My new neighbor is just about moved in and thankgoodness they gardeners and animal lovers too.
he has arriving sometime today or during the week, 5 turkeys. Don't know if they big or little yet. Forgot to aks him. he built them a 15" x 15' x 8' pen and has wire fencing all around the sides and the top, cuz I told him we got dogs that roam free here and cats. Don't know if cats attack turkeys or not.
he bringin gthem in and gonan put them water bottle swith trays and talking about a food dispenser. I admit I don't know anythign about raising chickens and turkys and haven't figured out how to keep the snakes out of my yard yet enough to give it a try here, but don't thos ebirds need some sort of a shelter to go into at night and do they have to have some place in the air like a board or something to fly up on and sit?
My neighbor hasn't raised any before and decided he wanted too. I get wild turkeys that pop in and out once in awhile, but I leave them to do there own thing, but I don't want to see him bring some fowl in and not have everythign right and the birds die.
Would appreciate it of somebody could tell me what to tell him what else he needs to get and do to raise some happy fellows.
Oh and a really dumb question. Do turkeys crow like roosters do in the morning?
Any turkey growers?
hi, no crwoing.... ther are lots of threads scattered in here with turkey info... not something we talk about a whole lot, BUT, i will see if i can find one and put the link here fo ryou...
meanwhile, YES they need shelter from the rain, or, i hear, they will drown...
tf
there is some good turkey talk going on here.... these would be goo dpoeple to ask [when you post to a thread someone starts, it shows up in their "watcher", so they are more likely to see it]
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/877592/
you are one heck of a good neighbor!
tf
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/867308/
another turkey thread...
The turkeys won't drown if it rains.(unless it floods) The are pretty dumb, but not quite that dumb. The do need some sort of shelter for shade and protection from haevy rain (like anything else, they prefer to be out of the rain.) Large breed turkeys don't roost after they start getting big, but some of the antique breeds like Narragansetts roost even as adults.
The turkey feeder is a good idea, I have been looking for a timed game feeder that tosses out feed at regular intervals. Turkeys do like to be entertained and this gives them something to do. Otherwise they just eat everything at once and then stand around.
They don't crow, but they can be noisy. The females make a sort of clicking sound and the males have a loud gobble.
He'll be filling that water bottlw a lot! Mine go through a gallon of water a day when it's hot.
Turkeys are grat anti snake birds. If mine find one they stomp that sucker flat and if it's small enough, they eat it.
hmmmmmmmmmm ok i lied i am getting turkeys, how are they with coons? Also are the toms and the hens aggressive?
Hens are not agressive at all and the Toms are pretty good. I had one Narragansett that had a issue with my husband, but he was over a year old (the turkey) and my husband started carrying a stick.
ow old are your turkeys going to be when you get them and what kind are they? Like any poultry, they will need protection from coons when they are small.
I'd give them a low roost and cover a corner or one end of the pen with a tarp or something for shelter. I have a cement mixing try that I use for a waterer and when it's hot they stand in it.
Tamara... Thank you for the links. been sitting here reading through them. The second one was especially helpful for things to look for. If I saw one just hanging its head I probably would just think it was sleeping.
Those of us out here try and look out for each other and each others animals. Down aroudn the block from the neighbor has a pigmy pig that thinks it is a dog and follows theirs aroudn and it gets lost and usually wind sup in my yard and i have to get a bucket a feed and walk it home calling come piggy piggy all the way back. LOL
Where we all at the neighborhood a managerie of animals, ostrich, goats, pigs, horses, dogs, chicken on the front part of the section, cats and we all kinda keep watch as we go by for each other especially in this extreme heat and humidity.
jylgaskin... That good to know. We having a worse extreme drought than last year, so don't think flooding wil be a problem. No rain here really since the beginning of May, but wil tell him to put a shelter for them just in case a miracle happens, but it good to know they drinkers.
I will check on them a couple times a day while they at work, when I check on their dogs. He got one of them kinda like a water fountain big bottle that ya turn upside down in a tray for the dogs. Think one like that would work for the turkeys?
I'll tell him about the feeder too. Maybe he can find one around somewhere. Right now his wife and I are both a bit afriad of when they come and going into the pen, so glad to hear that it may be safe for us and not have to worry about being pecked or chased. If they like to chase food. Maybe I can sprinkle out them some food a couple times a day to keep em busy till he finds one.
