A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[Bantambird]

Likewise, poults are more fragile than chicks. I have had chicken hens reject poults but I've had a number of turkey hens adopt chicks. When they are very small, they need the patience and watchfulness of a turkey mother. Perhaps a silkie might be able to do it, or a cochin or orpington? I would watch them, though. Still, if you get toms, you will eventually get flat chickens, when he thinks that all chickens are also turkeys.

 

[SarahGfa]

I do not recommending letting a chicken raise poults. The imprinting that happens causes the turkeys to lose the ability to understand that chickens are not turkeys.

Due to the size difference and the instinctive behavior differences it usually ends up with bad things happening to the chickens once the turkeys are mature.

It's OK, they get their own housing when the poults get bigger. It's just for the first 6-8 weeks. My chickens stay away from turkeys.

 

[SarahGfa]

Likewise, poults are more fragile than chicks. I have had chicken hens reject poults but I've had a number of turkey hens adopt chicks. When they are very small, they need the patience and watchfulness of a turkey mother. Perhaps a silkie might be able to do it, or a cochin or orpington? I would watch them, though. Still, if you get toms, you will eventually get flat chickens, when he thinks that all chickens are also turkeys.

All of the turkeys I had before this year were hatched and raised by chickens. my chickens are good at turkeys! I'm just wondering if chickens will be able to adopt turkeys that arrive in a shipping box instead of an egg, you know?

 

[HeritageFan]

Thank you this is very reassuring. I am on the west coast also and worried that it might be too far. May I ask what time of year you ordered? The end-of-year $5 poults are sooooo tempting!

I have been waiting for my Sweetgrass from Porters for ....over 6 months. I’d have to go back and look- which I am happy to do if it’s helpful. But. I -really- want to give them a run. And am SO excited to have them
All of my ordered turkey poults and ducklings through the years have come in - either late July or early august.
....possibly due to the fact that I may order too late

I start hatching ducklings in early March, and add the turkey eggs to the incubator as soon as the turkey hens start laying.
My ducks lay year round, but interest in ducklings falls off in the winter so we just use / freeze dry / sell eggs for eating typically in that season.
I sell almost everything I hatch- to people who (say they) want to process their birds..

When I ordered ducklings from the local farm store, I picked them up in March. So they had to be inside for a while, which my husband didn’t love.... but he did put up with lol
I like the summer babies, because I can use my outdoor brooder w a “mommas heating pad” set up (search for the write up on this site, or lmk if you can’t find it and I’ll post a link to the write up), and they thrive. But, coming that late in the season, the Heritage varieties are not “ready” for processing for Thanksgiving/ Christmas ....you have to either wait for Easter, get lucky w someone who is looking “off season”, or set up a bachelor pen(s) if you want to wait for the next thanksgiving season to sell your birds, processed or not.

You have to look into the processing regulations in your area as well.
Where we are, I can process at home without needing an inspection as long as I process less than 1000 birds a year (I have no desire to land anywhere close to that...), and I have to apply a special label that the state of oregon has available to any processed and frozen birds that we sell.

If you want to sell processed birds.
It would be smart to set up an LLC for your business.
It’s not hard- in OR it costs 100$ a year to file, filing the paperwork is very easy online, and jumping through the hoop provides you some protection if someone doesn’t properly thaw/ cook their bird and gets sick....
Sorry to get on a tangent, but hopefully it helps you, or someone else.

5$ poults is a steal- but don’t buy varieties that don’t match up with your goals, or your space if you need to separate them as they are getting older.
You will have to separate any “extra” boys, or process them in the spring when the hens are “ready”, or they will likely fight to the death (or close to it) unless you have many acres available to them....
Possibly even if you do have many acres available....
My original group free ranged happily together/ went to bed in their coop at night and I had few issues- until the day that all the hens started to present.... and all the boys were trying to kill each other on top of the hens. It was like a switch flipped literally in a day.

Be smarter than I was.

I’ve learned my lesson and now have:
Separate coops and pens for the breeding groups, and the Toms in the various breeding groups cant see or get to each other
a large and secure “tractor” for the bachelors, well away from my breeding groups,
a space inside my largest run for a hospital pen, also blocked from view/ access from the other boys (because it’s almost always a Tom that ends up being in need of the hospital pen lol)
another coop and run in progress for the “grow outs”.
Plus more coming for more separation as I want to keep several varieties -

Look up @R2elk s posts for an idea of proper set ups if you want to scale up.

