Wonderful surprise :)

[crj]

Yesterday my daughter and I got a wonderful surprise from one of the turkey hens. The first surprise is when she attacked my daughters dog out of no where. Scary at first but became quite funny since the dog didn't have a clue why a turkey hen was on her back freaking out on her. Then we come to realize she had her chicks! Snuggled in one area near the shed were 9 baby turkeys that were trying to keep up with her. No one had a clue they had hatched. They are super cute and when I get a chance I will post pictures. The rest of the eggs she left behind went into the nest of the other turkey that has been unsucessful at hatching. Both first time moms. The other hen had killed the eggs she was sitting on so we figured we'd let her try again since she is STILL broody. Maybe she will figure it out this time. I'm just so tickled....... lol.

Is there any way of sexing them by color at all? Also, what do you think is best.... selling the turkeys now or waiting to pair them or even waiting till they are several months old? My turkeys are standard bronze and they are beautiful.

 

[Lagerdogger]

Congrats on the hatch!

You can't sex bronzes by color.

As far as selling goes, what you do should match what works best in yuor area. Poults are easier to price, and probably easier for people to buy (it seems cheaper even though it may not be). I wouldn't sell tham as breeding pairs because they are siblings. I know some people think thats ok, and it might be. I have a hard enough time breeding parents to their children, so I'm certainly not the expert here.

Enjoy them while they're still small!

 

[crj]

Quote:
Lagerdogger, you've got a good point about the siblings. They definitely aren't mixed with any other adult bird either. People are starting to buy turkeys around here. I do not know of any prices for poults since I've only seen pairs being sold.

I know there are several people here that do sell turkeys so I would like some input on prices and the best age to sell the birds. I've heard that very young turkeys are delicate and thought it was important for the babies to stay with mom. Is it better to sell poults 2 months and up? or wait a bit longer? I am so new to turkeys...... can ya tell? I am in southeastern NC. Thanks for your help.

 

[gotta have my peeps!]

Congratulations! That is awesome.

 

[crj]

gotta have my peeps! :

Congratulations! That is awesome.

Thank you. It really is awesome....... lol. I hope I will be able to post some pictures soon. I also hope someone can tell me when the best age is for selling the poults.​

 

[BlackWidow]

My wife bought 4 this week that were only 2 days old. They were 10 bucks each...

 

[crj]

I finally was able to get some pictures. Due to a broken ankle I got lucky that the Mother Hen brought the 9 babies to the deck to eat some cooked eggs I tossed out to the birds. They are 2 days old today. These were taken this morning.

So far she is a very good mother.

 

[gotta have my peeps!]

They are gorgeous! She does look like a good mom.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Now that is so cute!!

Congrats!!

 

[Pokster]

Way to cute, enjoy them.