Turkeys are just like keeping big chickens. They really need to semi free range, mine are in a paddock with the goats so they are controlled but have a large area to wander and feed in. They are no good in a pen when fully grown as they easily become bored and start fighting .There are various turkey breeds, some of the heavier live on the ground as my Norfolk white but my Wild American Bronzes can fly and need perches and wings clipping! If you want breeding stock get a trio and then hatch your own meat birds, keep them in a paddock and hatch the eggs seperate and keep in a rearing pen till big enough to kill. They need proper turkey food as it contains 22% (i think)more protein than chook food and will not breed successfully without it. They eat lots of greens and graze like a goose if the vegetation is good, but still need pellets at night and in a morning(away from the goat
) The different breeds mature at different ages but basically natives take longer as in all stock, we provide meat for ourselves from the turkeys all year and dont concentrate on x mas. The natives are tastier that ones bred for meat production but smaller, we are trying a cross this year as well. Just google different breeds to see what you fancy and also google Blackhead a disease that is common in Turkeys kept with chickens but is prevented by regular worming. Good luck.
Topic: Keeping Turkeys... (Read 3559 times)