That comforting abotu the snakes. Worried though cuz we got rattlers and diamondbacks, coral snakes and black racers. The king snakes on my property, have been here for years and they the only ones I not afriad of.
I dont know how old they will be when i get them, I will get them probably in september going to an auction. they will be in their own pen totally covered.
Jyl, have you tried a mechanized deer (corn) feeder. They have a timer you can set for as many times a day as you wish. It scatters feed in a fairly large circle. You can also set the speed of the dispenser. I know someone on M-55 between Wellston and Manistee sells them from his home, but you could also buy one online, I think.
GG
That is a great idea Granny.
I've looked at them in the sports stores, just more than I can spend right now. Maybe I can ask for one for Christmas. Right now I am trying to thin my ducks a bit. They are HUGE eaters. I listed 6 on freecycle and a couple people have called. Now the hard part is getting them to actually SHOW UP to get them.
Hi starlight.....I have 3 different ages of turkeys right now and although I am still pretty new to them, I have learned a lot already. I am one that heard that turkey's will drown themselves by looking up in the rain......we have not found that to be the case at all. We have one group of 4-5 month old Jumbo White's in an outdoor pen and have not had any problems with it. Of course, we have several dogs that keep the coons away.....otherwise I don't think they would have been safe. We have also gotten a ton of rain and have had some very hot days.....they will need cover from both. We have fastened 2 big tarps over the top and 2 sides of the movable pen and they have been fine.
They do for sure get bored.....they love melon rinds and go nuts over them. Our bigger group do get very noisy.....but they all make a twittering cheep chirp noise. We let them out to graze in the evening and then herd them back in at night.
Another thing to watch for in turkeys are colds...they seem to get them a lot easier than chickens do.......just watch for a raspy breathing noise. It might start off very faint at first, but it seems to grab a hold of them pretty fast when it happens. I don't know what anyone else's experience has been with this, but we had one die overnight. We treated the rest of the group with water meds and they are all still fine and recovered very quick.
You are a good neighbor......it seems like you live in a wonderful place! I bet there is always something interesting to see there, huh?
I hope anything I have said helps! You'll have to let us know what kind and how old the turkeys are when your neighbor gets them!
Christy
I am lurking on this one, I am thinking, now just thinking, in the spring i would like to get some turkeys. I have read up on some and some breeds can not breed, not the ones I want but they are very very pretty. I guess what I want are the meat birds, that grow fast and yet will hatch also. What would you suggest, as they will be free range with a private coop for the nights and to nest.
Broad brested bronze and whites. The grow fastest and biggest and don't fly after a couple of months old. We had a 4 month old bronze hit 42 pounds dressed. Narragansettes are fun and pretty, but a pain in the but. We decided it's easier to buy them in the spring and butcher in the fall, The self breeders take longer to mature and never quite fill out like the broad brested.
I looked at Ideal Poultry and they want 8 bucks for them Narr's I think. Dang they better be the best meat ever, since they cant breed. So you would suggest to just buy them and then butcher verses breeding?
No, the Narragansetts DO breed. Not the best meat, they are small and take at least 6 months to mature. I got my bronze and whites from Randal Burkley for under 5 bucks a piece. They will be ready and in the freezer by fall.
Locally the turkey poults are $3 each in March. They go fast and usually Bronz and Beltsville White are what is available. Here the bronze turkeys can balloon up into the mid 50 lb range if you feed them too much and too long. They can be a hand full to roast when they're 43lbs. They do not have the moisture like many of the store bought water infused turkeys. My wife prefers the store bought ... me ... I like seeing them in the pasture. Processing a turkey is not for the wimps. In fact ... processing any animal into pieces requires a lot more "get-r-done attitude" than the average person has. I had to process a 110lb goat last week ... not fun but necessary
Kelly in Moxee
Ok thanks, I was looking at the Bronze and white, I will see what I can get locally next spring.
Tia,
I'm thinking next spring we'll have a couple Bronze turkeys too. They are cheap to feed and fun to see.
Kelly in Moxee
Very good. We will just have to wait and see.
hey, pumpkin freak, i think thsi is who i was referirng to, she may have gotten her answer now...