What books do you recommend??

[Arielle]

Any other reading suggestions?????

 

[Lagerdogger]

Before I started, I read the Storey's Guide and was also disapointed. I also red a few online references, including some very old reference, perhaps even Turkey Management. The impression I got from reading was that turkeys were very difficult to start and raise, and one should expect very high mortality because if the wind blows all your turkeys will get Cocci and die. I really wanted turkeys so I built a brooder and ordered a bunch, sealing their doom to death by a million diseases.

I subscribe to Colby's thoughts. Read a little and get the turkeys. Read more if you enjoy it, but you will learn way more just by doing. And you will find that not all turkeys get blackhead. And some even survive to adulthood!

Sorry I can't provide more direct references. I just read through things and moved on.

 

[ColbyNTX]

Yes, I read up on raising turkeys before I ever got any! I thought they would drop like flies! I bought some eggs, hatched them and raised them. Didn't loose a single one. I then got more and more and more eggs! The rest is history as they say. I don't find turkeys to be any more difficult than chicken!

 

[NYRIR]

Quote:
OMG! That's so funny! It's EXACTLY how you feel when you get them

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
I bought a copy of the second edition a few months ago. Very good book!

But Marsden's Turkey Management is now pretty rare and expensive if you can find a copy. I'd either go with the Cornell library online copy or better still the Livestock Conservancy's collection of documents.

http://www.albc-usa.org/downloads.html

If you take a little care those first three days and use the right feed I have not found poults any harder to hatch and raise than chicks.

 

[Arielle]

Thank you EVERYONE for your suggestions!

Just for clarity, I have also read how difficult turkeys are and any wrong move results in disaster. Fortunately, about 15 years ago, I raised up 6 poults. Cold turkey! All 6 went to freezer camp. With reasonable care they thrive.

I'm looking for the sort of info I will need to keep breeding birds and the knowledge of basic management needed to keep them healthy and thriving beyond freezer camp age.

Any other book recommendations? ANy modern book that cover USDA regulations or disease prevention like Avian flu. LOokin for info, now, that covers problems unique to 2010 living conditions.

 

[gotta have my peeps!]

This is a really good question. Lots of us can benefit from this thread.
Quote:
Thank you Thomasturkey! I just ordered this book used on Amazon.com for $8.99 including shipping.

I bought and read the Storey turkey book before I got poults last year. Luckily, I had enough faith in myself and in nature and did not get too scared off by the book. I still think it is a good book to have on the shelf as a reference, even with its shortcomings.

I have to agree with those of you who are proponents of learning by doing. I am a firm believer in the importance of your own observations and experience, paired with some good reference materials.

 

[Pampered Hen]

I tought Storey's Turkey Guide was a good basic reference, but it disappoints when you are not interested in the broad breasted types. At the feed store I picked up "Turkeys - Popular Farming Series". Looks like a special edition magazine from the publishers of Hobby Farms. This one focuses around heritage turkeys and I found it a good compliment to Story's.
None of these two references had little to offer in terms of natural incubation when my turkey hen went broody and set on a bunch of eggs and when it turned out to be a staggered hatch I truly was on my own!
There is a wealth of information out on the interent, BYC included of course. When I wanted to learn about candling I found photos and descriptions that helped make the call on bad eggs. It just takes a bit of careful keyword search and you will be surprised of what is hiding out there in the endless sea of the www.

 

[Arielle]

I bought and read the Storey turkey book before I got poults last year. Luckily, I had enough faith in myself and in nature and did not get too scared off by the book. I still think it is a good book to have on the shelf as a reference, even with its shortcomings.

I wonder if the publishers realize there is a surging wave of turkey enthusiasts, from pet owners to heritage breeders; perhaps the book should be revised .

THank you everyone--it there a turkey magazine? Or is Backyard Poultry the best source?​