Anybody else raising Turkeys?

[Alan]

Just wanted to see if anybody else was playing around in the land of turkeys.


Also, I don't know how many of us are poultry farmers here, but do you think we should start a piece of the forum for hatching egg trades?

For those that do have turkeys and or have had them or plan to get them, what are your favorite standard types and why?

[flowerpower]

My friend is trying to convince me to do it next yr. I can get red bourbons close by. The lady has another heritage breed. But only breeding pairs. I can't remember which breed, though. I have to email her in the winter about getting one as a pet.

I have no fertile eggs. There is no rooster, just hens. And the duck eggs are never fertile. Mr. Stinkeye is too fat, I think. I have had (possibly)one in the yr I have had them.

[grungy]

Bourbon Red and Bronze - we preferred them because of a higher dark meat to white meat ratio. I have to admit though the whites seem to pick "cleaner" with out the dark marks where the pinfeathers are removed.

[silverseeds]

I hope to in a few years. Might have to catch them like the anasazi

[flowerpower]

I was going to try snagging a wild one earlier in the week. There were at least 20 right in the field. But they run faster than you think. lol It looked to be all hens anyway. I want a tom.

While I was watching the turkeys jog towards the pond, I noticed a small buff bird running in the grass. My first thought was that it was a baby turkey. But then I noticed it's friend- an immature, male, ring-necked pheasant. That was pretty cool to see.

[ottawagardener]

Neat. I remember pheasants on our farm when I was a child. We would always try to sneak up on them (and the rabbits...) but weren't very succesful... Those baby bunnies would just sit there until you were like a foot away from them and then bam off they went like shots.

[Alan]

Kim and I enjoy the turkeys so much we are thinking about adding a second house and another 50 birds next season. We have two on the dockett for slaughter this fall, appropriately named Thanksgiving and Christmas, sort of looking forward to that!


Anyhow, for those interested in Turkeys and their diversity and or ordering birds for next season, go check out this link, very cool site, reliable and good quality/healthy birds:
www.porterturkeys.com

[silverseeds]

Ive counted coo on a turkey. they are catchable, and Im dealing with turkeys, who run much mre then most, and still have all the predators of the past. they look alot diffrent then the fat golly turkeys of ohio.

But Id probably try something like I learned in florida to catch hogs. If I could.

You feed them in the same spot, then eventually put up one fence wall, keep feeding them, and adding walls, until you have everything but a gate, then wait until they are feeding and close the gate.

[flowerpower]

The wild turkey in NY are not fat birds. They can get up off the ground onto a low tree branch. They have plenty of predators around here- fox, coyote, coons, bobcat, and mountain lion. I am not going to bait the turkeys to catch one. I'm not looking to eat it, just keep it as a pet.

[mnjrutherford]

We are supposedly in the midst of the "land of wild turkeys". We have noticed a few from our yard, but plenty out in the more country areas. I'm not sure we are going to try them. Not soon at least. We want to do chickens first and I'm thinking Sandhill will be where I source my poultry and sweet potatoes. Karen gave me the link and I really like their offerings for both slips and poultry. They have quite a few varieties of poultry as well.

[silverseeds]

flower, what wrong with baiting a turkey for a pet??? I have to bait my cat with food sometimes, lol.

[flowerpower]

I really want a baby, not an adult. I free range all my birds. So I don't want it taking off into the woods.

My neighbor was sighting his new 50 caliber musket loader on tuesday. Nice looking, but LOUD. I told him he better not be using the pheasants for target practice. lol

[Alan]

Yes, if you catch a wild turkey, it has to be a poult, an adult will not survive in confinement unless it has been raised from a poult, they will freak out and die/refuse to eat.

In some states it is illegal to collect them from the wild, in other states it's illegal to keep wild birds at all, even if from a hatchery without a permit, but you can order them from hatcheries, from what I have seen from friends raising wild type turkeys the Rio Grande seem to be hardier and thriftier than Eastern types, I plan on adding a Rio Tom and three hens to our growout next season.

[flowerpower]

Oct 11, 2009 19:06:38 GMT -5 Alan said:

In some states it is illegal to collect them from the wild, in other states it's illegal to keep wild birds at allquote]

It is illegal to keep a wild turkey in NY. But you see them hanging out in barnyards with domestic birds all the time. If one just happens to stay....

On a sad note, Mr Stinkeye ran into the road one too many times. I never really liked him. But I am still sad. I'm trying to look at it this way. His 2 brothers ended up in the oven last fall. He got to spend a good yr here in the country, eating snails and humping hens.

The hens are so depressed. I am trying to hunt down a pekin drake. I emailed someone on craigslist. They have 3 for $20. Says for meat, so probably the right breed. Maybe I can just buy one. I explained my problem in the email.

[Alan]

I know what you mean about them just showing up.....


The same way that Rio Grand types are going to miraculously show up in Pekin Indiana in a flock at Bishop's Homegrown next spring....sans licennes, 'cause in my mind, a turkey is a turkey as long as it isn't broad breasted.