Thinking about getting turkey and have some questions

[holiday hawk]

So I finally bought a home last summer where I own a couple of acres. I've always wanted to raise birds, and I finally can! I started with chickens, and will be getting quail next Friday. I would also like to add a few turkeys to the mix later this year. I wanted to start doing research ahead of time to see how much money I will need to save up to create a pen for them. I've got several questions, and was hoping someone with turkey experience could answer them!

1. Do they need a coop? I have seen mixed things on this, with some people saying turkeys need a decent sized coop to other people saying they just have roosts available in the open and do not provide a permanent shelter. What do I need? We do not slaughter our birds, they are not quite pets, but they are more than regular livestock, so they would need to make it through the winter. I live in eastern Ohio in Licking County, so it gets pretty cold here, but nothing like say Northern Minnesota. We get a couple of snowstorms a year and maybe an ice storm (although this year we did not even get that much); there are a few days where temps drop into the negative with a double digit negative factoring in the wind chill, but it's usually at least in the low double digits through the winter, positive single digit days are usually all the colder it gets. Could I build something as simple as structure with three plywood walls and a roof and an open wall to provide them shade in the summer and shelter from winter winds with roost inside it, or do I need a fully enclosed structure for them?

2. What are the best breeds for eggs? From what I've read, no breeds come anywhere close to matching chickens, but like I said they will be somewhat like pets, so they will not be slaughtered. With that in mind, I'd like to get a breed that will lay as many eggs as possible so I can still get as much production as possible from them. Bourbon red seem to be mentioned as some of the best egg layers, but wanted to see what other people suggested. In that same vein, do you have suggestions for a different breed that will lay a similar amount or maybe just a little less but will be friendlier? One of my favorite part of owning chickens is them running up to the gate excited to see me assuming I've got treats for them, and then following me around the run. If a breed of turkey like this exist I'd sacrifice a little egg production for it. Also, I've read turkey take much longer to start laying than chickens, what's the latest I could get turkeys this year and they be ready to lay next spring?

3. How loud are they? My city surprisingly has little laws on keeping poultry/backyard birds. They really are no regulations, so long as they stay on your property. They are still subject to noise laws; however. I cannot get a chicken rooster with this mind, as even though they are legal from a zoning perspective, I could still get cited with noise complaints. So how loud are toms and turkey hens? Are they something you could hear from 2-300 yards away? My most immediate neighbor would not care about the noise, but idk what my neighbors on the other side of the street would say. I would love to get a tom just because I think he would look great in my yard. On the subjects of toms, if they are quiet enough that you can't hear them past ~300 yards, is there a minimum number of hens I would need for him? When looking into getting ducks, I've read males must have at least so many females or else they will overbreed them. Is the same true for turkeys?

4. How much run space do they need? I have read everything from 6sqft, 10sqft, 25sqft, and 469sqft per turkey. I really can't get a straight answer online. I'm not sure if this is because most turkeys are butchered before they are old enough to need more space or what. How much space do you need per grown hen and a tom? I would put whatever type of shelter I would ultimately build for them from the first question in the run to keep it safer.

5. Is there anything you think a turkey newbie is not asking? I'm thinking about maybe getting them late in the summer or early fall when I've built up some more "play money" after buying a new chicken coop and building an aviary for my quails. I'd like to use the time between now and then to see if turkeys would be a good fit for me and my property and learning everything I should if so.

 

[R2elk]

1. Do they need a coop? I have seen mixed things on this, with some people saying turkeys need a decent sized coop to other people saying they just have roosts available in the open and do not provide a permanent shelter. What do I need? We do not slaughter our birds, they are not quite pets, but they are more than regular livestock, so they would need to make it through the winter. I live in eastern Ohio in Licking County, so it gets pretty cold here, but nothing like say Northern Minnesota. We get a couple of snowstorms a year and maybe an ice storm (although this year we did not even get that much); there are a few days where temps drop into the negative with a double digit negative factoring in the wind chill, but it's usually at least in the low double digits through the winter, positive single digit days are usually all the colder it gets. Could I build something as simple as structure with three plywood walls and a roof and an open wall to provide them shade in the summer and shelter from winter winds with roost inside it, or do I need a fully enclosed structure for them?

They need a sheltered site. They are very cold hardy. They do need shade.

