I ordered 6 well started poults and when I went to pick them up, one had been injured and was no longer available. The seller talked me into taking a little baby poult so that I still went home with 6 poults. Seriously, I expected her to be dead, pecked to death before I got home (3 1/2 hour car ride with poults in a dog crate).
Nope. She was just fine. Then in the brooder, I didn't expect her to survive. But no problem. The others just sucked her right into the flock and made her a flock member.
The 5 big half grown turkeys went outside and the baby was too little to be out of the brooder, so she stayed in. When she went outside, she could walk between the biggest turkey's legs. She'd been away from them for a month. No problem. She was just added to the flock, just like she was family.
If I tried to add a baby chick to a flock of chickens like that, the chick would be dead. The largest bird is already showing he is a tom and he is the leader and protector of all the babies. They all follow him, but there has been no bullying or threatening of the smaller birds. I'm anxious to let them all out into the orchard during the day, but the tiny one is still small enough for the crows to kill. I don't know for sure that the half grown tom is old enough to protect her.
There is a pair of slightly older turkeys and the older tom spends a lot of time working on his display skills, but I think that even he is too young to take on a flock of crows. So maybe I will wait for the bitty little baby to get bigger before I let them out. Now I have to worry about the 2 different half grown toms having a difference of opinion about who is the boss when I finally get the smaller guys out.
Nope. She was just fine. Then in the brooder, I didn't expect her to survive. But no problem. The others just sucked her right into the flock and made her a flock member.
The 5 big half grown turkeys went outside and the baby was too little to be out of the brooder, so she stayed in. When she went outside, she could walk between the biggest turkey's legs. She'd been away from them for a month. No problem. She was just added to the flock, just like she was family.
If I tried to add a baby chick to a flock of chickens like that, the chick would be dead. The largest bird is already showing he is a tom and he is the leader and protector of all the babies. They all follow him, but there has been no bullying or threatening of the smaller birds. I'm anxious to let them all out into the orchard during the day, but the tiny one is still small enough for the crows to kill. I don't know for sure that the half grown tom is old enough to protect her.
There is a pair of slightly older turkeys and the older tom spends a lot of time working on his display skills, but I think that even he is too young to take on a flock of crows. So maybe I will wait for the bitty little baby to get bigger before I let them out. Now I have to worry about the 2 different half grown toms having a difference of opinion about who is the boss when I finally get the smaller guys out.