If you just want a few - and don’t want to scale up/ make the modifications to your areas, be ready to process any excess Toms around March

Before you place an order. Please really think about your goals, commitment, and long term plans.

I was never a “bird person” before I had turkeys. I absolutely love having them. But it is a next level commitment to keep them safe, happy, and healthy. Be all in and you will never want to be without them. Go half a*sed and you won’t ever want them again

 

[SarahGfa]

I have been waiting for my Sweetgrass from Porters for ....over 6 months. I’d have to go back and look- which I am happy to do if it’s helpful. But. I -really- want to give them a run. And am SO excited to have them
All of my ordered turkey poults and ducklings through the years have come in - either late July or early august.
....possibly due to the fact that I may order too late

I start hatching ducklings in early March, and add the turkey eggs to the incubator as soon as the turkey hens start laying.
My ducks lay year round, but interest in ducklings falls off in the winter so we just use / freeze dry / sell eggs for eating typically in that season.
I sell almost everything I hatch- to people who (say they) want to process their birds..

When I ordered ducklings from the local farm store, I picked them up in March. So they had to be inside for a while, which my husband didn’t love.... but he did put up with lol
I like the summer babies, because I can use my outdoor brooder w a “mommas heating pad” set up (search for the write up on this site, or lmk if you can’t find it and I’ll post a link to the write up), and they thrive. But, coming that late in the season, the Heritage varieties are not “ready” for processing for Thanksgiving/ Christmas ....you have to either wait for Easter, get lucky w someone who is looking “off season”, or set up a bachelor pen(s) if you want to wait for the next thanksgiving season to sell your birds, processed or not.

You have to look into the processing regulations in your area as well.
Where we are, I can process at home without needing an inspection as long as I process less than 1000 birds a year (I have no desire to land anywhere close to that...), and I have to apply a special label that the state of oregon has available to any processed and frozen birds that we sell.

If you want to sell processed birds.
It would be smart to set up an LLC for your business.
It’s not hard- in OR it costs 100$ a year to file, filing the paperwork is very easy online, and jumping through the hoop provides you some protection if someone doesn’t properly thaw/ cook their bird and gets sick....
Sorry to get on a tangent, but hopefully it helps you, or someone else.

5$ poults is a steal- but don’t buy varieties that don’t match up with your goals, or your space if you need to separate them as they are getting older.
You will have to separate any “extra” boys, or process them in the spring when the hens are “ready”, or they will likely fight to the death (or close to it) unless you have many acres available to them....
Possibly even if you do have many acres available....
My original group free ranged happily together/ went to bed in their coop at night and I had few issues- until the day that all the hens started to present.... and all the boys were trying to kill each other on top of the hens. It was like a switch flipped literally in a day.

Be smarter than I was.

I’ve learned my lesson and now have:
Separate coops and pens for the breeding groups, and the Toms in the various breeding groups cant see or get to each other
a large and secure “tractor” for the bachelors, well away from my breeding groups,
a space inside my largest run for a hospital pen, also blocked from view/ access from the other boys (because it’s almost always a Tom that ends up being in need of the hospital pen lol)
another coop and run in progress for the “grow outs”.
Plus more coming for more separation as I want to keep several varieties -

Look up @R2elk s posts for an idea of proper set ups if you want to scale up.

If you just want a few - and don’t want to scale up/ make the modifications to your areas, be ready to process any excess Toms around March

Before you place an order. Please really think about your goals, commitment, and long term plans.

I was never a “bird person” before I had turkeys. I absolutely love having them. But it is a next level commitment to keep them safe, happy, and healthy. Be all in and you will never want to be without them. Go half a*sed and you won’t ever want them again

I wasn't planning on adding any more turkeys this year, but a predator wiped out my turkey hens last week. Didn't mention it because it's too upsetting and I was hoping at least one of them escaped and might come back. But I think they are all gone.
I have 3 toms left. will probably process 2 and start over. I don't really have any plans right now, other than to build covered pens. Just mindlessly shopping around because the yard feels empty.

