I have a small flock of (13 birds) 4 week old black spanish poults. They are already outgrowing their brooder inside and I am concerned about overcrowding. They have been going out during the day for about a week now, but coming back inside at night. They have a nice outdoor roost enclosed with hardware cloth to which we could easily add a light if needed. The roost is in our fenced back yard which our terrier patrols, so the risk of predators is not too great, but we do have foxes and racoons in our area. Our lows right now are mid 70s, about the same as in the house actually. So is the risk of overcrowding inside greater than the risk of moving them outside early?
Yes, in answer to the last question. I had five 3 week olds that were on the back porch and it got into the 50s at night. They huddled and were fine. I was modifying a building and couldn't get them out till yesterday. I moved them in with seven 5 week olds. With that many birds they need space and fresh air more than warmth.
Anyone getting turkeys needs to plan ahead for these issues ahead of time. If it's not in the middle of summer/hot temps, my 3-4 week old birds still have a heat lamp available to them and they are never put on the ground full time at that age. Turkeys that young often do not do well if they get wet and still need help getting warm. To the OP, please make sure they have some sort of shelter to get out of the weather.
