Selfsufficientish.com

Hi,

Sorry to ask a lot of questions lately, but our meat hen project is coming together at a fast pace and we are about to build their coop.

I wondered if anyone keeps turkeys with hens? We hope to raise a couple for christmas, but I have read that they can catch blackhead disease from chooks if they are kept together.

If this is the case I will need to build them a separate run. Has anyone experienced this?

Thanks
Bonnie

I've read the same. Never kept turks, so I can't confirm. Although at the local farm they have the two running in adjacent runs (not together.)

Bonnie, we have our 3 turks in a separate shed, but they have free range during the day with the chooks, ducks & guineas.
Our xmas 3 also did the same & they were fine as well.

The only problem we have with the tom turkey is that he hates strangers... which means anyone that he didn't see yesterday Every time hubby has a day off, he spends the first hour or two outside, fending off the attacks!!

Anyway, healthwise, so far, everyone here has been ok & all get along just fine - except I think it will be a lot nicer when the 2 hens start to lay & he can get rid of his frustration by mating at last!

Whilst I am aware that there are transmittable diseases, I think a lot depends on cleanliness and density of numbers.

I have kept Xmas turkeys with my chooks, I introduce them (the young turkeys) to my established flock in spring and they sleep together and range together all through summer and autumn.

The only problem I have had is that the turkeys are very very very greedy, and so I have to attempt to feed them separately, I have found having a very dominant cockeral has helped funnily enough, he takes his girls to one end of the run for their grain and the geese and turkeys stay at the other end and gobble manically. (no pun intended)

Yep, I agree with the greed factor!

Another thing to bear in mind is the size of a tom's feet - they're HUGE! So if they are out on damp ground, & penned, they pretty quickly churn it up - they also don't watch where they are going, so you'll also find flattened daffs, squashed snowdrops... etc etc!

From my experience, yes or no. If you have heritage breeds, they are much hardier and have a much higher resistance to parasites and disease, so yes. If you have commercial breeds, then they are very prone to illness, but if slowly introduced will build an immunity and can even be seasoned to live a hardy lifestyle, you will lose a larger percentage of poults in the process, so yes or no depending on your acceptable level of loss. I believe that in the long run this is the better option because you get a better bird for breeding if you have a commercial breed, keep in mind you will be AIing the old girl (and harvesting the male's semen) so you might want a heritage breed.

In either case theabsinthefairy is right, population density and cleanliness are the real key. Our turks do just fine with no shelter, they can go to the barn but choose not to. Oh the greed, turks and chickens are greedy. Adults chickens will sometimes peck poults to death and turkeys will almost always kill chicks no matter how much food is available. Easy solution, put poults with chickens of a similiar size rather than age.

Two last things, turkeys like to perch but as they get bigger they can't get off the ground as easily. Be kind and leave them a perch a foot or so off the ground. And if you have small children or are a slow mover yourself teach the little poults to eat from your hand, pet their heads, and make friends with them. Even in mating season they will be much easier to handle. They are also easier to round up if a gate is left open.

Thanks guys, some interesting things to think about here.

It is funny isn't it, if we all followed the books to the letter, we would never get anywhere!

Sortanormalish - thanks for the advice about breeding - I would like to try this but perhaps the first year I will buy young birds until I have got the hang of it all. Love the idea of heritage breeds though.

And Julie, from what you say I think I will just keep females this year! I would love them to be in the same run (as it would be a bigger space than having two smaller ones side by side, one for the chicks and one for the turks) but try and house them/feed them separately.

Better get on with building all of this accommodation then... my 'Starting with Turkeys' book says young birds (a few weeks old) should be bought in July.

Thanks again

Bonnie