Roosting and turkey safety

[ruralmom]

I will try to make this short. I have a 1.5 yr old Bronze pair that are too big to roost and just squat and sleep on the ground in a coop. Have two pair Beltville white birds about 6 month old that just went free range after a one month confinement in a nice loafing shed with an enclosed run. Noticed a day before release on the whites the three had been picking on a hen, released and they have never gone back to the shed. They now all are together in the "garden' area ( all 6) and the whites started roosting on the top of the chicken house and the bronze pair and the beat up hen are in the shed. White hen chose to stay with the bronzes. Following snow storm, all four whites are not roosting on a 3.5 ft fencing and I am fearful it is not high enough or protected enough from the elements and the preditors. Can I train all the birds to go into a shed together at night, should I try to get the whites to go back to their original loafing shed and confine them and risk another injured bird or let the whites figure it out for themselves? There is enough stuff, old machinary and trees for the whites to go and seek shelter elsewhere, they don't. Is it their strong desire to be a flock or just like where they are at? Any advice?

 

[crj]

Quote:
I have 3 bronze turkeys and they roost on top of the chicken pen. I did put a board up and nailed it between 2 trees. One hen will roost there and the other once in a while. They all roost separately and at a distance. I don't know why, they just do. They do not like being penned up so I stopped trying. I was afraid they would hurt themselves always trying to get out. The whites might not like the bronze or the pen isn't big enough for them and their isn't a roost high enough for them. They may change there location too. You can make a roost that is about a foot or more off the ground for the turkeys that can't fly very high. It will get them off the ground at least. Good luck.

 

[ruralmom]

I got them into their original loafing shed with two additional roosts. The one hen is finally healing from the beating she took and if it happens again while they are in tonight I will not ask them to be confined again. So, would you say that they turkeys will find the spot that fits the weather situation? They did come down following the snow storm and we are to have another storm tonight that is why I put them in. The whites seem to just want to be with the bronzes. Too bad, there is still grass around and the bronzes will not leave the 'garden' and nor will the whites.

 

[crj]

Is their a way to make another separate pen for the other turkeys? One that they can stay in at night and let out during the day? At night you would probably have to herd them back into the pen until they get it figured out. This way the one hen that gets beat up can go in a pen that is safe for her.

My turkeys seem to like it on top of the chicken pen. One hen will sometimes go in the chicken pen out of the weather. I am trying to figure out something to protect the turkeys from the weather and still allow them to stay where they are. I just haven't figured it out yet. I have guineas that just want to stay in a tree as well. Maybe it's me, the human, that feels these birds need shelter when they actually know what they need. One can only hope. It's a hard choice. Also, I don't know if they are just dumb and won't come out of the weather. I definitely can not climb on the chicken pen to get them. Just not possible.

 

[ruralmom]

I just do not know what to do with these birds. Took three of us to 'herd' ( thats a joke) the turkeys to their house and it worked one night. Next night out in the elements and only on the fence. We are trying to feed them close to the structure we want them to go into in the hopes they with get comfortable with the place and possible go into it at night. Question to all the cold climate turkey personal: Will the turkey seek shelter when the weather gets back or will they tough it out where they roost for the night regardless of weather? Will there exposed skin freeze or get frost bite? We have miles of a tree row they can go into but choose the garden area.

 

[Frosty]

I had a White Holland hen disappear after a heavy snow load collapsed the roof on their building. While we were moving the turkeys to another building she flew. After several blizzards and -30 temps, I figured she either turned into predator food or died from exposure/starvation. That was in early January. Then in March a neighbor called to say that a white turkey hen was in her yard. She survived more than 3 months in a North Dakota winter on her own.

That being said, when the snow starts piling up owls are more likely to start picking turkeys out of the trees so I don't like them loose in the winter. I have gradually moved the turkeys feed into the building I want them in and had wild turkeys follow me in at feeding time. I never had a turkey get frost bite.