If you ’ve call forth chickens , you have a good basis for raise joker . Perhaps you ’re considering raising some for the vacation . If so , keep in nous that most commercial breeds will maturate between 14 to 22 weeks of years ( or 25 to 30 hebdomad for heritage breeds ) . You ’ll call for to purchase birds in late May or early June ( heritage ) or July ( commercial ) to be quick come November . Here ’s what you take to know to get start out raising Turkey . Eric Nevison from Nevison Farms , Minnesota , keeps Narragansett ( pictured ) and Royal Palms . NEVISON FARMS
Proper Housing for Raising Turkeys
In “ Growing Your Own Thanksgiving Turkeys , ” pedagogue Katie Ockert with the Michigan State University Extension writes that turkey poults are raised very similarly to chickens . “ They will demand to be kept in a brooder for the first six weeks and can then be transferred into a cage circumstance , ” she save . “ Turkeys will demand a larger area to produce than chicks due to their size , and size requisite will increase as the turkey grow . ”
turn up to 3 feet tall , turkeys are big boo that require space to expand . Their housing should certainly be appropriate for the identification number / sizing of the birds bear . This is where so many initiate go incorrect . Ventilation is vital for all poultry and especially so with turkeys and their trapping does n’t have to be anything too fancy .
My chick roosted securely in this shed , spending most of the twenty-four hour period roam outside in my securely fenced plantation . Turkeys like to perch ; a 3 - column inch round wooden rod placed about 3 feet off the soil will put up them with a very comfortable roosting smudge .
Whatever phase of lodging you hire when resurrect turkeys , I ca n’t overemphasise the penury for adequate ventilation . With poultry , many of us think we need to keep our wench snug and warm , but what we really involve to do is keep the melodic line inside the star sign impudent and moving . This will forestall wet and ammonia water establish up , thus maintain birds comfortable and healthy .
Fencing for Raising Turkeys
I used 6 - foot gamey wire fencing when raising turkey to keep my birds contained and keep out the predator . This work efficaciously with the stags ( male turkeys ) but not always so well with the inquisitive hens . Lighter heritage breeds often retain a good flying superpower .
However , if you keep your birds occupied and they have enough space ( a breeding span will demand 90 square substructure of space as a lower limit ) — and providing that they ’re well fed — you should n’t have too much of a job with them straying .
Do n’t set aside turkeys to roam complimentary in the average garden as they ’ll quickly destroy new plant maturation and flower . Containing curious turkeys will also allow you to keep them away from harmful plants and other potential hazards . Sheralan Marrott of Red Top Ranch , Tennessee , enhance Bourbon Reds . S. MARROTT / RED TOP RANCH
Eric Nevison from Nevison Farms, Minnesota, keeps Narragansett (pictured) and Royal Palms.NEVISON FARMS
Feeding Turkeys
Just like chicken , raising turkeys requires a starter puke ( when they are very petty ) , then they are be active onto a cultivator pellet and , finally , onto a maintenance pellet when they ’ve matured .
You ca n’t however feed a dieting suitable for a chicken to a turkey . Turkey poults ( chicks ) have a far high protein requirement than youthful wimp . Feeding them wimp pellet would certainly lead to all kinds of ontogenesis and health problem . gratefully , your local feed - supply store will carry specially formulated turkey feeds that have the necessary protein amounts .
A Republic of Turkey newbie skunk will contain a protein count of between 22 % to 24 % , and this is usually feed until the poults are 5 to 8 week old . This will contain all the protein , trace elements and micronutrient want for normal early growing .
Check the manufacturer ’s recommendations but , around the 5 - to-8 - week leg , most poults can slowly be impress across to the growers pellet ( preferably one made by the very same manufacturing business as that of your prefer chick crumb ) . Grower pellet have a depressed protein count of around 20 % .
Turkeys that are fortunate enough to range over a plain or orchard will , of course , affix their pelleted dieting with skunk and all manner of insect , spiders , louse and even lizards . They also adore treats such as plums , apples , sweetcorn , etc . lettuce , hang up in their living quarters are excellent at allay ennui , giving these highly inquisitive birds something to smack at .
A maintenance diet pellet — consist of 16 % protein — is given when the raspberry reach adulthood . Once turkeys mature , they ’re amazingly hardy birds and capable of surviving the harshest winters completely unscathed .
Sheralan Marrott of Red Top Ranch, Tennessee, raises Bourbon Reds.S. MARROTT/RED TOP RANCH
Ask the Experts
All of us have dissimilar government when it comes to raise turkeys . I always recover this fascinating and informative and a peachy style to pluck up tips . I interview two turkey keepers , Eric Nevison from Nevison Farm , Minnesota , who keeps Narragansett and Royal Palms , and Sheralan Marrott of Red Top Ranch , Tennessee , who keep open Bourbon Reds .
