Turkeys

[p.penn]

Does anyone here keep turkeys? I was wondering if I could have just one with my chickens. Are they the same to look after?

[saint-spoon]

are we talking turkey eggs or christmas dinner? Turkey eggs are supposed to be delish.

[HensAloud]

are we talking turkey eggs or christmas dinner? Turkey eggs are supposed to be delish.

Yup turkey eggs turn bad cooks into good ones great cakes

[wendy]

I have read somewhere you shouldn't keep Turkeys in with chickens. One can catch something off the other, I believe.

[Funky chicken]

The disease is called blackhead, apparently chickens are carriers and its picked up in their droppings, if turkeys contract it there's a very high fatality rate.

[p.penn]

Thanks - it maybe seemed a good idea this morning, but not so much now!

[mariat]

My friend, who lives over the road, had three turkeys in with her chickens for 3 years. They shared a large run during the day, but were housed separately at night. The eggs are amazing. She is a vegetarian and wanted to save them from being Xmas dinner. Just remembered, they had a habit of escaping into the woods at the back of her garden, and were hard to keep contained in the run, even though she has 6ft fences round it. I know they got on OK with her chickens though, and her cockerel adopted them as one of his flock.

[kitla]

our local rescue has a couple of really friendly turkeys, they're so tame they sometimes take them on their fund raising days - into the shopping center!
If you rescued one you'd be giving it a good life with a small risk of it not being a
long one, go on.

[aceface]

big al has chooks and turkeys together and he keeps on top of the dropping issue ,his live happily side by side

I love turkeys and ducks ,wish I had enough room I would have a pair of bourbon reds they are a beautiful bird

[lancashire lass]

someone at the allotment used to keep turkeys and chickens in the same run - unfortunately he had to get rid of the turkeys as they are not allowed at the site (the rules specify up to 12 hens only) The one thing I remember was their never ending gobble call (and so easy to set them off if you gobbled at them LOL) which I think some of the residents round the site were non too pleased about

[manda]

All species of birds can get blackhead including chooks it's just that Turkeys are a lot more susceptible.
Blackhead is a protozoa and it can't be got rid of by worming and the chemical that used to be available to treat it is no longer available but it seems from my wandering through the www that Cayenne pepper is 1) A useful preventative and 2) It can be used to treat blackhead.

Anyhoo the point is if you can keep them separate then that would be better...BUT...it is possible.

1 rounded tablespoon per 20 litres of chopped feed. Cayenne isn't water soluble, but it still works in drinking water as well (allow the cayenne to soak and then stirring the mixture well). The water method is essential for sicker birds who won't eat.

The piece I got it from.....

HOT NEWS FOR TURKEYS

By Larry Ross

RR # 3, Clifford, N0G 1M0

Since keeping turkeys, blackhead has been a problem for me from the second year on. For those not familiar with blackhead, this is a disease caused by protozoans. It can kill a flock of turkeys in less than a month. Protozoans are single-celled, microscopic animal life. (The Ministry of Agriculture's factsheets have good descriptions of all types of poultry diseases.)

I have tried several natural remedies to kill the protozoans responsible. I started looking for something else after my trails with garlic powder proved only partially effective. Although I've only tried it one year, I've had excellent results with cayenne powder. I use it at a rate of 1 rounded tablespoon per 20 litres of chopped feed. Cayenne isn't water soluble, but it still works in the drinking water. I use the same rate, allowing the cayenne to soak and then stirring the mixture well. The water method is essential for the sicker birds who won't eat. During the outbreak of 1993, I used cayenne in both the feed and water at first. Later on, I put it in the feed only.

Cayenne does more than just prevent and cure blackhead in turkeys. It is also seems effective in preventing and treating coccidiosis in chickens and turkeys.

With range birds it is difficult to ensure all the birds are consuming the cayenne-treated feed and water. If the birds are penned up at night, give them their treated feed before letting them out for the day.

Cayenne has several advantages. The flavour of the meat was not affected. (I kept the birds off cayenne for three days before slaughter.) Being a food substance (for humans), cayenne bypasses registration as a drug, a lengthy and expensive process.

So you could keep Turkeys with chooks but you would need to make sure you gave them Cayenne pepper in their feed......
Now all that been said there's a farmer we know that has an old Tom that he has in with his chooks and when I asked him if he wormed them regularly he just looked at me like I was crackers and said "Nah". ...I'd still go with the Cayenne though.

[p.penn]

Wow! Thanks for that Manda,

[wendy]

Interesting. Thanks Manda.
Not sure I would go for a turkey at the moment. But they are lovely.

[Trev62]

Just raising an old thread as we are considering (one vote for, one against at present) getting a couple of turkeys next year to raise for food, all our neighbours have them but they either confine them to small areas or just turn them loose to wander around the village (they always seem to find their way home!). We were thinking of letting them have free range with the chickens during the day but putting them in their own area/pen to sleep at night.

Any advice, thoughts or suggestions?

[p.penn]

Although it was me who started this thread, I never did get any! I couldn't now as my run is smaller than it was. It's still a great idea though!