Turkeys with Chickens?

[Coupe]

Iv iwned turkeys with chickens for years with out any problems...guess im lucky.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Iv iwned turkeys with chickens for years with out any problems...guess im lucky.

I am too with the turkeys and chickens living together but when you have an earthworm in the soil and your pea eats it, then that's another problem. :/

 

[User 1234567]

Dang I have no idea worms could hurt birds so much, I mean they eat them in cartoons all time? Lies!

 

[casportpony]

Iv iwned turkeys with chickens for years with out any problems...guess im lucky.

Those of you that have never had a turkey or poult die are very lucky. But let me ask *all* of you this... If you have had some die, how do you know that they did not have histomoniasis?

-Kathy

 

[meganpugh]

I am new to the whole raising my own flock thing and I have read as much literature as I can get my hands on for raising chickens and turkeys together. I have read through this thread and see the positives and the negatives, but I have not been able to find any materials on raising them from hatching together. Does anyone have any pointers? I will be getting my 6 RIR on July 16th so I still have a month to adapt and plan accordingly, if I so choose to get a turkey or two (for Thanksgiving), how do I raise them together? I know they need different feed, but what else is different?

 

[Terak]

From my experience with chicks and turkey poults has just been the feed, turkeys especially the board breasted ones need the higher protein. The only other thing is to make sure that they have sure footing in the brooder. I use hardware clothe cover with pine shavings to keep them from sliding around. Oh and good ventilation after about three weeks old because turkeys do have a strong odor due to a higher body temperature. I think that is why my chicks like to cuddle up to them.
I do keep my turkeys separated because of the feed but they do mingle with the chicks daily when I let them out.

 

[meganpugh]

Thanks Terak! So when I move the chickens to their coop can I move the turkeys to the same enclosure as them? Do they need their own coop?

 

[ivan3]

casportpony wrote: You aren't supposed to eat their eggs either, but that hasn't stopped me. Just do the research and decide if it's something you're comfortable with.

Metronidazole (Flagyl) earned its `tumorigenic chops' back in 1971. How was that testing accomplished?

Metronidazole, the drug used in the treatment of Trichomonas infections, was tested for carcinogenicity in a lifetime study in Swiss mice. The drug was administered orally at levels of either 0.5, 0.3, 0.15, or 0.06% of the powdered diet. At all dose levels the incidence of lung tumors, predominantly adenomas, was elevated. An increased incidence of malignant lymphomas was observed in the 2 highest dosage groups of female mice but not in the males.

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/48/3/721.abstract

If one is going to feed Metronidazole to one's turks at the same levels (from hatch to sacrifice) as were the mice then, yes, there might be a problem... (but, please, publish!).

Pregnant women are still receiving this drug as the damage done by the diseases treated represent threats that are greater by orders of magnitude than is the cure.

An excess of cancer of the uterine cervix was found in two epidemiological studies of women treated with metronidazole for vaginal trichomoniasis (Beard et al. 1979, Friedman and Ury 1980, IARC 1982); however, trichomoniasis is a risk factor for cervical cancer, and one of the studies (Beard et al. 1979) showed a greater excess of cancer among women with trichomoniasis who were not exposed to metronidazole. Še study by Beard et al., but not that by Friedman et al., reported an excess of lung cancer, which may have been due to smoking. Since metronidazole was listed in the Fourth Annual Report on Carcinogens, additional epidemiological studies have been identified. In a follow-up of the cohort study by Beard et al., the incidence of lung cancer (bronchogenic carcinoma) was significantly increased in women exposed to metronidazole, and the excess remained after an attempt to adjust for smoking (Beard et al. 1988). In a study of over 12,000 people who had used metronidazole, no excess of cancer (all tissue sites combined) was found after two and a half years of follow-up (IARC 1987). A large cohort study of cancer in children prenatally exposed to metronidazole found no overall excess of cancer (all tissue sites combined); a twofold increase in the risk of neuroblastoma (cancer of the sympathetic nervous system) was not statistically significant (Šapa et al. 1998)

http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/twelfth/profiles/Metronidazole.pdf

One time treatment for Histomoniasis? empty shells/bones would be the only `residue' here.

meganpugh wrote: So when I move the chickens to their coop can I move the turkeys to the same enclosure as them? Do they need their own coop?

With a big enough run/coop? Probably not a problem. I'd separate out `Thanksgiving' just to keep turk's mind on eating its way to the dinner table without interference from the chooks.

 

[meganpugh]

Metronidazole (Flagyl) earned its `tumorigenic chops' back in 1971. How was that testing accomplished?
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/48/3/721.abstract

If one is going to feed Metronidazole to one's turks at the same levels (from hatch to sacrifice) as were the mice then, yes, there might be a problem... (but, please, publish!).

Pregnant women are still receiving this drug as the damage done by the diseases treated represent threats that are greater by orders of magnitude than is the cure.
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/twelfth/profiles/Metronidazole.pdf

One time treatment for Histomoniasis? empty shells/bones would be the only `residue' here.
With a big enough run/coop? Probably not a problem. I'd separate out `Thanksgiving' just to keep turk's mind on eating its way to the dinner table without interference from the chooks.

What about their feed? Can turkeys have the same feed as the grown chickens?

 

[kuntrygirl]

Iv iwned turkeys with chickens for years with out any problems...guess im lucky.

Those of you that have never had a turkey or poult die are very lucky. But let me ask *all* of you this... If you have had some die, how do you know that they did not have histomoniasis?

-Kathy

Well, you already know that I took mine to LSU vet med school to find out the reason.

I'm glad that you asked that question. When I did my NPIP re-cert, the state vet made a comment that when people lose a bird, they hardly ever take the body in for a necropsy, so they don't know what the bird died from. And then whatever the cause of death was, could still be lingering in their chicken yard or their soil and will probably kill more birds but due to owners not having a necropsy done, they don't know.

Some people may say that it "costs" too much for a necropsy but if you lose all of your birds and have NO IDEA why, then what cost would that be?????? :/ It's worth finding out. Trust me. I did and now I am armed with the knowledge and meds to fight the problem if it returns. Not only did I find out the problem, the LSU VET Medical School told me what to do when it happens again to include meds to administer. I could not put a price on that Necropsy Report.