The stress of shipment and shipment injuries killed them. By the 7th day, I had lost 5 more poults to respiratory problems from shipment stress. I was sorrowful, but did all I could for the remaining 7.
They made it to the outside in what I thought was a healthy state, then it happened. I had an excruciating experience with the turkey poults. It was the dastardly disease, coccidiosis. We lost 5 turkey poults to this disease. I learned a great deal from the experience. At the time I write this article we have a healthy 16 week old tom, Cocoa Roo, and a hen, Crazy Cora.
Cocoa Roo got his name because his snood was cocoa colored when he was a poult. She freaks out about everything first thing in the morning. Flying here and there and making all kinds of noise. As the day goes on she gets more relaxed, most of the time. When they were learning to fly, they would fly over the fence on accident. Now they come and go as they please. I fall in love with these birds every day. I had 15 Speckled Sussex chicks arrive three days before the Chocolate Turkey poults.
There are some notable differences in chickens and heritage turkey breeds. The turkeys are larger and more aggressive as young poultry. By the time they are weeks old, the turkeys are more laid back and the chickens are more aggressive. The turkeys are slower to learn to eat and drink. I had to show the turkeys how and where several times before they began eating and drinking on their own.
The turkeys are extremely sensitive to environmental changes when poults. If you move the food or water, you have to show them where you moved it to a couple of times. Turkeys become attached to their humans and are much more friendly than chicks. The mesh should extend over-head — hawks love to make a meal of young turkeys — and underground, by at least 9 inches, to keep weasels and mink from burrowing underneath.
Plenty of farmers, especially those with a large number of birds, take their chances and let the fowl loose in pastures, fields, or forest each morning in this case, a density of birds per acre is typical. Left to their own devices, omnivorous turkeys eat grass and other vegetation, insects of every description, seeds, acorns, and many types of fruit.
Stephanie Lesnik, of Field House Farm in Madison, Connecticut, raises 50 Royal Palms and Narragansetts on pasture, and she believes the activity keeps them healthy and happy. Keep in mind that, unlike their industrial counterparts, heritage turkeys are skilled fliers. To lower the chance of infection, avoid cross-contamination: Never wear the same boots in the turkey habitat following a trip to the chicken coop, and disinfect any equipment transferred between the two areas.
You can guard against coccidiosis, a disease caused by parasites almost universally present in soil, through good hygiene. Clean watering devices daily and maintain dry bedding inside the shelter. Medicated turkey feed includes an antibiotic that targets the common bug, though organic standards do not permit it.
Organic farmers may, however, employ a coccidiosis vaccine, typically administered to poults. And precisely how small-scale farmers handle this depends largely on location. In some municipalities and most rural counties, farmers can legally process turkeys on-site for home consumption. In Connecticut, Lesnik can process her turkeys on-site, without USDA inspection, if her customers buy a live bird by plunking down a deposit the previous spring.
She maintains that a huge part of the challenge is consumer education. Regardless, she prefers to focus on heritage breeds.
Heritage turkeys are challenging in their own right. But raising them is much more rewarding. Save Save. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Hi this Paul Appiah I live in Ghana Kasoa I bought 6 bird of heritage turkey I first encounter pox I got some antibiotics and now they are doing great. Learn to cook them properly—not over degrees. Coop space recommendations per turkey depend on age: weeks: It is recommended to have one-half acre for every 12 adult birds.
Choosing turkey breeds Both toms and hens can be raised for meat, with the main difference being bird size.
One of your first choices will be whether to raise traditional or heritage turkey breeds. Traditional turkey breeds are known for fast growth and high production.
Broad Breasted White or Bronze turkeys can grow between 30 pounds females and 50 pounds males in just five months. Both breeds are raised commercially. Heritage turkeys are gaining in popularity. These turkeys are defined by their historical origins and tend to be smaller in size.
Breeds like the Royal Palm, Bourbon Red turkey or Narragansett turkey provide backyard flocks with a pop of color and beautiful plumage. For a turkey to be considered a heritage breed, it must meet three criteria as outlined by The Livestock Conservancy 1 : Toms and hens must mate naturally to preserve the genetic family tree.
The heritage turkey should have a long, productive lifespan in the outdoors. Heritage hens are generally productive for years and toms for years. Raising turkey poults is very similar to raising chicken chicks. You will need essentially the same set up:. I tape a cheap thermometer to the inside wall of my brooder so I can keep an eye on the approximate temperature. If they are all huddled under the heat lamp, it may be too cold.
If they are spread out around the edges and are panting or have their wings spread out, it is too hot. I really like the Brinsea EcoGlow as a heating element, too.
This is an alternative to the standard red heating lamps, it is also less of a fire hazard if you are a nervous poult mom like I am. It is a little more expensive, but if you are raising small quantities of birds it does a great job of mimicking a real mama bird and her belly warmth! Turkey poults need to be started on a higher protein feed than chickens do. The feed will sometimes be labeled as a gamebird starter if you are having trouble finding it.
You can use any standard feeder for your poults. The poults, however, benefit from you showing them how to eat and drink when you first receive them. I like to tap my finger in the food to show them where it is and encourage them to start pecking.
Do the same for the water. You can also gently pick up each poult and dip its beak into the water. This feeder and waterer are great options for raising turkey poults. The smaller feeders you commonly see at feed stores waste a lot of feed, and with hungry, growing turkeys you will need to be refilling them often.
I also like the larger, 1 gallon capacity of the red waterer. A lot of people will tell you turkey poults are more difficult to raise than chicks. The biggest issue I had with raising turkey poults this past spring was coccidiosis. This is the method that helped me control coccidiosis in my flock, but without proper diagnosis you might be treating the wrong illness.
Most vets will accept fecal samples and for a small fee can perform an analysis to determine what worms or protozoa are harming your birds. This was a little higher than expected but still in the realm of normal loss. Unfortunately the poults that did start showing signs of coccidiosis went downhill very quickly. In a small homestead environment, it is ok to keep turkeys and chickens or other livestock together as long as you are practicing good biosecurity and understand the risks. It is important to note that chickens and waterfowl can carry diseases that impact turkeys.
For example, ducks can carry avian influenza which is very dangerous and contagious to chickens and turkeys. Chickens can carry Histomonas meleagridis which causes the turkey disease Blackhead. It is a rare disease, but being aware of the diseases that can be passed from poultry species to species is important.
When the turkeys are about chicken sized months old it is a good time to start introducing them to your existing flock if you are going to keep them with chickens.
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