Turkeys For 2013

[Sally8]

Hehe, I remembered. I knew I'd eventually get a chance to razz you about it, lol

Glad you decided to keep them, they are gorgeous birds.

Uh oh... Rosie has laid almost 60 eggs so far? I have 4 Turkey Hens, and a hatching addiction... lol I'm so done for.

Yikes, you lost a couple more Poults, sorry to read that. Do you know what's causing the deaths? I'm going to be a super paranoid baby poult Momma...

I feel your pain about Chuck's bad behavior. My Eastern Wild Turkey Jake got an attitude adjustment the other day after he snuck up behind me and attacked my (bare) leg while I was watering. I chased him down, tackled him and held him to the ground for a few minutes reminding him that he was given to me free, he's replaceable and I have a new Smoker I need to test out, lol. He steers clear of me now, but that's the last time I turn my back on him. I am hoping it is just a breeding season thing, because if it continues... he's Turkey Jerky.

I've lost 6 with all my hatchings. 2 still in their shells. (I will never ever help them unless they've gone 2 days. Normally, the poults are out within a few hours. No Kidding!) 2 I lost because I never saw them eating or drinking or moving around much. I took a syringe and gave them water. I think I may have given them pneumonia. The very first I think was because he was all alone and wouldn't eat or drink. I've journaled all my experiences and hopefully learned something from it.
I keep a sharp eye on Chuck as I was attacked as a kid. I don' think I would ever bend over (tehe). I don't want to get rid of him but won't keep him if I have to worry about him with my grandkids. The two girls are almost 3 yr old twins and they aren't afraid at all. He can look them in the eye.

 

[RockerHen]

Mom hen and "her" babies enjoying the warm spring day together. I have no ideas what the babies are going to look like. Mom was a royal palm, dad was a red bronze (royal palm/bourbon red). They have yellow down but their wing feathers coming in are like a champagne color. Soooo cute either way. My next batch of four is expected anytime from now until monday (they're under a broody silkie).





I actually had to cut the grass in the turkey pen yesterday! I've discovered that turkeys are way unlike chickens in that they don't peck and scratch the grass to death. It was getting above ankle high, and the grass looks better quality than our actual yard

Also, my broody turkey hen has remained stable at 16 eggs for the past few days, so hopefully she is done laying and adding to the nest.
After the cut

 

[joshm97]

Why don't my turkeys like greens? Yes they do eat grass, just not lettuce or spinach. My birds all love melons, pumpkins, squash, etc but they won't eat apples either. Why not? I thought they just didn't like them but com'on really? 7 turkeys don't like apples and lettuce.

 

[RockerHen]

Why don't my turkeys like greens? Yes they do eat grass, just not lettuce or spinach. My birds all love melons, pumpkins, squash, etc but they won't eat apples either. Why not? I thought they just didn't like them but com'on really? 7 turkeys don't like apples and lettuce.

Only my ducks like lettuce. My chickens and turkeys will pick at them, but aren't very interested. Apples are a totally different story. We have several trees next to our pens, and during late summer, my entire flock of birds can be found all fighting off the yellow jackets and chowing down on windfalls underneath the trees. Peaches too. It's amazing how quickly they can reduce peaches to just a pit

I think it depends on what they were introduced to as a chick. My tom loves bread, as I fed it as a treat when he was a poult, but it's taken my hen a very long time to accept it (I got her at a year old).

 

[R2elk]

Why don't my turkeys like greens? Yes they do eat grass, just not lettuce or spinach. My birds all love melons, pumpkins, squash, etc but they won't eat apples either. Why not? I thought they just didn't like them but com'on really? 7 turkeys don't like apples and lettuce.

I tried giving my turkeys a few freshly shelled peas. They ran to pick them up and immediately spit them out and went around like they had gotten a horrible taste in their mouths.

 

[desertmarcy]

Why don't my turkeys like greens? Yes they do eat grass, just not lettuce or spinach. My birds all love melons, pumpkins, squash, etc but they won't eat apples either. Why not? I thought they just didn't like them but com'on really? 7 turkeys don't like apples and lettuce.

Have you tried dicing them up in bite sized pieces? My turkeys are very suspicious of anything new and it will take a while before they will try something new unlike the chickens who dive in a ask questions later. But once they figure out they like something, step back!

 

[Zootopia]

Quote PeepsCa
I ferment the bulk of my poultry feeds and grains for my flocks, so that helps lower my feed costs, but it is a lot of extra work. Too much some days, but I keep at it because they consume at least 1/3 less feed and they get a lot more nutrition out of what they are eating rather than just eating the dry feeds.

Hey you should join us over in the Fermented Feeds for meaties thread. Its really not only for meaties of course, guess that is just where we got started. It does make the whole cornishX thing more bearable of of course.
My feed store even asked if I got rid of some of my chickens, cause I wasn't using as much feed. The down side as you said is that it can be pretty tome consuming when you have a large flock. You might pick up a few things to help with time management over there. We really put our heads together.

 

[PeepsCA]

Hey you should join us over in the Fermented Feeds for meaties thread. Its really not only for meaties of course, guess that is just where we got started. It does make the whole cornishX thing more bearable of of course.
My feed store even asked if I got rid of some of my chickens, cause I wasn't using as much feed. The down side as you said is that it can be pretty tome consuming when you have a large flock. You might pick up a few things to help with time management over there. We really put our heads together.

I followed that thread regularly up until BeeKissed left... then it kind of fizzled out for me. But yah, that's where I learned how to ferment my feed (that I started back in Oct of last yr) and about all of the benefits that go with it. I even posted a pic of my Turkeys chowin' down on their FF... their heads were movin' so fast my poor old digital camera couldn't focus on them, lol. Just a blur of turkey heads inhaling their FF. They eat it so fast they come up gasping for air.

The time consuming part (for me anyway) is mainly having to make my rounds and feed each coop/pen every day (5 coops/pens, not all within close proximity of each other), and then come back and mix up my secret formula (lol) of dry feeds and refill what I've taken out each time... prior to FF I was just filling large hanging feeders for everybody once a week and then I'd just check everyone's waters when I called them in each evening. Like I said tho, feed costs went down, and my birds are healthier on the FF, so I keep at it.


I had 25 Cornish X chicks on order from a local feed store scheduled for May, but I decided to cancel my order because it looks like I'll be hatching at least 100 Turkeys now... or 200, lol. Since I have plans to process about 25 Guineas in August, then a bunch of Turkeys towards Turkey Day and Xmas I decided I better not stuff my freezers with Cornish X this season, lol.

 

[RockerHen]

Candled my broody turkey's 16 eggs today. All are fertile and growing, with the exception of one dead embryo with a blood ring (egg had a hairline crack, which is probably led to the embryo's death). However, as expected, 4 of the 16 are very early, maybe 4 days (the embryo is a tiny, barely visible spider) with the others being over a week. I've prepared another broody chicken hen to foster them (pretty much identical twin to the other hen who is fostering poults right now), will probably move those underneath her within the next few days. Mama turkey hen is doing good for her first time

has her nest lined with her down feathers, and is extremely menacing to those who dare intrude upon her. The poor tom seems so bored and lonely without his girl.

 

[trunkman]

Keep us updated on their progress please.
I just candled my eggs and could see movement, they're due to hatch next Saturday May 4, can't wait!