Where do your turkey's sleep?

[moeell12]

Hi all, I am not new to turkey's or chickens but I have 4 heritage turkeys, bourbon reds, 2 males and 2 females, I was raising them for food but I really love them and thinking of keeping them, however my coop isn't big enough for my chickens and than 4 big turkeys. Right now they sleep outside, I really don't even think i can get them inside, but just curious where do you keep your turkeys and I guess I should say I live in upstate NY so it gets COLD here! Thanks!

Corinna

 

[R2elk]

Hi all, I am not new to turkey's or chickens but I have 4 heritage turkeys, bourbon reds, 2 males and 2 females, I was raising them for food but I really love them and thinking of keeping them, however my coop isn't big enough for my chickens and than 4 big turkeys. Right now they sleep outside, I really don't even think i can get them inside, but just curious where do you keep your turkeys and I guess I should say I live in upstate NY so it gets COLD here! Thanks!

Corinna

My turkeys sleep on roosts that are in a location sheltered from the wind. It is not a covered or enclosed location. Given the choice, they prefer to sleep outside. I am in Wyoming and it normally gets around 30 degrees below zero F. here. The turkeys do not have any problems with the cold.

I do recommend that you either eat or sell one of your toms. Turkeys really don't do well in pairs and two equally matched toms will end up fighting constantly during breeding season and no breeding will take place because the tom that is not attempting to breed the hen will knock the other tom off of the hen. This can also lead injuries to the hens. One tom to four or five hens is a good ratio. Even in a situation where there is just one tom and one hen, the hen can end up being abused by the tom constantly trying to mate with her.

Good luck.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mine are kept in there own shed with their own run, they have been known to harass my chickens, and in the past I had Tom turkeys kill a rooster.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

An inexpensive coop should do for turkeys.

 

[maplebendfarmmn]

We have a modified stall in an old barn that everyone heads into at night. This is mainly for protection from predators. They need a lot of ventilation if indoors. They are pretty easy to train to go in since turkeys are pretty food motivated. We just offer their ration in the evening when it is time to go in. After awhile they are waiting for us when it starts to get dark to be let into their stall to be fed and put to bed.

 

[turksinmaine]

what if one has 9 hens? could 2 toms still be a issue?

 

[maplebendfarmmn]

Last year we had 2 males/2 females and had the boys damage them. They were also in a smaller pasture. This year we had 3 males and 6 females. The pasture is 4x as big so the girls had a little more space to get away too. As soon as I saw the males try to mount the girls we segregated the guys to our fenced in garden and cobbled together a makeshift overnight roost out of a trailer. The boys can be quite persistent and are very heavy once they get close to maturity. I wasn't going to risk it this year!