Turkeys For 2013

[kuntrygirl]

I don't recommend Wild Turkeys of any sort. Though a turkey is a turkey regardless the breed, the wild turkeys are not good for eating, at all. The breast is about the only edible part. I mean you can eat the rest of the bird if you like chewing on leather and picking tendons out of your teeth. You'll need to check with you local conservation department to see what regulations you need to follow also what permits you might need to obtain to keep and raise these birds. They are attractive birds, but from a practical stand point heritage breeds were developed because people wanted more out of wild turkeys. It's like cutting down a Red Delicious apple tree to plant a wild crab apple tree. People wanted more from the crab apple tree so they worked diligently and patiently to make improvements. Now in the case of turkeys, people pushed that too far and developed broad breasted type birds which couldn't survive without human intervention, So we go back to our heritage breeds which still all in all have beauty and dual purpose for food.

That bad?

 

[Uly235]

I just want 2 or 3 wild turkeys, and not to picky with meat but im sure they are mostly dark meat. Be nice to have just a bundle of wilds for protections and they can teach some foraging skills to domestic turkeys. The domestic I have raised were terrible at foraging, chickens taught them a little but I do mostly want heritage turkeys. Ive never tried the broad breasted ones, I though of getting the bronze bb and they look a little more natural than the white bb. Be nice to have something grow fast for food lol

 

[Treebird]

Yes kuntrygirl, not worth it for eating. Uly235, wilds and domestic turkeys forage the same from the years I've owned and observed them. You must have had lazy turkeys Lol. Like I said also, I would look into your local regulations on owning them. Keep in mind all, that even though wild turkeys are wild turkeys, they are not rare. They are the most common in the United States.

 

[Celie]

This time of the year, there is not a lot around for turkeys to forage on, but come spring time when the bugs get plentiful, the more pasture you have for your turkeys to forage on, the more they have to do foraging with. They forage like a search party, in a line across about 10 yards between them, they hardly miss a grasshopper or a bug as they cross over the Fields. Also if you feed them early in the day, they get lazy and wait for a handout and soon become a freeloader. I feed mine twice a day, around 10 or 11 am and again right before dark, so they go to roost on a full stomach. I do not leave feed in a feeder so they can eat whenever they like. I feed the poults, in the brooder, free choice, that's different, and I always put a few chicks in with the poults, to teach them the ropes on eating and drinking, so they don't see me as MAMA and rely on me for all of their food, after they go outside. This may not be the best way and others might have a better way, but it's what works for me!

I think the more land you have, per turkey, the better they can forage. They can't forage where there is nothing to forage on and they do not only eat grass. When DH goes fishing, he brings a box of crickets from the bait shop, for the birds and you aught to see the turkeys go after them! LOL Very few get away! When we cut the pasture, the turkeys follow the lawn mower or tractor and eat the grasshoppers as they jump out of the way of the blades.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Yea, my turkeys will fly over their fence, go in the woods or the big yard and forage and fly back over into the big chicken yard. Silly wabbits.

 

[Celie]

The more they forage, the less their feed will cost you, so invite more grasshoppers to your house, they are a turkey's natural food! At least that's what the books say, and I have been reading a lot of books on-line about Turkeys. Someone a month or so ago poster several links to some great Turkey reading. I would advise everyone seriously even thinking about raising turkeys to read them. They hold a wealth of information. I really enjoyed the older books, written almost 100 years ago the most!

 

[bayvistafarm]

My trio of turkeys, out of about 15 eggs, produced 4 poults.. but the one by the time I got to it (they hatched over 3 days), had its guts popped out of it. Likely due to the fact the 2 hens were trying to brood. Sad. But.. I did end up with 3... they are in a hot box in the barn (and its a cold bank barn), under a heat lamp... and I had to order a bag of turkey starter in for them, as the only time they carry it.. is when there is a demand... like when the feed stores order in chicks/poults/ducklings for people to grow in the spring. The biggest one is just now showing a wee bit of black on its wings. I haven't had the time to play with them much... the real reason is to do so would be to move the heat lamp.. and I don't want to give them a chill. The entire box is enclosed with a horse blanket wrapped around, plywood, and roofing shingles on the top around the bulb. Theres a cardboard box inside, ON its side... so they can get under that, and out of the direct heat, incase it gets too hot under the lamp. They look good tho! I got the palms, because they are so pretty. But.. the tom has gotten huge! I picked him up the other day, got on my weigh scales, and my daughter took the weight, and hes about 26 lbs. I didn't think the palms got so big. The hens are a nice size tho. The one weighs 16 pounds. The other one is a freak, lol. Very nervous. The tom as late, as been coming at me, and trying to 'attack', jump on me when I enter the pen. So much for him being nice. I wonder why hes doing that all of a sudden?? I would hate for him to do that to our 2 year old grandson next spring.. its got me thinking that I may have to keep them penned up somewhere, instead of letting them outside. Bummer.

 

[Celie]

My girls have been laying for a month now. First it was only 1 or 2 every couple of days, but they are up to 4 or 5 every day, except today, I only got 1 ! So far, I have put them all into the incubator. I have hatched out 5 so far, but one cannot walk yet. He can stand against the side of something for support, but he leans to one side, so we'll see, I remember the eggs being larger last year, so I thought they would not be fertile, and maybe were pullet eggs like when chickens first start to lay. Since I put them into the incubator as they were gathered each day, it will be a staggered hatch, but so far 5 out of the first 6 eggs hatched and the one that didn't was the first one laid and was not fertile! I will be keeping everyone updated as time goes on ! I don't really know why, but the last one to hatch today was put into the incubator on the 10th of December and one is peeping out tonight, that was put in on 12/11. I guess it's the GQF Sportsmen 1502 incubator, I use, it does such a good job, it even hatches eggs QUICKER ! LOL

 

[theuglyduckling]

I live in Puerto Rico I have lots of land the grass is always green and growing and the yard is always filled with bugs. The yard
always has like 4 ant hills in it will turkeys eat ants? I also have lots of cockroaches and crickets will they eat cockroaches? How do people
get their turkeys to free range when they are old enough to go outside?

 

[kuntrygirl]

Two poults have hatched a day early. I only had 10 eggs in the bator, so it's not a big batch. The 4 of the 6 eggs that were stored in the refrigerator that I am experimenting with have zipped, are rocking and pipping. I'm crossing my fingers that the refrigerated eggs will hatch. I'll know more when I get home.

So, now I"m back to a back room brooder. :/