in small groups but a pair would be better then just one as he/she would be lonely.
Hope that helps
Cindy

 

[frank53061]

I have several acres of land and I have some neighbors fairly close and it seemed that with all the land to roam they would go towards the neighbors property and when I would allow them to free range that is were they would attempt to go so a wise person on this web site suggested that I should only let out part of my flock because they would not go far from the rest and it works the ones allowed to free range don't go more than say 200 to 300 feet away from the pen I make sure that all are back in the pen a few hours before dark to prevent them from wanting to roost in a tree or some were else.

I keep water out side of the pen for the rangers but no food they eat what ever they can find grass bugs etc,.
after a few hours I will see the free rangers back at the entrance to the pen wanting back in to eat there feed I will let them back in and let the rest out to free range this works out great for me.
Turkeys are better than chickens as far as personality and lord do they love there snacks water melon and cantaloupe rinds and left over bread its like a feeding frenzy.
We have been having some temps ranging from 95 to 103 so I put a yard sprinkler in there pen or run and turn that on a few times during the day when I can and there is a hard plastic kiddy pool for them to drink from and stand in its funny watching them flapping around in the kiddie pool.

My plan is to sell some eat some and keep some for breeding so the breeders will be like pets so to speak.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Oh, gosh! I love reading about everyone's pets. We have 7 and got them for yard ornaments for the farm. I can see I have much to learn about turkeys and how much they are going to help me with chores.

 

[frank53061]

Talk about pampered Turkeys I make from scratch Biscuit's Sunday morning and the Chickens and Turkeys always get some as a treat here they are enjoying there Sunday Biscuits.

 

[robyn1976]

I have 2 royal palms a tom and Hen I have never raised them before I have had them about a year our tom is very friendly and hangs in the yard with the kids! The hen only likes me! we bought for just pets they are so funny and sweet! Our tom is very protective of our youngest daughter she is 19 months when she is out in the yrad he does circle her!!!!!! We love them!!!!

 

[aoxa]

Just thought I'd share a picture of my pet turkey Betty (not sure if it's a hen or a tom, but it is still Betty) snuggling up on my boot this evening. Breed is Eastern Wild.

 

[Jerry6]

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Hi, I had 2 turkeys, a male who looked like the traditional picture book turkey and a female, Holland White. We got them from a distant relative who raised them for sale. We, actually my husband, wanted to raise two poults as pets. We had a 3 acre property with a horse, donkey, 2 barn cats, and 2 poodles. So naturally we got 2 turkeys, who were named Tom and Jerry. I initially thought they would simply rome the property and be indifferent to the humans, ( husband, wife and 12year old son). Boy was I wrong. They quickly bonded with the three of us as well as each other. Never get just one. Tommy, the Holland White, was particularly fond of my husband and would follow him around and jump in the van when the door was open. She also came up a flight of stairs on the back deck and pecked at the window each night for him to carry her to the barn at bed time. Unusual but really a nice ritual. The male was more protective and grew to 40 lbs. He gobbled when someone strange came onto the property. As they grew we discovered that Tommy was really a female as she laid an egg, sometimes two daily. Both were truly educational and were taken to a local school to show the children. The male would change color on his head when anxious or on guard, from red to bluish white. Twice I had seen him go after a strange dog on the property who he perceived as a threat. He flew a short distance with talons protruding. Quite intimidating, the large dog ran! The turkeys were easy keepers, to feed and take care of. Once they knew where they lived, they stayed around. Tommy was stolen from the property, very sad at age 3. Jerry, after mourning for 2 weeks, bonded to me and lived to age 6. This is very long as life expectancy is far shorter. We ate Tommy's eggs as I did not purchase any during the time she was with us. The egg is larger than a chicken, brown with dark brown speckles and similar in taste to a duck egg. However the shell is very hard and I had to cut it with a serrated knife to open. I've found that animals, as people rise to your expectations. They certainly were not dumb and truly enjoyable pets who taught us all a great deal. BMI

 

[eric1]

Hi we breed ducks to eat and use there Eggs and live on a 27 acre block in the Sarina Range.
We have 4 Steers 1 horse 30 Ducks with another 4 ducks sitting on batches of eggs 6 chickes and 2 poodles.
We went to the Sarina Markets and purchased 1 tom and 2 gennies with the idea that they would also be lunch, But they were very frendly and always seeking our company ( Or Food) so now i have 2 Gennies sitting on 36 eggs and 1 Tom who is not a happy chappy being left on his own.He has adopted the ducks and hangs around with them all of the time. I do not think that they will do weel on there own as they love company. My Turkeys are Bronzes. I like them so much that i will scale back my ducks and allow the Turkeys to breed up a bit. Only the Tom and the two gennies will not go into the pot.All my Ducks and Turkeys are total free range and go where thay like but i do feed twice a day and if the do wander off then they are always back for tea.
Have fun with your Turkey.
Eric

 

[fansotegui]

My turkey loves standing in the kiddie pool.

 

[Book Em Danno25]

My 2 Bourbon Red Hens are pets, and that only. I would say to get at least two.