Housing:“Currently all our bird live in a barn together , ” Nevison says . “ I create a coop inside it — two stalls wide — but since the slew has grow so much bigger , we just keep the door open and countenance them take the air around and roost where they see primed each night . ”
Marrott has a similar frame-up . “ I have a penitentiary and big coop — part of a barn — for mine for nighttime that has wad of roosting spaces , ” he says . “ They favor a ceiling overhead to protect them from rainwater and blow . Mine free - range during the day , and in the summer , they need lots of shade , impertinent melodic line with a breeze and shallow dishes of body of water to stomach in to cool down . If predators / extreme weather are n’t a problem , roosts under a shed cap would likely be fine for adult turkeys . ”
These Royal Palm (left) and Slate (right) male turkeys are heritage breeds.JOHNATAPW/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
Fence Height:“Heritage breeds are clean and better at fly than the broad breasted , ” Marrott says . “ I have a 4 - infantry fence , and my turkeys hop / fly over it — even with clipped wings ! They then suddenly leave how to fly back , pacing the fence until I help them . In my , confessedly limited experience , grown Tom do n’t do this , but youngsters and hen face for a spot to go brood hen do . I could only opine that a 6 - foot fencing might keep them in spot if their wings were clipped . ”
Nevison had a different take . “ Turkeys are hoot but are not keen on fly unless they necessitate , too , ” he tell . “ Most of ours roost 4 foot from the primer in our b . I ’ve never seen any of our turkeys fly up high , and I think this is possibly because they know that the barn / farm is a safe domain with no predators , etc . ”
Feed : Nevison feeds his birds corn , pale yellow mash and sinister vegetable oil helianthus seeds as a master base . “ We also bring them all our scraps , ” he says . “ They will consume a smashed - up pumpkin or squash . ”
Turkey hens (females) are smaller than toms (males) and don’t have elaborate tail plumage.NEVISON FARMS
Marrott insisted that Meleagris gallopavo need a higher protein dieting than chickens . “ For the first 12 hebdomad of life , I wish a starter feed that ’s 28 % protein , ” he says . “ Then I go to a lower protein provender — but at least 20 % — for the rest of the meter . ”
Worming : Do bomb need worming?This was a in particular interesting question for me as I ’m very lancinating to remain as close to nature as potential with my particular birds .
Marrott has n’t had to deworm his turkeys in the three years he ’s had them . “ They have access to wooded and pasture acreage all day , so this potential helps , ” he allege . “ When they are poults , I sum up herb to their food for thought and water to keep their system secure and forestall sponger overload . ”
Nevison agrees . “ We ’ve never wriggle any of our birds , ” he says .
Heritage Birds
All around the world , more hoi polloi are pass away back to the older ways , and when it come to lift stock , more and more of us are applying the principles of deadening food . This philosophy ( go by Carlo Petrini in Italy in the 1980s ) visualise a humankind in which all citizenry can access and delight nutrient that is dear for them , good for those who grow it and is in force for the planet .
Slow food is base on three interconnected rule :
honest : Quality , flavorsome and healthy food .
Clean : Production that does n’t harm the satellite .
Fair : Accessible toll for consumers and fair remuneration / conditions for worker .
Commercial poults batch on system of weights fast and grow at an staggering pace : The toms have so much knocker pith they ca n’t copulate naturally ( also often suffering haggard disorders and peg issues ) and the hen need artificial insemination . As a more sustainable and honourable alternative , many turkey stock breeder and consumers are increasingly turn by from those grotesquely Brobdingnagian strain and turning to heritage strain , which are closer in size of it and hardiness to their wild ancestors . These birds — although taking longer to rear — also bump to be flavorous and succulent .
To get start raising turkeys , you ’ll require a least a pair of joker . They want companions , and a single turkey would not do well all by itself . These Royal Palm ( left ) and Slate ( ripe ) manlike turkeys are heritage breeds . JOHNATAPW / STOCK.ADOBE.COM
Popular Turkey Breeds
Some of the popular inheritance strain when raising turkeys include the following .
Bronze : This is the bird most people would think of if ask to describe a turkey . With that iridescent sheen upon its feathers — this is the bird of farmyard paintings — intimate to us all . It is the patriarch of all the turkey miscellanea .
However , rather surprisingly , due to the public ’s preference for white birds ( that produce a fair - look carcase with no unworthy blue feather stubs ) and the commercial procreation of exaggerated , huge - breasted razzing – the Bronze faced near extinction in the seventies . Thankfully a small-scale marrow of breeder take the Bronze under its protective extension . Show birds are kept to a more normal weight stove that does n’t exceed 24 pound sign .
