[wayfarer]

I have a broody bantam sitting on some turkey eggs I bought.  No idea how successful the hatch will be but am keeping .  My plan is for the broody to raise the poults in an area that has not had other chickens on for a few years so that I don't have to teach them to eat / drink or provide a heat lamp.  Once they are feathered up and able to go it alone I will remove the broody hen and she will go back in with the others.  My question is what sort of housing should I provide the poults with?  I am likely to have a maximum of 4 and they are for Christmas so not a long term thing. 

I have some Heras fencing that I was planning to make into a fox proof area but am unsure of how much shelter they will need and how much space I should give them.  All ideas / experience gratefully received.  One last thing, will i be OK for the broody to eat turkey crumb - I know it is much higher in protein than regular chicken feed.

[shygirl]

we have bought turkeys in at 6 weeks old every year for 8 yrs but it was sept time so colder. we started off in a pen in the garage under a lamp (even tho they were sold off heat) then moved them into a stable or a kennel with a run. most years we let them completely free range during the day - tho we needed to herd them up every night as they arent clever.
i dont know about turkey food for a hen.

[HesterF]

Can't help with actual experience with turkeys - we're getting our first growers this year (from GrahamJ who is a TASer but hasn't been on for a while - I spotted him on Preloved). I'm going to use one of our goose sheds once we've recombined our geese at the end of their breeding season. They need a highish perch and can fly quite well, I believe. Blackhead is the biggest worry because that can be fatal for them whilst chickens can be carriers. I don't know whether there is any way to swab your hen to see if she is a blackhead carrier before she broods them?

I think the food will be fine though - broody hens are OK on chick crumbs which are also much higher in protein than the usual layers. Actually after sitting for a month, they normally need to build up again so it helps them too.

H

[Cluckinggoodpoultry]

Never done them under a broody but rear a few 100 a year, I defy you not to fall in love with them, they are fabulous birds, I tend to keep them under the heat until 10 weeks raising the heat lamp higher as the time goes on, them they go out weather permitting as I am in Scotland into a covered run with house and plenty of straw, they can sometimes be a little dum so you need to ensure that you put them away at night etc, once they are grown to a reasonable size and fully feathered then mine free range and roost in the barns on a night. I have kept chickens and turkeys together free ranging and enclosed and as yet have never had a case of blackhead.