# Husband wanted to try out turkeys...



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...So now we're "fancy" coop people. 

MIL bought a coop & auto door for them. Waiting on delivery. 
Husband got 3 white turkeys & 6 chickens, unknown if pullet or straight run.
Chicks are 1 blue/gold Wyandotte, 1 Buff Brahma, 2 sapphire gems. 2 that lay mix color eggs. I think...lol.

Is it big enough, will the turkeys fit through the door, unknown!


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## Baymule

Turkeys! I've thought about raising some for the freezer before, but haven't tackled that project yet. I hope y'all get good results with your turkeys!


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## R2elk

secuono said:


> ...So now we're "fancy" coop people.
> 
> MIL bought a coop & auto door for them. Waiting on delivery.
> Husband got 3 white turkeys & 6 chickens, unknown if pullet or straight run.
> Chicks are 1 blue/gold Wyandotte, 1 Buff Brahma, 2 sapphire gems. 2 that lay mix color eggs. I think...lol.
> 
> Is it big enough, will the turkeys fit through the door, unknown!
> 
> View attachment 89739View attachment 89740View attachment 89741View attachment 89742View attachment 89743View attachment 89749View attachment 89750View attachment 89746View attachment 89747View attachment 89748​


Looks like you got Broad Breasted White turkeys.  Don't get attached to them.  They have been bred to be fast growing meat birds ready for harvest by the time they are 6 months old.

Turkeys need a lot more room than chickens.  Figure on a minimum of 10 sq. ft. of coop space for each adult turkey.

The turkeys need a high protein turkey or game bird starter for the first 6 weeks for proper development.  Feeding them chick starter can lead to early leg problems since chick starter does not have sufficient protein, lysine, methionine or niacin.  Feeding a proper turkey or game bird starter to the chicks is okay but feeding chick starter to the poults is not.


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## secuono

R2elk said:


> Looks like you got Broad Breasted White turkeys.  Don't get attached to them.  They have been bred to be fast growing meat birds ready for harvest by the time they are 6 months old.
> 
> Turkeys need a lot more room than chickens.  Figure on a minimum of 10 sq. ft. of coop space for each adult turkey.
> 
> The turkeys need a high protein turkey or game bird starter for the first 6 weeks for proper development.  Feeding them chick starter can lead to early leg problems since chick starter does not have sufficient protein, lysine, methionine or niacin.  Feeding a proper turkey or game bird starter to the chicks is okay but feeding chick starte to the poults is not.



Yeah, I know. It's his project to learn from, I'm just feeding/cleaning them. =/


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## R2elk

secuono said:


> Yeah, I know. It's his project to learn from, I'm just feeding/cleaning them. =/


Lots of people have trouble when it comes to processing time for the BB turkeys because they get attached  to them.


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## secuono

R2elk said:


> Lots of people have trouble when it comes to processing time for the BB turkeys because they get attached  to them.


They're more brave than the chicks, I like them more already. 😅


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## R2elk

secuono said:


> They're more brave than the chicks, I like them more already. 😅


They will each have their own personality.  They are far too easy to get attached to.


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## secuono

R2elk said:


> They will each have their own personality.  They are far too easy to get attached to.



This one is a weirdo! Lol


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## Chicks in VA

go to BYC and people there are probably a lot more used to turkeys


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## secuono

farmer in VA said:


> go to BYC and people there are probably a lot more used to turkeys


Slow/somewhat dead forum. =/


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## R2elk

secuono said:


> Slow/somewhat dead forum. =/


That's a matter of opinion that I disagree with.


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## Finnie

farmer in VA said:


> go to BYC and people there are probably a lot more used to turkeys


R2Elk is one of the most knowledgeable Turkey people from BYC, and since he is over here, we are good. But we would love to have more folks join us over there on the Turkey Talk thread.


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## BarnOwl

Turkeys sound interesting. If I had the coop space I would love to get a few someday.


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## secuono

R2elk said:


> That's a matter of opinion that I disagree with.


I started out there 11+ years ago. Left for here when it got slow and I switched animals.