Narragansett : This all - American beauty go down from Black turkeys ( brought to America by European settler in the 1600s ) being crossed with raging native turkeys . This has created an extremely hardy bird . footling supplemental feeding was given to these Meleagris gallopavo ; they find most of what they needed on the farm .
For a while , although never quite reach the acclaim of the Bronze , the Narragansett was extremely popular ( especially so in the Midwest / mid - Atlantic States ) but easy it fell into the Bronze ’s dark and was finally overshadow by it . The late interest in slow food and grasp for flavorful meat has once again brought this Cinderella of the turkey world out in the limelight .
American as Apple Pie
The wild turkey is aboriginal to North America and is a true American ikon . Domestication began 2,000 years ago by Native Americans who , very much like now , pen them and used their meat , feathering and bones . For those golden enough to have dotty turkey visiting the fowl feeders in the backyard , you ’ll have a go at it that the process of domestication must have been relatively simple ! They are big , funny doll with a hearty appetite and soon get tame .
All the unlike breeds , with their dazzling regalia of colouring material and feather patterns , found around the world today are descend from the baseless birds that fortunately still range the forests of North America . So , if it ’s so American , why is it called a turkey ?
Linguist Mario Pei puts forth an interesting idea to excuse the birdie ’s name . He suggest that the first dud imported to England came not from North America but via merchant ship from the East . The importers lend their name to these shuttle , so they became known as turkey cocks / turkey hens — and the name subsequently stuck — the usance becoming widespread .
Royal Palm : Now for all those who shudder at the turkey ’s supposed vileness : Take a good look at the Royal Palm . These regal stunners first appeared on a farm in Florida in the 1920s — get up randomly from hybridisation between Narragansett / Bronze and wild turkeys .
These small , active , gloriously colored skirt can produce a very good meal for the average family . The hens are also fertile nut layer .
Royal Palms are closer in size of it and weight ( no more than 22 pound ) to their uncivilised ancestors . They make excellent foragers and prove very useful in keeping down issue of insect pests . Be aware , though , as a light breed , the Royal Palm can certainly wing a bit when the need rise !
Bourbon Red : This typical bird , with its rich ruddy feather was developed in the early 1900s . Once again , it ’s a smaller bird , that has high high temperature tolerance . FormerNew York Timesfood columnist Marian Burros declared the Bourbon Red “ the tastiest Republic of Turkey in America , ” trigger off a nationwide interest in inheritance breed turkeys .
Other Breeds : The Livestock Conservancy , a nonprofit rank organization whose mission is to protect endangered stock and poultry strain from extermination , and the American Poultry Association also list the follow heritage turkey breeds , in increase to the ones I ’ve listed : Beltsville Small White , White Holland , Black and Slate .
Blackhead Disease
Turkey poults are loosely see as being far more delicate than young chickens ; they can sure be more prone to disease and one of the most feared of these disease is blackhead . This is due to a protozoan worm that chickens carry , but turkeys suffer from — empathizing the power point many turkey custodian make — the necessity to keep chickens and turkeys separate .
worm every six weeks when promote turkey disrupts the life cycle per second of this destructive worm . Several organic breeder now utilise herb such as oregano in the provender as well as take the preventive measure of keeping poults well away from chickens and land where chickens have been keep .
Raising Turkeys for Eggs
Turkey hens take longer than chickens to suppurate in the egg - place section . They typically reach it at 7 month but can take up to a class . And while a wimp might lay almost an egg a day , dud only lay two to three eggs a week .
Turkey egg are swelled and have a high protein content than poulet eggs , and some say a richer taste . Their bollock are usually a creamy white color with speckle and tough shell . Turkey hens ( females ) are smaller than tomcat ( male person ) and do n’t have elaborate tail plumage . NEVISON FARMS
Before you buy any Republic of Turkey , check with local authorities , specially if you live in the suburbs , that raising turkey ( or indeed any fowl ) is actually grant . Many modern houses — even those on big plots — do n’t allow any livestock to be kept . Make exhaustive deterrent before getting started raising turkeys ; it would be heartbreaking to settle down your birds in and get used to them being around to then be force to give them up later on .
Remember that all poultry needs looking after 365 days a year . Who ( in your circle of household or friends ) will be willing to feed / water your birds whilst you are away on vacation ? And whilst a lot of people who would happily tend a few pet chickens , many would feel rather intimidated by the size and show of turkeys .
And last , but not least , it ’s always in force to retain a cordial relationship with your neighbor . Male turkeys will make their renowned “ gobble - gobble ” sound at the slightest incitation , and hen turkey are n’t on the nose silent either ! Therefore , to maintain confirming neighborly relations , inform them of your plan and pull ahead them over to your ambitions of raising Republic of Turkey .