 

[yesterDAYNE]

Oh that is sad. Now that it's almost autumn, won't he naturally stop breeding and the hens stop sitting down for him?

He should be slowing down, yeah. If he stops for the year before I can notice the implant taking effect I'll keep him around at least until breeding season next year.

 

[kfelton0002]

The reason everyone uses Royal Palms is because the only difference in the color genetics is the Narragansett gene.

Using a Slate (BB CC Dd) or a Barred Black (Bb CC) will make a mess that is difficult to breed to get back to a Sweetgrass (b1b1 cgcg dd).

Tri color mottled slates and blacks will be the progeny of the first generation. Then a tri color mottled slate will be used to mate back to a sweetgrass, resulting in a percentage of blue sweetgrass and sweetgrass progeny. Please elaborate on how that will be messy? From there the sweetgrass can be useful as breeders and will add fresh genetics to the line from infusing in the slate. I imagine that is how blue sweetgrass were originally created. I will keep a close eye out for hidden recessives. The reason I chose a slate is because I'm trying to eliminate Narragansett and a slate was readily available to me locally.

My sweetgrass and Fall fire males already likely carry Narragansett as the breeder's birds occasionally throw palms. Not sure how infusing slate to try to increase genetic diversity will hurt. Everything will be mated selarately and marked and documented. If a male throws palm, I will work to eliminate those Narragansett carriers until I refine the line. It's just a personal project that will be a welcomed respite from the rigors of grad school.

 

[R2elk]

Tri color mottled slates and blacks will be the progeny of the first generation. Then a tri color mottled slate will be used to mate back to a sweetgrass, resulting in a percentage of blue sweetgrass and sweetgrass progeny. Please elaborate on how that will be messy? From there the sweetgrass can be useful as breeders and will add fresh genetics to the line from infusing in the slate. I imagine that is how blue sweetgrass were originally created. I will keep a close eye out for hidden recessives as I'm not completely daft.

My sweetgrass and Fall fire males already likely carry Narragansett as the breeder's birds occasionally throw palms. Not sure how infusing slate to try to increase genetic diversity will hurt. Everything will be mated and marked and documented. If a male throws a palm, I will work to eliminate those Narragansett carriers until I refine the line. It's just a personal project that will be a welcomed respite from the rigors of grad school.

Getting back to b1b1 and cgcg is the problem. It isn't necessarily possible to look at a turkey and visually tell if it is Ccg or cgcg. .The same can be an issue with bb1 identification.

The D and B can be sorted easily since they are dominant genes which show if present and don't show if not present.

Too many heterozygous sites that all have to be gotten back to the desired homozygous state at the same time.

 

[Molpet]

All of the turkeys I had before this year were hatched and raised by chickens. my chickens are good at turkeys! I'm just wondering if chickens will be able to adopt turkeys that arrive in a shipping box instead of an egg, you know?

it depend on the hen. i give turkey eggs to a friend who uses an incubator.... a few days after hatching she gives the poults to a couple chicken hens that are always broody. a small breed and an English orp i think. she has supplemental heat if she has too many poults and chicks. so thats about the same time frame as shipped
poults are gone around thanksgiving

 

[kfelton0002]

Getting back to b1b1 and cgcg is the problem. It isn't necessarily possible to look at a turkey and visually tell if it is Ccg or cgcg. .The same can be an issue with bb1 identification.

The D and B can be sorted easily since they are dominant genes which show if present and don't show if not present.

Too many heterozygous sites that all have to be gotten back to the desired homozygous state at the same time.

Test mating would be the only way to discern then I imagine. I am going to test mate all of my current sweetgrass and Fall fire males and see if I have at least one free of Narragansett. I can always get a new sweetgrass male later on from a Narragansett free line I suppose.

If I have at least 1 Narragansett free male, I wouldn't even need to use the slate. By linebreeding I would use the Narragansett free sweetgrass or Fall Fire to breed males and female progeny useful for breeding, then only use the female sweetgrass or Fall Fire offspring from males that throw palm and carry Narragansett. Nothing against palms. I just wouldn't want to sell or give someone poults saying these are "sweetgrass" when in reality they are tri colored palms or royal palm.