Is my turkey molting?

[GarrettW]

One of my hens has been looking really raggedy for the past 2 weeks, and now she's starting to lose her tail feathers and develop bare spots. It looks like she's molting, but November seems really late for it. Will she be fine as it is starting to get/will get colder? Have you had this happen before?

 

[R2elk]

One of my hens has been looking really raggedy for the past 2 weeks, and now she's starting to lose her tail feathers and develop bare spots. It looks like she's molting, but November seems really late for it. Will she be fine as it is starting to get/will get colder? Have you had this happen before?

Normal. Mine survive it every year. One is a wimp and sleeps in the coop during her molt.

 

[GarrettW]

Normal. Mine survive it every year. One is a wimp and sleeps in the coop during her molt.

Thank you, I was concerned about her going into winter.

 

[NY Coturnix]

how long does it take for molt from start to finish?

 

[R2elk]

how long does it take for molt from start to finish?

It's different with every bird. If it is a slow molt it can take more than 3 months. If it is a hard molt, it can take a month or longer. Quality of feed can help the recovery go faster if you give them a feather fixer type feed. A high quality all flock or flock raiser will help more than a layer feed.

Judicious use of BOSS can also be a benefit as BOSS is a good source of methionine. Unfortunately it is also a low protein and high fat feed.

 

[NY Coturnix]

Thank you. I don't have any molting going on but I'll make sure to get some when they do.

 

[GarrettW]

Normal. Mine survive it every year. One is a wimp and sleeps in the coop during her molt.

Didn't want to start a new thread for this, but do your turkeys take breaks from flying up to roost? My turkeys seem to fly up to the roost for a period of time, usually a week, then will take a week long break. I also have one hen that didn't have problems flying up until about 3 weeks ago. Even if I put her up 3 hours before dark she still doesn't fly up.

 

[R2elk]

Didn't want to start a new thread for this, but do your turkeys take breaks from flying up to roost? My turkeys seem to fly up to the roost for a period of time, usually a week, then will take a week long break. I also have one hen that didn't have problems flying up until about 3 weeks ago. Even if I put her up 3 hours before dark she still doesn't fly up.

No, my turkeys jump/fly to their roosts every evening as long as it is not broody season. The only time any of my hens don't roost is when they are siting on a nest.

Of course all of my turkeys are heritage turkeys and the young ones have the example set by the older turkeys.

My roosts are out in the open sheltered on the windward side by the coop and on the north by the retaining wall for the garden. I have roosts at staggered heights starting at 3' and going up to 6'.

Having insufficient roost space can cause problems since my adult turkeys are very intolerant of another turkey roosting too close to them.

 

[GarrettW]

No, my turkeys jump/fly to their roosts every evening as long as it is not broody season. The only time any of my hens don't roost is when they are siting on a nest.

Of course all of my turkeys are heritage turkeys and the young ones have the example set by the older turkeys.

My roosts are out in the open sheltered on the windward side by the coop and on the north by the retaining wall for the garden. I have roosts at staggered heights starting at 3' and going up to 6'.

Having insufficient roost space can cause problems since my adult turkeys are very intolerant of another turkey roosting too close to them.

They are standard bronze turkey. They have 5 ft roosts a 12 ft gap between them and a 6 ft gap on the other side of them. I have 5 bronze and 1 Royal Palm hens and three of them fly up every night.

I even put a third Roost down, that is about 2 in off the ground. One of the two hens use it, but the other prefers to sleep on the ground even if I set her on the roost. I don't think she's overweight because she only weighs 19 lb.

I've also stood out there at night and she doesn't even try to fly up. I don't understand how she can go from flying up for a month straight to not even trying.

 

[R2elk]

They are standard bronze turkey. They have 5 ft roosts a 12 ft gap between them and a 6 ft gap on the other side of them. I have 5 bronze and 1 Royal Palm hens and three of them fly up every night.

I even put a third Roost down, that is about 2 in off the ground. One of the two hens use it, but the other prefers to sleep on the ground even if I set her on the roost. I don't think she's overweight because she only weighs 19 lb.

I've also stood out there at night and she doesn't even try to fly up. I don't understand how she can go from flying up for a month straight to not even trying.

Every turkey can be different. They each have their own personality and idiosyncrasies.