What type of turkey should I get and where should I get them from!

[Chicks in VA]

So yeah I'm planning on getting turkeys next year and am wondering where and what breed to get for like a pet and just calm and will be good with chickens

 

[R2elk]

So yeah I'm planning on getting turkeys next year and am wondering where and what breed to get for like a pet and just calm and will be good with chickens

They are all the breed Turkey. Choose a heritage variety. Look for them locally.

Unless they have lots of room and are not imprinted by chickens they can all be hard on chickens.

Get a couple of hens to start with.

You can learn a lot about the different heritage varieties at Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys.

 

[Chicks in VA]

Unless they have lots of room and are not imprinted by chickens they can all be hard on chickens.

Yeah they have plenty of room, I will be letting them free range in my 15 ish Acer fence everyday

So would a good way to imprint chickens on them be to put them around chickens when they are younger , like when they are around the same size as chickens

You can learn a lot about the different heritage varieties at Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys.

Okay good to know I will check that out

 

[R2elk]

So would a good way to imprint chickens on them be to put them around chickens when they are younger , like when they are around the same size as chickens

You don't want them imprinted by chickens. Imprinting causes the turkey to not be able to understand that there is a difference between them and chickens.

A turkey treating chickens the same way it treats other turkeys does not end well for the chickens especially if the turkey is a tom.

 

[Molpet]

I keep my turkeys and chickens together. Every so often I have a squashed or terminally hurt chicken from the turkeys. The ones involved have imprinted on each other.

 

[Chicks in VA]

You don't want them imprinted by chickens. Imprinting causes the turkey to not be able to understand that there is a difference between them and chickens

Why does it matter if they think there chickens

A turkey treating chickens the same way it treats other turkeys does not end well for the chickens especially if the turkey is a tom.

Im never getting a tom , If I end up buying turkeys as poults I will sell them asap if they turn out to be Male

 

[R2elk]

Why does it matter if they think they're chickens

Because they treat the chickens like turkeys and end up killing them. The turkeys can get extremely single minded in that when they decide to go after a chicken they are relentless about it and will keep at it until they accomplish their goal.

The size difference gives the turkeys a big advantage. If they don't think of the chickens as if they are turkeys they will leave them alone as long as the chickens stay out of their way.

 

[Chicks in VA]

Because they treat the chickens like turkeys and end up killing them. The turkeys can get extremely single minded in that when they decide to go after a chicken they are relentless about it and will keep at it until they accomplish their goal.

The size difference gives the turkeys a big advantage. If they don't think of the chickens as if they are turkeys they will leave them alone as long as the chickens stay out of their way.

So long story short I shouldn't put turkeys with chickens?

 

[R2elk]

So long story short I shouldn't put turkeys with chickens?

It's better if they are apart.

 

[SarahGfa]

So long story short I shouldn't put turkeys with chickens?

If they are free range on 15 acres there is probably enough room for the chickens to get away. I have some fenced areas where the openings are big enough for chickens but not turkeys.