My turkeys did fine on their outside roosts when we hit -40°F this past December. Their roosts are in a place that is sheltered from the prevailing SW winds.

They also have a low roofed area where they can and do get in the shade. I have seen them spend their time in the shade on a sunny day when the temperature is -20°F.

Mine do have access to the coop during the daytime. It is where the food and water is.

If you decide to build a coop for turkeys, it needs to have a minimum of 10 sq. ft. of clear floor space per adult bird. In addition they need access to a run. The run needs to be much bigger than that. My run is 50' x 100'.

2. What are the best breeds for eggs? From what I've read, no breeds come anywhere close to matching chickens, but like I said they will be somewhat like pets, so they will not be slaughtered. With that in mind, I'd like to get a breed that will lay as many eggs as possible so I can still get as much production as possible from them. Bourbon red seem to be mentioned as some of the best egg layers, but wanted to see what other people suggested. In that same vein, do you have suggestions for a different breed that will lay a similar amount or maybe just a little less but will be friendlier? One of my favorite part of owning chickens is them running up to the gate excited to see me assuming I've got treats for them, and then following me around the run. If a breed of turkey like this exist I'd sacrifice a little egg production for it. Also, I've read turkey take much longer to start laying than chickens, what's the latest I could get turkeys this year and they be ready to lay next spring?

All domestic turkeys are thee breed Turkey. They are separated into varieties. I haven't found any of the varieties that I have had to be better egg layers than any of the other varieties. The egg laying abilities seem to be based on the individual hen. They are seasonal layers and will normally lay from spring to fall unless allowed to go broody and raise a clutch.

Most turkeys that are hatched this year will start laying next spring. They are sexually mature by the time they are 6 months old. Many have reported BBW turkeys starting to lay at 5 months old.

How friendly your turkeys will be depends on how you interact with them. If you imprint them as poults they will be underfoot and in your way. They are very inquisitive and will be in the way whenever you are doing anything where they can get to. This can come with a bad side to as those that are imprinted as poults lose the ability to understand that people are not turkeys. This can lead to human aggressive toms as they incorporate you into their pecking order.

3. How loud are they? My city surprisingly has little laws on keeping poultry/backyard birds. They really are no regulations, so long as they stay on your property. They are still subject to noise laws; however. I cannot get a chicken rooster with this mind, as even though they are legal from a zoning perspective, I could still get cited with noise complaints. So how loud are toms and turkey hens? Are they something you could hear from 2-300 yards away? My most immediate neighbor would not care about the noise, but idk what my neighbors on the other side of the street would say. I would love to get a tom just because I think he would look great in my yard. On the subjects of toms, if they are quiet enough that you can't hear them past ~300 yards, is there a minimum number of hens I would need for him? When looking into getting ducks, I've read males must have at least so many females or else they will over breed them. Is the same true for turkeys?

Both toms and hens can be loud. Most people seem to enjoy hearing a tom gobble. Unlike a rooster, toms can gobble pretty much non stop during breeding season. I can hear my toms from the mailbox which is half a mile from the house.

I try to keep at least 4 to 5 hens for one tom. Others have gotten by with fewer hens but it is best for the hens to have more.

4. How much run space do they need? I have read everything from 6sqft, 10sqft, 25sqft, and 469sqft per turkey. I really can't get a straight answer online. I'm not sure if this is because most turkeys are butchered before they are old enough to need more space or what. How much space do you need per grown hen and a tom? I would put whatever type of shelter I would ultimately build for them from the first question in the run to keep it safer.

Coop space is a minimum of 10 sq. ft. per adult bird. I would not go with less than 100 sq. ft. per adult bird for a run space. As I said earlier, my run is 50'x100'.. I do have an approximately 2 acre space that is perimeter fenced with 2"x4"x6' welded wire fencing that they can free range during the daytime.

 

[holiday hawk]

That is a lot of very good information, thank you! So a 10x20 or 20x20 run would not hold many turkeys it seems.

 

[R2elk]

That is a lot of very good information, thank you! So a 10x20 or 20x20 run would not hold many turkeys it seems.

I wouldn't put a pair of adult turkeys in pens that small. One of the things not even considered if your turkeys are on 6' high roosts, they can take 30' to land when getting off of the roost.

Another aspect about the roosts is that adult turkeys like to have their roosting space. They don't like being crammed in against each other and will let the one next to them know about. This doesn't count when the ones next to a hen are her brood.