Rural Gardening: Question about Turkeys, 1 by LoraK

LoraK wrote:
It depends on how big you want them and what kind of feed (quality) you feed them. I got 6 day olds on June 1st, one died and one went lame so I gave him to someone who could dress him if he got worse.
I ended up dressing one a week early, she was 22lbs, the sunday before TG they weighed in at 27( the hen), ST (second Tom) at 42 and Turkzilla at 48 lbs. And all were great tasting!!
I started off with turkey starter for a week and after that since they were being raised with guineas, banties and reg size chickens, I fed everyone gamebird crumbles (easier)until they were going thru that very fast so I switched to turkey grower plus I had laying pellets and gamebird starter out too, I love those big hanging feeders(not hung though) I think I started the turkey grower in the middle of august. Also, they were free ranged all day, got plenty of fresh veggies, treats and veggies scraps.
Keeping their brooder clean and house is very important. I read never raise turkeys and chickens together, I free ranged mine and kept everything clean and had a big enough house for everyone and didn't have a problem. Next year I am getting 2 ,more than I need.
Oh and seperate Toms and Hens at about 4 months or when you see the toms wanting to mate, they cannot naturally but want to and their weight and leg strength will literally rip up the hens horribly and you will need to dress them or they will die.




This message was edited Nov 30, 2007 12:28 PM