[The Relic]

Just to put another one out there was thinking of geting some Turkeys to fatten up for Christmas. Complete novice. Was thinking of about 10 birds for family and friends.
Any advise would be great. (when to buy, how old, space required, housing, costs, paperwork, anything else relevent)

[jg]

want to do the same -not had any luck finding any locally-think I going to try hatching eggs- need toget them early in the year as there difficult to get later on in the year as everyone wants them in the autumn(so ive been told) you have to keep them away from chickens as they are delicate and die if a chicken sneezes near them(thats true) (well okif the chickens are carrying blackhead (or is it blackleg))no thats broad beans)

[carl]

There are plenty of books available which will help with info on keeping turkeys, kate thear is one author I think who writes plenty about keeping all sorts of birds. turkey poults are widely available, try kelly bronze as they have agents nationally. or just google turkey poults for sale. like all livestock there is a right way and a wrong way, but turkeys are quite easy to rear, just big and daft. 

[The Relic]

big and daft just they way i like them. how old are they at slaughter weight. l

[carl]

how long is a piece of string? depends on how big you want them, when they were born, and how quick they have grown. more of a size thing than an age thing.

[gavo]

Hello,

We bought Bourbon Red hatching eggs off Ebay. They were hatched the second week of June and slaughtered the second week of December. The weights ranged from 12 to 18lbs deadweight, not as big as many of the better known breeds but the taste more than compensated for this.

We already had a flock number due to our existing ducks, geese & chickens. If you're starting from scratch let DARD know first. There's no problem getting a flock number but they just want to keep tabs on who has birds in case of avian flu reaching NI.

Cheers

Gavin

[The Relic]

cheers gavin thats the kinda info im after. eggs off e-bay was that a guy over here. they were ok sent in the post? obviously they were if you ate them at christmas. i have a flock number for the chucks and ducks. do they eat much? how long did you have to incubate for?

[jameslindsay]

I have bought several duck eggs through e bay and have had a good success rate, 2 weeks ago all 12 hatched and I have another 6 in the incubator just now that are all developing. E bay is good in my opinion.

[carl]

I've had a few turkey eggs off e bay. first lot were in poor condition and only 1/6 hatched. secand lot 11/12 hatched. they take 28 days to hatch. did mine in may/june and were a good size at xmas. they ate turkey grower pellets and also free ranged. weights were between 12 and 24 pounds at kill, depending on sex and breed. they were norfolk black and bronze mixes some pure. i noticed that if one was a bit down or injured they would all pick on it and would have gone for the kill if i hadn't seperated them. I still have a hen from first years hatching, which lives at a neighbours and it is giving us good fertile eggs at the moment.

[The Relic]

cheers guys. what kinda space/housing do they need? was thinking of fencing off an area with 2 rows of sheep wire and then some sort of housing. are they good at preparing ground for sowing the next year? would 10 birds take up much space?

[The Relic]

Think i'll knock it on the head for this year. they could prove more hassle than there worth but thanks for the advise.

[jg]

Carl any chance of some eggs? Will pay or swop! r u anywhere near us in central scotland -my experience with eggs is that its hit and miss by post and i would rather pickup if pos

[carl]

sorry jg I'm in south yorks. but if you want to risk the post...

[jg]

thanks will try to find someone nearby -wondering why so few people have em up here!