When to separate turkey poults

[PolloGal]

New to turkeys…learning as I go along And reading ALOT. So I am selling some of my turkey poults and keeping 9 (so far). Have plenty of pen space inside a building (about 150 sq ft with several wide roost bars) where they all go to roost each night, and outside sharing about 750 sq ft of safe pen space with lots of perches and ‘entertainment’. I have decided I want to separate the girls from the boys and do ‘congregational Visits’ when the hens will lay eggs...( I think that’s about June (?)…so maybe have a boy visit the girls sometime end of May) Sound right?
Also…the oldest Tom I have is about 4 months old now…and the youngest poult I have is about 2.5 months old. I still can’t tell all the boys from the girls. UGH And I have stopped trying…until they get older and I can be sure. Can I keep them all together throughout the winter time and separate them sometime in Feb or March 2024? Or will I have a problem with the boys trying to mount the girls during the winter?? I just want to be sure the girls are safe. They have all been living together for about a month now and no problems…they seem to all get along well. I am just Hoping they can stay together safely for the winter to work more on making the girls comfortable in a separate area of the pen…which will include adding another small building and about 30 sq ft more of outside pen space.

 

[R2elk]

New to turkeys…learning as I go along And reading ALOT. So I am selling some of my turkey poults and keeping 9 (so far). Have plenty of pen space inside a building (about 150 sq ft with several wide roost bars) where they all go to roost each night, and outside sharing about 750 sq ft of safe pen space with lots of perches and ‘entertainment’. I have decided I want to separate the girls from the boys and do ‘congregational Visits’ when the hens will lay eggs...( I think that’s about June (?)…so maybe have a boy visit the girls sometime end of July)?? Sound right?
Also…the oldest Tom I have is about 4 months old now…and the youngest poult I have is about 2.5 months old. I still can’t tell all the boys from the girls. UGH And I have stopped trying…until they get older and I can be sure. Can I keep them all together throughout the winter time and separate them sometime in Feb or March 2024? Or will I have a problem with the boys trying to mount the girls during the winter?? I just want to be sure the girls are safe. They have all been living together for about a month now and no problems…they seem to all get along well. I am just Hoping they can stay together safely for the winter to work more on making the girls comfortable in a separate area of the pen…which will include adding another small building and about 30 sq ft more of outside pen space.

They should be fine together until around the first of February. Here breeding starts in February with laying usually around the middle of March.

You want your chosen tom with your hens starting about the first of February. It might be a little earlier for you since you are farther south than I am.

 

[PetMomKathy]

They should be fine together until around the first of February. Here breeding starts in February with laying usually around the middle of March.

You want your chosen tom with your hens starting about the first of February. It might be a little earlier for you since you are farther south than I am.

I have the same question: my 6 mixed heritage poults are just 9 weeks old. I think I have at least two toms, based on size and snood, but could have three. I am pretty sure of three hens. So far, all are good together. They have a coop with 96 square feet of space, with roosts. Currently, they are outside about 3 hours a day, free-ranging with supervision (me and my dog, who is an excellent helper at keeping them together). Most of the time, they come back to the coop with a little encouragement (treats). My You-Tube surfing has led me to believe that there will come a time when some (or all) will prefer to sleep outside. I have trees and a horse barn (the coop is attached to the barn). One has already flown to a tree branch. It came down when I walked away with the rest of the flock following.
I do want to breed so
1) when do I separate them? and
2) can the hens remain together if/when any go broody?
3) if they can stay together, should I build hen boxes, and how far apart should they be?

I know I will have more questions when I am certain of the count. I will try to rehome one tom if I have 2, unless anyone can tell me that they can live together if the toms roost outside? I have 3 cleared acres with abundant trees, two more wooded with wild turkeys. Yes, there are predators: fox and coyotes.

 

[R2elk]

I have the same question: my 6 mixed heritage poults are just 9 weeks old. I think I have at least two toms, based on size and snood, but could have three. I am pretty sure of three hens. So far, all are good together. They have a coop with 96 square feet of space, with roosts. Currently, they are outside about 3 hours a day, free-ranging with supervision (me and my dog, who is an excellent helper at keeping them together). Most of the time, they come back to the coop with a little encouragement (treats). My You-Tube surfing has led me to believe that there will come a time when some (or all) will prefer to sleep outside. I have trees and a horse barn (the coop is attached to the barn). One has already flown to a tree branch. It came down when I walked away with the rest of the flock following.
I do want to breed so
1) when do I separate them? and
2) can the hens remain together if/when any go broody?
3) if they can stay together, should I build hen boxes, and how far apart should they be?

I know I will have more questions when I am certain of the count. I will try to rehome one tom if I have 2, unless anyone can tell me that they can live together if the toms roost outside? I have 3 cleared acres with abundant trees, two more wooded with wild turkeys. Yes, there are predators: fox and coyotes.

I don't separate young poults as long as they are getting along with each other. I keep an extra tom through the winter just in case and then sell it the next spring right at the start of breeding season.

My situation is not standard. My adult turkeys roost outside on the roosts I made for them in a place sheltered from the prevailing wind. Once the poults are big enough that they are not super inviting to the Great Horned owls, they get to also use the outside roosts. They are usually around 4 months old by that time.

For the most part once laying starts, my hens fly out of the run and make their hidden nests inside my 2 acre enclosure. It can be challenging to find the nests at first but it is worth it because it prevents the toms from having access to the nests. I do have a few nests built inside the run. Most are simply a pallet leaned against a wall. One is similar to a dog box but made my parts of a pallet with a roof and the entrance that is too small for a tom to get in.

It is best in each hen has its own nest but shared nests do happen and most of the time don't work out well. Too many feet in too small of a space. If the eggs make it through to a hatch, poults are fragile and don't handle being stepped on very well.

I have live traps in my 2 acre compound baited with eggs to eliminate egg eating predators. I used to keep them going year round but now shut them down once the ground freezes.

 

[PetMomKathy]

Thank you so much for your detailed reply!
What size trap do you use? What predators should I be trapping for?
I have never seen one, but I know we have possum, and I see the foxes traverse the far fence line almost daily. They used to come closer, but my 2 large dogs have almost unlimited outdoor, free- range time. I have never seen the wild boar I am told we have, nor have I seen tracks. I have a shotgun ready if I do.

 

[R2elk]

Fox are hard to get to go into live traps. My two problem predators are raccoons and skunks. The skunks are good at taking care of the voles so I use eggs for bait to remove the egg eaters and leave the vole killers alone.

When I go back out I will check the live trap sizes.

 

[PetMomKathy]

Thank you! I know from road kill nearby that we have racoons, but have never seen tracks near my pond (and we have abundant crayfish there, as well as frogs and red belly water snakes). I rake leaves daily so I check for tracks almost every day. (Trying to keep the pond clear until I get the skimmer system up and running).
The trap for racoon is one size I will probably need, though. Much thanks!

 

[PetMomKathy]

One last question, you answered Songster saying that your breeding starts in February. I am 25 miles inland from North Myrtle Beach, SC. When will breeding start for me?
In December, my poults will be 5 months old.

 

[R2elk]

One last question, you answered Songster saying that your breeding starts in February. I am 25 miles inland from North Myrtle Beach, SC. When will breeding start for me?
In December, my poults will be 5 months old.

You are farther south. It would not be surprising if breeding starts in January for you.

 

[R2elk]

The live traps that I use are:

10.5"x12"x32"
11"x12"x32"
15.5"x15.5"x42.5"

The biggest one is difficult to use because of poor design which makes it easy for the bait to be taken without tripping the trap unless the bait is secured in place.