Turkeys For 2013

[kuntrygirl]

My 2013 plans include keeping mine alive, lol.  I just got a ~7 month pair of Narragansetts who, if all goes well, will be the start of a small breeding program. I've had them less than a week and so far have learned that #1 - a turkey will roost wherever it pleases, #2 tractor supply thinks that turkeys eat chicken food,  and #3 - a hanging chicken feeder isn't really sized for their heads.  I'm sure i'll figure out something tomorrow, I"ll let you know!

#3 we use half of a 4" pvc pipe with end caps as feeders for both our chickens and our turkeys  we hang them from a rope we can adjust for height

That's a great idea!

 

[Cooper Farms]

i am thinking of getting a turkey for thanksgiving next year.. i have never had any what kind should i get and when if iam going to get chicks??? so they will be ready

 

[Scottingitup]

i am thinking of getting a turkey for thanksgiving next year.. i have never had any what kind should i get and when if iam going to get chicks??? so they will be ready

What are your goals for the table? A single bird for thanksgiving or a few to breed and have a supply of birds each year? A single bird would be a Broad Breasted strain (BBB,BBW) purchased as a poult around mid june. Breeding stock would be a heritage variety (I am partial to bourbon reds) that you would need to get asap come spring feb/march time frame.

 

[Cooper Farms]

i think iam going with reds also i think i only want 2 i will try them if i like them i might get more to use for incubating later. but if i go with reds i need to get them as chicks in feb/march do they take that long to get that big??

 

[kuntrygirl]

i think iam going with reds also i think i only want 2 i will try them if i like them i might get more to use for incubating later.   but if i go with reds i need to get them as chicks in feb/march       do they take that long to get that big??

You're talking about the Bourbon Reds? Are you wanting to get them for meat for the table or just for the yard?

 

[Arielle]

Cooper-- two kinds of turkeys available. COmmerical BBW and BBB which reach market wt in 4-5 months, unless you keep it tobecome 80# monster. And the traditional types which take a very long time to grow to a smaller market size.

Both taste good.

The commercial one will have more meat to bone ratio as well and be more feed efficient if you are providing all the feed from a bag.


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Can someone fine the other thread on turkeys where sandspoultry lists the details of his differnt birds. Or list that entire link here. Just good info on his observations of his different birds.

 

[Cooper Farms]

this is prob a dumb ? but is there any turkeys that u can free range or will they just wonder off

 

[kuntrygirl]

this is prob a dumb ?   but is there any turkeys that u can free range or will they just wonder off

No such thing as a dumb question, so keep the questions coming. Great question - by the way.

In my opinion (and that is worth about 3 cent), I think any breed of turkey can free range and not wander off IF, and only IF, you have raised it from a baby poult and handled it and have had day to day interaction with it, so it knows where HOME is. I think every case will be different. There may be some breeds that will wander off while at the same time that same breed will free range and not wander off. I have day to day interaction with my Bourbon Reds, so they have never and will never wander off. The farthest they go is flying over the fence to the human yard but they fly right back over in the chicken yard when they are done being nosey in the human yard. If they want to see high in the sky and play around, they will fly in the tall pecan trees but when they have had enough of being high in the sky, they will jump down from branch to branch and then fly out of the pecan tree and back into the chicken yard. They know where home is, so they are not going anywhere. It's almost scary because they are so tame that I am afraid that someone could steal them. They will walk up to and go near ANYBODY without any fear or hesitation. :/

Just my experience.

Let's see what others have to say.

 

[sandspoultry]

Kuntrygirl is correct, If they are raised there and call your place home they will stay unless something chases them away. I have forgotten to latch the gate before and came home from work to a yard full of turkeys milling around.

 

[TamTurkey]

Free Ranging (well sort of the grass didn't come in) so I throw out some oats and worms basically they play around in the sunshine for a few hours everyday. Mine are project BBW so I really only want them eating their feed but I think it's mean to keep them "cooped up" all the time and we go in there to be pooper picker uppers to save on cleaning out the shavings. They are young and still don't even try to fly off.