It's been a while since we've had a chance to get on and share and update but with summer craziness, kids being out of school, kids going back to school, and fall canning season, times have been busy and crazy around here. We managed to cut down some trees in the yard to make room for some fruit trees, we've hatched many, many chicks and even added a few turkey poults. This one is all about our new experiences with the turkeys.
Of course, I looked into it a lot before we ordered our first hatching eggs. I knew exactly which breed I wanted and about how many. I also knew that I wanted a few from different bloodlines for healthier breeding. After all my research, I decided that I wanted bourbon reds. Everything I found said that they were one of the best tasting and friendliest of the turkey breeds. Of course, when all was said and done and because of a trade (chicken eggs for turkey eggs) we ended up with bourbon reds, a blue slate, a rusty slate, a bronze mix, and an eastern wild mix.
I actually didn't take a ton of pictures of the babies when they were little unfortunately. Mostly because I was too busy playing with them. The first thing I realized about them was how much more personality they seem to have than chickens. Don't get me wrong, I love my chickens, but the turkeys just fascinate me with their antics. Every day, I would let them out of the brooder to run around the floor and practice free ranging. They usually ended up on my lap, snuggling up. I even couldn't resist laying on the floor with them in the evenings before bed when they would snuggle up with me and go to sleep.
I also learned how fragile they could be. Apart from being difficult to hatch, they seemed hard to keep alive. Turkeys are not the brightest of birds out there and as babies, need to be shown repeatedly where the food and water is. One of our first pouts to hatch ended up dying. He just stopped eating and no matter how many times I showed him the food and water, he would just forget.
Another poult had a lot of issues when he hatched. A lot of people say not to help the weak ones. That breeding them will make future generations weak. While I don't disagree with that, these were my first turkeys and I wanted to try my hardest to keep them alive, even if I couldn't breed them. Unfortunately, I ended up losing that little guy after one heck of a fight but I'll write about little Will another time.
I also learned how fragile they could be. Apart from being difficult to hatch, they seemed hard to keep alive. Turkeys are not the brightest of birds out there and as babies, need to be shown repeatedly where the food and water is. One of our first pouts to hatch ended up dying. He just stopped eating and no matter how many times I showed him the food and water, he would just forget.
Another poult had a lot of issues when he hatched. A lot of people say not to help the weak ones. That breeding them will make future generations weak. While I don't disagree with that, these were my first turkeys and I wanted to try my hardest to keep them alive, even if I couldn't breed them. Unfortunately, I ended up losing that little guy after one heck of a fight but I'll write about little Will another time.
The poults grew so fast that we couldn't get away with keeping them in the garage brooder for long. I threw together a quick pen for them outside when they were about 8 weeks old. It was not predator proof and every evening I was worried that they'd fall prey to one of the many predators we have in our area but every morning, there they were, safe and sound and ready for another day. Once again, we were in the same situation as we were with the chickens. We had quickly growing birds and no coop for them. Eventually, they moved into our 10 x 14 shed which ended up working out perfect for them. They just had to wait until our pig, who was residing in the shed at the time, moved out....permanently.
The problem with turkeys, even being as wonderful and friendly as they are, they don't like to return to their coop at night. They tend to want to roost in the trees like their wild cousins do. Since we do let them free range (except during turkey season of course), every evening consists of herding turkeys back inside. It's become easier as time has worn on. They will go in pretty easy if you bribe them with treats. Not to mention they're never hard to find. They love people and will go out of their way to be near them. I've seen them run to greet a neighbor at the mailbox and try to follow someone walking down the street. Some are more friendly than others and they all have their preferences. Eve loves to sit on my lap. Pebbles and Sweet Pea like to be cuddled and hugged. Winnifred (Winny for short), Mary, and Sarah (the Sanderson sisters) aren't the cuddly type but are still silly. And Adam, our Tom, likes to be rubbed under the wings...but not while the girls are watching. They are curious, playful, and affectionate clowns. I hope you enjoy the slideshow below. It shows the silly and loving antics of our turkeys.
| I hope you take the time to check out this video of Eve and the gang just hanging out. I had tried to record them jumping around and playing (yes, turkeys love to play) but of course, as soon as the camera turned on, they stopped playing. |