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## secuono

Coop, door & wheels arrived. 
Got coop together. 
Will put wheels & the automatic door on it & then move it into place.


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## secuono

Constantly escaping, so out they went!
Even tangled in sewing machine thread...🤦🏽‍♀️
Heater will go in later today, when I buy another extension cord.


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## Baymule

They should be happier with more room. Nice coop.


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## farmerjan

They look like they are growing real good.  Turkeys are so funny and they are really smart.


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## WolfeMomma

oh this makes me miss having turkeys ! They are so much fun!


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## secuono

Ah, they found the roost!
Hope they don't fall behind the cardboard...


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## Lizzy733

Turkey poults, unlike chicks, will follow you like puppies. They're very endearing! We have 5, 3 jakes and 2 jennys, that are about 5 months old now. When they start getting big, they get big fast and will make your chickens seem soooo tiny in comparison. 

One of my girls is a genuine lap bird and will come up for a cuddle as soon as you sit down in the run and promptly fall asleep. She also gently tugs my hair until I give her attention. 

The boys can fight brutally when they want to, but don't seem to ever do more than superficial damage to each other. 

I'm guessing all of yours are earmarked for slaughter? We have one white, but he doesn't appear to be BB. Ours were bought as breeders to establish our own flock and I could maybe cull one or two of my boys if it came to it as our gender ratio is the wrong way round, but the other 3 are far too lovely for that. 

We keep boys and girls separate to keep our jakes and roos on the chill side and so far, its working. No fusses intermingling them with the chickens, though one of my girls does not like our upcoming roo who I've added in with the girls on occasion. She'll fluff up and try to intimidate him, give him a bit of a chase around, but never lays a beak on him otherwise.

I'm not sure if I like them 'more' than chickens in general, but it's a pretty close call and certain individuals, absolutely. I just love to watch my boys fluff up for me and the girls trilling when I give them attention, or bark away like the puppies they are when a stranger comes to call. 

One thing to be mindful of, they can end up being quite nippy if you don't discipline them. And when they get big, that can be a problem that can easily draw blood. When mine start poking too hard or too persistently, I put a hand on their back and pin them down to the ground, not letting them get up for a few moments - rinse and repeat until they stop nipping. It can take a few times in a row with some of my more persistent boys, but it's definitely stopped this behavior for me, so I highly recommend getting on top of it early once those pokes for attention start to be painful or provoking when directed towards yourself.

Otherwise, enjoy them! They are a bounty of personality, for sure!


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## Ridgetop

Our 4-H club kids raised turkeys for the fair one year.  We fed right and all the kids were very careful to follow the instructions.  We had the prettiest birds at the show!  All the project kids washed them in dish soap like we were told to do.  They absolutely sparkled!  They were the biggest and meatiest too!  The kids paraded around guiding their birds and the judge selected all our club birds of course!  They were the best right?!  WRONG!  Our enormous turkeys were all disqualified for being too big for the mechanical pluckers!!!    We found out what he was talking after we all had them processed and had to cut them in pieces to fit them in the roasting pan.   Let alone trying to fit them in the freezer!   They must have been 50 lbs at least.  Dont wait too long to butcher.  
Oh yeah! and it turned me off raising them because they were very stinky!  No matter how often we cleaned the pen they smelled horrible.  Worse than the hogs.

DS3 and DDIL1 raise Bronze turkeys now and love them.


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## Lizzy733

S


Ridgetop said:


> Our 4-H club kids raised turkeys for the fair one year.  We fed right and all the kids were very careful to follow the instructions.  We had the prettiest birds at the show!  All the project kids washed them in dish soap like we were told to do.  They absolutely sparkled!  They were the biggest and meatiest too!  The kids paraded around guiding their birds and the judge selected all our club birds of course!  They were the best right?!  WRONG!  Our enormous turkeys were all disqualified for being too big for the mechanical pluckers!!!    We found out what he was talking after we all had them processed and had to cut them in pieces to fit them in the roasting pan.   Let alone trying to fit them in the freezer!   They must have been 50 lbs at least.  Dont wait too long to butcher.
> Oh yeah! and it turned me off raising them because they were very stinky!  No matter how often we cleaned the pen they smelled horrible.  Worse than the hogs.
> 
> DS3 and DDIL1 raise Bronze turkeys now and love them.


