Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Raising turkeys with a hen  (Read 5291 times)

mentalmilly

  • Joined Nov 2012
Raising turkeys with a hen
« on: April 25, 2013, 06:43:58 pm »
I am thinking of putting some turkey eggs under a broody hen for her to hatch and bring up.  Can anyone tell me if they have done this and what was the outcome?  Can they be fed the chick crumbs for chickens or do they have to have turkey stuff?  If chick crumbs can it be the medicated crumbs?  When they get older is it OK to feed them growers pellets or best to change to turkey growers?  Any onfo would be welcome as not reared turkeys before.

fairhaven

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Norfolk
    • The Hazy Rainbow
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #1 on: April 25, 2013, 08:49:45 pm »
Not sure about the hatching side of things, but turkeys can get 'Blackhead Disease' from chickens - chickens are immune to it but turkeys get it.  Because of this we have never put the turkeys with the chickens or on any paddock that the chickens have had.   I think it's also transmitted via the turkey standing in the chicken poo but not 100% on this.
Sheep: North Ronaldsay & 4 Horned Hebridean - We also breed & exhibit 3 breeds of rabbit - Chinchilla, Deilenaar (rare breed) & Colour Pointed English Angora.

Pipsa

  • Joined Dec 2012
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2013, 09:38:59 pm »
Well, I have two turkeys living with 5 chickens and they seem to be ok? They have been together
more than a year and everybody has been healthy - knock on wood though !

graham-j

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Canterbury Kent
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2013, 10:39:58 pm »
Hi I raised turkeys with some light sussex chicks last year,everything was fine and then one day the turkeys suddenly turned on the chickens,one got very badly pecked.She was ok and made a full recovery.
Turkey crumb is a far higher protein than chick crumb as is turkey growers pellets.


Graham.
Graham.

NormandyMary

  • Joined Apr 2011
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #4 on: April 26, 2013, 11:03:08 am »
I too have always been told that you should never keep chooks and turkeys in the same area. Its a shame really as I'd love to have a couple, but don't have a separate area for them.

mentalmilly

  • Joined Nov 2012
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2013, 02:02:13 pm »
I also have been told not to keep turkeys on the same land as chucks but know people who do this and they don't have problems.  Not thinking of mixing the eggs with chuck eggs so the feed for the turkeys would be OK.  Might give it a go and see what happens.  Thanks everyone.

HelenVF

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2013, 03:16:32 pm »
We have turkeys and chickens on the same ground. We regularly worm and have not had a problem in 4 years, since we started keeping turkeys. They are totally free range and the turkeys roost up a tree.

We have just put some eggs under a broody hen, which we have never done before. We had some turkey eggs hanging around and thought we might as well.

Helen

mentalmilly

  • Joined Nov 2012
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2013, 06:52:57 pm »
Thanks HelenVF thats quite encouraging.  What sort of turkeys do you have?

HelenVF

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2013, 04:45:31 pm »
They are a norfolk black x bronze cross.

I checked the eggs under the broody and one had rolled to the side and wasn't as warm as the others.  Going to keep it under her but will check when she comes off again.

Helen

mentalmilly

  • Joined Nov 2012
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #9 on: May 04, 2013, 09:30:12 pm »
Put some turkey eggs under my broody and keeping my fingers crossed.  She is a good mum, hope they hatch.

sh3ph3rd

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Queensland, Australia
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2013, 11:47:28 am »
Re: Blackhead: they catch it after ingesting a worm that carries the disease. The worm cysts can live in the soil for quite some time. If you just google 'blackhead' you'll find a concise explanation somewhere. I've always kept my chooks with the turkeys. I advise you to persevere against blackhead, like I did, because in about 5 generations or less I bred 100% naturally immune stock, and never had a problem with it again. The immune stock were hatched and reared in the midst of the dying older siblings, on the same land... Along with all the chooks. I never used medicated feed, though, which usually compromises livers as most antibiotics and meds do.

If they get blackhead, the cure seems to be: (this works for 99% of cases but there are different strains of blackhead, some more virulent than others, so not a guarantee since I don't know which variety I had): get a cupful of fresh raw unheated milk, not treated in any way. (I used cow's milk). Let it sit and skim off the fat that rises to the top after an hour or so. Then add a flat teaspoon or flat tablespoon of honey, preferably raw and untreated, to the cup, mix it, and give it to the turkey that's ailing. Important: wait until the bird has been refusing food for at least a day, and the poops are liquid and bright yellow/yellow & khaki. This is close to liver failure, and the disease appears to have run its course at this point, and the milk and honey will have the bird on its feet in 24 hours. If you give the milk and honey unskimmed or too soon in the illness, the fats will kill the bird or prevent the cure from working when it's administered at the right time. I wait until the bird's lying down, because that seems to be the right time; you may have to dip its beak in the mix so it tastes it, but most will guzzle it as soon as laying eyes on it. Generally only one cupful is needed, but I'll sometimes give a bird all the cups it can drink in  24/48 hour period; some birds go down fast, in days, others go down for weeks. Cereal grains like wheat and corn, etc. are to be avoided; millet and oats may be ok.

Re: turkeys under hens: I advise it. Turkeys can be terrible mothers and turkey babies can be blissfully ignorant about the world around them, and being raised by a chicken hen, preferably with at least one chicken 'sibling', will make them worlds sharper and wiser, better foragers, etc.

Raising chicken babies under a turkey hen doesn't work so well. They'll abandon her for a fool, she'll get distressed that they don't need her, eventually she'll start showing minimalist care of any bubs she hears making chicken noises. At least in my experience.

Re: feeding: I wouldn't advise giving chook feed to turkeys because they won't do as well, and some chook meds are toxic to turkeys. The turkeys will need more protein, but they are primarily green feeders so will always do best when getting their protein from insects and plants, rather than meat byproducts. The best feed for baby turkeys, which put an end to Tuberculosis in mine, is hard boiled eggs with dandelion or onion/garlic, raw and finely chopped.

mentalmilly

  • Joined Nov 2012
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2013, 01:24:15 pm »
thanks sh3ph3rd3  just the job.  Do you worm the chucks at all, or the turkeys as a preventative?

sh3ph3rd

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Queensland, Australia
Re: Raising turkeys with a hen
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2013, 03:33:12 pm »
Quote
thanks sh3ph3rd3  just the job.  Do you worm the chucks at all, or the turkeys as a preventative?

I keep them on regular raw minced garlic as this knocks many, many potential problems on the head, from food poisoning to internal and external parasites and viruses in general.

I also give chilli powder/cayenne/tobasco sauce to them on bread or whatever, about once a month when the moon is waxing, because that's when any worms would be getting active and moving into the intestines to lay eggs, etc. I've not seen more than five adult worms in years of keeping hundreds of chickens, despite checking their stools as a matter of course, and the adult worms were from recently introduced stock, so I assume it works.

I add garlic and other stuff as a continual staple to their food so the worms can never build up, it's better in my opinion than letting them get worm ridden then giving them toxins that poison them as well as the worms. Other stuff that's good for turkeys especially is wormwood, rosemary, anything alkaline or liver supportive like dandelion or potato. Raw grated carrot's another good wormer.

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS