|
|
Post by A Leap Of Faith on Nov 29, 2014 2:16:17 GMT
How to Raise Turkeys
I am thinking about starting to raise a few turkeys from a pout (that is what a baby turkey is called). I Know a little about raising turkeys. My parents used to have some years ago. I also know a lot about raising birds (particularly farm birds. I am doing some research on raising turkey so that i will know what to do when I get them. I will post my findings here so others can learn about raising turkeys too.  I am going to start off my research with a link to an article that i found. This article can be found on the about home site. How to raise turkeys |
|
|
|
Post by A Leap Of Faith on Nov 29, 2014 2:36:46 GMT
The 1st point that the article brings up is, Should You Raise Turkeys?This is the first question to ask yourself. Are turkeys right for you? If you've raised chickens for eggs or meat, turkeys are similar; but turkeys require a bit more babying, especially as poults. They are very social with humans too. and more so than chickens. The next point is, Choosing a BreedBroad-breasted Whites are the turkeys. They are similar to the ones you find in the supermarket. Birds raised on pasture on a small farm, will taste better than the supermarket variety). Standard Bronze and White Holland varieties are also popular breeds for meat production. Broad-Breasted Bronzes and Whites are not actual breeds, just a non-standardized commercial strain used for meat, while White Hollands and Standard Bronzes are recognized breeds. Heritage turkeys include Bourbon Reds and Narragansetts, which are striking, medium-sized birds that excel at foraging and pest control. Royal Palm turkeys grow to a smaller finished size of roughly ten to sixteen pounds and are beautiful, different-looking birds.  This is a Standard Bronze Tom turkey.  This is White Holland turkeys.  This is a pair of Royal Palm turkeys. |
|
|
|
Post by A Leap Of Faith on Nov 29, 2014 3:03:48 GMT
Properly raised Heritage Turkeys mature in take 28 weeks becoming a well proportioned and nutritious, bird. Compared to an average of 16 weeks for the Broad Breasted Whites More info from the site mentioned in the OP: Raising Turkeys From Poults
If staring off with day old pouts in the spring; You will need to set up a brooder area just like you would for chickens. The brooding area needs to be between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the first week, slowly lowering the temp by raising the lamps, cooling degrees each week. Housing and Fencing Turkeys"Many farmers let their turkeys live outside on range in a large fenced pen with a movable roost assembly, much like a movable chicken coop. The best range for turkeys is short grass, four to six inches long. Red clover and Kentucky bluegrass are especially good grasses to have on the range. For a flock of a dozen turkeys, plan to build a pen of roughly 75 feet square, or one-eighth acre. Make sure your fence is secure from coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and even bears - all of whom would love a free-range turkey dinner. Woven wire fencing is a great choice, as is electrified poultry netting." smallfarm.about.com/od/farmanimals/tp/How-To-Raise-Turkeys.htmI think I am going raise mine in the goat pen. |
|
|
|
Post by A Leap Of Faith on Dec 1, 2014 21:27:08 GMT
Yesterday afternoon when I went to refresh my bird's water I found my female goose (Nibblers) laying dead in from of the coop door.  She is the 2nd female goose that I had bought. I do not know why she died. It made me sooo sad. She was getting very tame and now Vern (my gander does not have a mate this Spring so my poor hen ducks better stay their distance. I recently bought an incubator. I have decided that when Spring comes I am going to order a variety of eggs: turkeys, geese and peacocks. This kinda sucks because if the timing isn't right; I will be playing mother goose. Vern was very good at adopting nibblers but I don't know how he would do with several fresh hatchlings. I think if I get the hatchlings beyond the scary part where they get cold so easily then put them in a cage in the pen during the day where Vern can be around them; he might will adopt them. I am going to do research to see if chicken hens can raise peacock babies and if so; I can slip the newborns under a broody hen. I am still learning all this stuff. I will miss Nibblers. |
|
|
|
Post by libellula on Dec 6, 2014 7:38:02 GMT
Peafowl and turkeys are close species. When my pea hen was killed by a pine martin here, I bought two turkeys to be company for the pining peacock,mand this was great until I was given two baby geese. One turned out to be male and harassed the peacock terribly, so bad we had to give him away before he was killed. The turkeys got on well with the geese until the day we had to despatch them which we found hard to do.
The geese did very well and the first year produced three goslings, one female survived, but this spring the gander mated with both and we now have a flock of twelve, soon to be greatly reduced, but they are going live.
|
|
She is the 2nd female goose that I had bought.
lol