Stinky, really? I haven't noticed any odd smells outta mine aside from the occasional cecal poop. Could it be lack of ventilation or limited coop\run space? They should get a fair bit more than chickens.


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## secuono

We would of gotten ducks or geese, if it wasn't for the smell. Feed, poop & water. Woof! What a horrible smell that creates!
Not bad when free ranging and NO pool, but otherwise, it really is one of the worst smells out there. 

I'm getting overly attached to these dumb turkeys. One is most brave, one is flat out dumb, other is more chicken-like. None of the chickens care about coming near, they're feathering out & now I'm wondering who will be a roo!


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## Lizzy733

secuono said:


> We would of gotten ducks or geese, if it wasn't for the smell. Feed, poop & water. Woof! What a horrible smell that creates!
> Not bad when free ranging and NO pool, but otherwise, it really is one of the worst smells out there.
> 
> I'm getting overly attached to these dumb turkeys. One is most brave, one is flat out dumb, other is more chicken-like. None of the chickens care about coming near, they're feathering out & now I'm wondering who will be a roo!


Very easy to get overly attached to them, for sure.


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## secuono

Hmm....
At least 2 roosters

What do you think they are?


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## BaBaaHMonica

Congrats on your turkeys!  Your coop is nice and I think you will be happy with it for many years.  I had 2 poults last year so now this year i feel like a pro LOL.  They were named Stuffed and Roasted last year, but I think this year...I think Lunch and Dinner.  Thanksgiving was so much more satisfying this past year, knowing what effort went into growing it from a tiny thing to a gentle beast I  could barely lift into the truck.   I don't think you will be disappointed.


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## secuono

Got a turd of a turkey.
Sign it's a tom??


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## secuono

FML...


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## Lizzy733

Keep an eye on the snoods - boys will be bigger earlier. We got ours at around 4 weeks old and eyeballing them, I guessed 3 boys two girls, but was on the fence about one of the boys. Turned out to be spot on tho.


secuono said:


> Got a turd of a turkey.
> Sign it's a tom??
> View attachment 90618View attachment 90619View attachment 90620View attachment 90621View attachment 90622


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## secuono

Lizzy733 said:


> Keep an eye on the snoods - boys will be bigger earlier. We got ours at around 4 weeks old and eyeballing them, I guessed 3 boys two girls, but was on the fence about one of the boys. Turned out to be spot on tho.


Can't see a size difference yet. 🤔


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## R2elk

secuono said:


> Got a turd of a turkey.
> Sign it's a tom??
> View attachment 90618View attachment 90619View attachment 90620View attachment 90621View attachment 90622


Can't tell anything at this time.  The toms will start growing their wattles bigger than the hens at 3 weeks.  The hens will catch up on the wattles by 4 to 5 weeks.


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## Finnie

secuono said:


> Got a turd of a turkey.
> Sign it's a tom??


No. Sign it’s a turkey


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## secuono

R2elk said:


> Can't tell anything at this time.  The toms will start growing their wattles bigger than the hens at 3 weeks.  The hens will catch up on the wattles by 4 to 5 weeks.


No differences other than a redder head. 
Everything has grown the same on them. 
But maybe it reddens up when it's mad, like some people do.


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## Mini Horses

R2elk said:


> at 3 weeks. The hens will catch up on the wattles by 4 to 5 weeks.


Well that's a pretty short time frame.  🤪. Not fair!  🤭


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## Finnie

secuono said:


> But maybe it reddens up when it's mad, like some people do.


Yes, they definitely do.


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## AgnesGray

We love our turkeys!  If we had to keep only a few birds, I'd want a few of them to be turkeys.  We find them to be light on feed and fairly neat and tidy, as birds go (heritage, not meaties), and also more interactive somehow than some of our other species.  And delicious!  

Nice looking coop!


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## secuono

Been awhile, they look like all hens now. 🤔


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