Turkey housing ?

[Valerie]

I need to start planning for my turkey acquisition in the early spring/end of winter. Every hatchery I've looked at has a minimum order of 15 poults, so it looks like I'll be getting 15. That's OK; some of them might die so I don't want to be short. Most of them will be for eatin', with the exception of a pair or maybe a trio we'll keep for reproducing the next year.

Anyway, I'm not finding much info on housing. Free range is not an option here. We're thinking about building a coop with enough roost room and putting it under the pecan tree where it will be in shade most of the time. We would extend the chickens electric fence to also enclose the turkeys and let them forage together in the grass and under the tree.

How many square feet of coop/roost space do I need per bird, though? I know they need to have enough roof space to protect them all from rain at one time, but how big does it have to be?


**Also, Gayle, can we have a critter area please? I never know just where to put these types of things!

[Cyngbaeld]

Don't worry about a coop. They'll sleep in the tree. Then in the morning they'll sail right over the fence.

[Valerie]

I hope they won't sleep in this tree! The lowest limb is higher than our house!

I don't want to have to shoot them out of the air like ducks when it's time to butcher them!

[Granny Smith]

Turkeys will fly as high as they can get to roost. If you want to keep them contained, you'll have to put a top on their pen.

BTW, I created a Critter Area for you.

[Valerie]

Thank you! OK, so the turkeys will have to have a covered run like the chickens have, if I want to keep them, basically. Maybe I better plan on keeping them confined and just bringing them green stuff to eat.

[Granny Smith]

You could build them a turkey tractor. (like a chicken tractor, only bigger)

[Valerie]

For 15 turkeys, I think it would have to be more like a turkey semi! That's a good idea, though. I should make one of those aviaries like they have at the Jax Zoo for the storks and big birds like that. It's about 40 feet high, with a big rock mountain, and small trees, and the whole thing is surrounded and covered by some kind of mesh. Little birds and big all fly around in it. There's a stream in it, and a sidewalk goes through so people can walk in with them. Wouldn't that be cool? Our neighbors already probably think we're nuts.

[Granny Smith]

They have one of those at the Detroit Zoo. I used to go there in the winter and spend about an hour in the aviary. They had a stream, tropical trees and flowers, exotic birds. It was like a little tropical vacation.

[joanfromzone6]

can't tell you how often i've seen people walking out of the aviary at jax zoo scraping little birdy gifts out of their kid's hair -

i guess you could put it down to bonding with mother nature -

[Granny Smith]

Could be worse, it could be the elephant exhibit.

[Cyngbaeld]

Turkeys can get about 80% of what they need to eat from grass/weeds/bugs. They will gladly eat the lawn clippings. I've noticed they eat more if I cut and carry than if they have to pick it themselves.

For roosting space they need room to get on the roosts. They will pack together fairly well but need wing room to fly up. Toms should have roosts about 3-4 ft off the ground once they are grown.




Give them as much space as you can manage. They actually don't need a lot of shelter once grown except shade.

[Cyngbaeld]

You notice the guinea needs more space than the turkeys. LOL

[Valerie]

Love that picture! They look so at-home. Kim, are those slate turkeys?

[Cyngbaeld]

Yes, they are Blue Slates. They're about 4 months old in that picture. The cross piece is 8ft long. When older the hens still need about the same space but the toms need quite a bit more.

[joanfromzone6]

Oct 23, 2010 19:21:17 GMT -5 Valerie said:

Love that picture! They look so at-home. Kim, are those slate turkeys?

it's seven gray turkeys and one imposter -