turkeys and chickens

[BarredBuff]

Thanks OFG!

 

[BirchHatchery]

what if i feed medicated feed to the poults like i do with all my chickens will that help and also what is the best turkeys to raise that will reproduce naturally and set n brood their own eggs?

 

[BarredBuff]

what if i feed medicated feed to the poults like i do with all my chickens will that help and also what is the best turkeys to raise that will reproduce naturally and set n brood their own eggs?

I have heard Naragansett are good mothers. As for feeding turkeys medicated feed, they are supposed to get 28% in there first 8 weeks of life so I dount that will be medicated.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

we love our bourbon reds - our only problem is that they sometimes nest in brambles and such....or over by the fox's den

we feed medicated feed to the poults and it still hasnt helped. its a pickle for sure

also when they get older they may not get along with your hens. i have a pal who's tom killed one of his roosters... in the worst way. if you know what i mean - it was a dominance thing. yikes!

they dont need fancy housing. check out the hoop house thread for ideas

 

[BirchHatchery]

i already have a 8x8 pen pen all tin with the sides that can come down to let in air ventilation on hot days and also a have 8x6 run outside of that . maybe i will just order turkeys i can order a small batch 15 of heritage turkeys or 10 of wild turkeys just need to no wich make the best parents. i use to have a flock of royal palm turkeys that slept in the cherry tree at night and would walk all the way back to the woods forage and return home and also would venture clear accross the road threw the feild to the woods but always would return home they drank from the pond only thing i fed them was handful of corn a day is that normal for turkeys to do or just that breed it be nice if i could find a another flock of turkeys that was tottaly self reliant and would do that they tasted very good although i butcherd them to early

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

just need to no wich make the best parents.

i think most of the heritage ones are good at nesting. we love our Bourbon Red - easy and self reliant.

search Backyard Poultry mag for a recent article on heritage turks for an overview of the breeds - i just saw one

is that normal for turkeys to do or just that breed

thats pretty much what we do but we keep ours in a low fenced yard b/c of the stupid foxes. also we confine the setting mommas - the toms are a danger to them and the other turk hens might try and take over their nests. they'll get up once a day, if that so we confine and provide feed and water.

 

[BirchHatchery]

what about guinea ive been reading on them they sound iterestesint to raise to will they set hatch their own eggs and forage well?

 

[freemotion]

Guinea fowl are fantastic foragers and will set but are not the best mothers once they hatch, or so I've heard. Mine were so good at hiding their nests, and didn't nest within my fence (forget confining them unless you use a pen with a roof, I'm convince they could fly bald) and I lost my females to dogs.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

great googley moogley! guineas shriek like howler monkeys.. i'm not kidding. if you live WAY out and dont have close neighbors then they are for you.. if not.. ohmigosh

we have 2 males - the 3 young hens we got last year were all killed by that stupid fox. all set nests where we couldnt find them until we found the sad feathers.

we really like the males - Bob and Roy. they just roam around eating bugs and doing this funny tippy toe run.

during mating season they will chase each other for an hour straight, running around the house in the exact same path, for an hour. ONE whole hour.

there is someone over on BYC - guinegoonie i think - has all the answers. he loves those silly birds and get set you straight. i'd like to get more and have them hatch - they do a great job of free ranging and see everything that comes onto the property.

but sometimes they just stand there and scream. like "hey its pigs! there are pigs!"

um.. Bob? Roy? those are OUR pigs and you screamed at them yesterday...

of all the poultry they are probably the most "wild" and undomesticated..but we walk ours in each nite and get them locked up. we think they are fun. and the meat is supposed to be a delicacy. i cant get past their funny faces - i dunno if i could do it.

 

[savingdogs]

I would not have ducks with the other poultry. They just have too much wet poop to clean up all the time. I'd give them their own area. Also, ducklings should not have medicated feed, it is too strong for them because they eat so much and it is designed for chickens.

Now that they are adult we can let everyone free range together though.

I'm looking forward to adding a few turkeys this year.