Yes!!!!!

[karen71]

DH said I can have Turkeys !!!!

I think I want the Midget Whites
What do you all think ??????
hey are smaller and endangered so I thought it might be good to get them

Sands poultry appears to raise them any one else you can think of ?
What kind of house a guy who had Black Spanish said Turkeys should be in a round house ? What do you think .

Should I get poults or incubate eggs ?
OH goodness I'm too excited and it;s time for bed Hope I can sleep

 

[canada-goose]

Congratulations!

 

[Zahboo]

I heard they can't be around chicks when they are young, due to Blackhead I think it's called. I haven't refreshed my memory lately though so don't take that quoted

I would incubate just because I like watching them pip XD

 

[karen71]

I do know the balckhead can pass from the chickens to the turkeys but I think they are ok as long as they don't get penned together then the turks can eat the chickens poo

I just read it appears people just let the turkeys roost in the trees

is this safe IDK used to chickens i lock them up every night ?
ETA its late
zahboo
I think i would like to hatch as I have been incubating some chicken eggs and it's been eggciting LOL!!!!!!

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Quote:
Blackhead is aquired when turkeys pick the chicken poo and ingest the worms. They dont harm chickens but can kill turkeys. I raise them together without problems (fingers crossed) but call your local authorities to see if its in the area. Its recomended if you have it, wait four years after raising chickens to raise turkeys.

 

[Zahboo]

Once turkeys gain some size a lot of people just give them a shelter to avoid rain and wind like a lean to. They need large nest boxes, we used medium dog boxes when I have my BB Bronzes. We used 4x6's as roosts but I think a 2x6 would be fine. 2x4s are a little thin in my opinion. I would wait until they are larger so they aren't easy targets for hawks.

 

[thaiturkey]

I'm new to turkeys but, if I was starting now with what I have learned so far, I would get first time either poults that are at least 8 weeks old or birds ready for laying. Taking care of younger poults requires knowledge that comes in part from experience so I would wait until the first batch laid. It seems to me that newly hatched poults are more vulnerable than chickens and need much more care.

 

[pdpatch]

The first year it's better to start with poults (turkey chicks) the incubate your own as it re leaves the stress of incubating the first time. But not many hatcheries carry Midget Whites chicks so you may need to incubate any way.

The first week or so the Turkey chicks eye sight is not that great when compared to that of a chicken chick so they have trouble seeing their water and food. So at a minimum dip there beak in the food and water when placing them in the brooder.

In the brooder you should not use wood chips the first week or so, you can use paper towels of wood chips. That is done so the chicks don't eat the wood ships.
you can also sprinkle the food on the paper towels to help them find it. Don't use newspaper as it is usually slick. and change the paper towels once a day.

Don't use ceder chips, since there is a natural chemical that makes poultry sick and will kill the chicks. Don't even try to use ceder chips.

Generally you wait until about 9 weeks of age before you let them on and grass or dirt, this is because there immune system is not fully developed until then.

In the brooder you need to avoid square corners, as they will huddle there and possibly suffocate, so you make round corners for the brooders.

If you want to get Chicks from Sand's you will need to plan to go there as they don't ship chicks but they do ship fertile eggs.

Blackhead is usually found in wetter moist climates it's less likely in climate that have hard freezes during the winter. But it still came be brought in by migratory birds.

If the turkeys chicks are between 0 days and 1 weeks old the brooder is usually around 98 degrees or so, some people start at around 90 degrees, then you reduce the temperature by 5 degrees every day until it's down the your local day time temperature of round 70 degrees. As a rule of thumb if the chicks are huddling under the heat lamp they are cold and warm it up for them. If they are well away form the lamp an active then it's then they are to hot and raise the heat lamp. If they are moving in an out of the heat lamp area then they are ok.