/r/backyardturkeys

Photograph via snooOG

Information about raising turkeys in a hobby farm/urban setting

This is a place to discuss all aspects of raising turkeys. Whether you raise them for pets or meat. Feel free to post about housing, illness, breeding, incubation and hatching out eggs, dealing with chicks, harvesting and even recipes!

Other helpful subreddits:

Backyard Poultry

Homesteading

Homestead

Backyard Chickens

Members Of ARBA

Meat Rabbitry

/r/backyardturkeys

1,151 Subscribers

3

What’s your favorite Turkey Feeder design?

1 Comment
2024/11/27
15:23 UTC

5

Tully my Bourbon Red Tom

This Thanksgiving I'm going to my BILs place to celebrate with the family. My Tom, Tully is good breeding stock. He's a handsome bird who pecked his way to the top. Well my wife and I are taking Tully with us to Thanksgiving. NOT TO EAT, oh no. We're just going to show up with a 2 year old Tom to let him decorate the yard. I had to tell someone because we already know his wife is going to shit a brick when she sees it. Any ideas on how I can make this joke even better?

1 Comment
2024/11/26
13:22 UTC

29

meet peanut

2 Comments
2024/11/06
20:36 UTC

5

Help

I have a 8 month old turkey. Everytime another bird pecks at a area underneath the neck, the turkey sits down and makes calling noises. I'm not sure if it is in pain but none of my other birds do it. Please help☹️

4 Comments
2024/10/30
20:42 UTC

20

Turkeys are no longer leaving the yard, they have unfortunately taken to leaving the ground though.

Yes, they are on the roof.

1 Comment
2024/10/26
04:23 UTC

31

If turkeys are so dumb, then explain this

Apologies for the dirty window. My dog slobbers on it when she murderously barks at delivery people.

9 Comments
2024/10/21
17:56 UTC

6

Keeping turkeys in yard?

I have two hens, they have decided to start chasing cars. I live in a very rural area so it’s not high traffic but I’d definitely prefer they don’t do it. They’ve also tried to follow a horse home? Any advice on how to keep them in the yard? They have acreage so it’s not a space issue, I feel like it’s a territorial thing.

6 Comments
2024/10/17
23:41 UTC

7

Jenny or Jake?

No visible spurs

3 Comments
2024/10/14
00:12 UTC

5

Turks not going into the coop

We were gifted two turkeys this spring. We have a mixed flock of chickens, geese, ducks and guineas.

Our turkeys don't want to go into the coop at night. One perches on an old saw horse, the other jumps up on the roof of the shop to sleep.

My concern is what they'll do when winter comes. We're in Montana, the turkeys are a Spanish Black and a Broad Breasted Bronze - will they be smart enough to go in at night when it gets cold?

6 Comments
2024/09/23
03:22 UTC

12

My turkeys got a thing for feet

I have two turkeys and the one is starting to get aggressive towards feet, mostly when walking. It’s not an issue when we have boots on cause she’s just pecking but she’s doing this to guests and it’s scaring them and they don’t always have closed toed shoes on so it hurts. I do plan on eating them eventually but I wanted the broad breasted white first just because she’s already 30lbs. If we can’t stop the aggression she’s just going first in the pot. Any tips on correcting this? Anytime I push her away she gets more mad, I typically just pick her up and set her in the coop and walk away, it takes her a few minutes to get back out of the coop.

4 Comments
2024/09/22
12:19 UTC

5

New Tom?

Our girl lost her bonded partner today after a dog attack. Can she be ok without a new friend? She does seem pretty shell shocked and her behavior is definitely muted since he's been gone. If not, recommendations on finding an appropriate partner for her and how to introduce them?

2 Comments
2024/08/29
03:03 UTC

4

Raising in the Woods

So my property is primarily wooded, and I’d like to set up a 16x16 pen beyond my treeline for meat birds.

For security, I plan;

2x4 welded wire fence around the perimeter 3 strands of electric wire on the exterior A 8x6 hardware cloth shelter for nighttime Multiple places to seek cover from hawks and owls

I want to do a combo of turkeys and chickens; probably 6 and 12?

I have all the usual predators in New England, but have been successful and keeping my quail and current turkeys safe with electric fencing. I do worry stoats could slip under the wire, but larger predators have been well deterred with a 3 stead hot wire.

Has anyone successfully raised poultry in the woods?

0 Comments
2024/08/09
03:46 UTC

3

What's causing my turkey's feathers to be all thin and wispy??

2 Comments
2024/08/08
01:38 UTC

3

Turkey with balance issues - help

I have a female blue slate turkey that's about a week shy of 3 months. We've had zero issues until about a week ago I noticed she looked a little "droopy". Her tail feathers were consistently down and she was keeping her neck tucked in. We had about a solid week of rain and I assumed she was just feeling the weather. The next day I hung out in the run just to check up on her and watch everyone and noticed when she would bend to eat she would lose her balance, rocking back/forth or having to sit down. She's eating, drinking and her poop ranges from a bit thin to perfectly normal. No yellow, green or weird bits in her poop either. She will walk perfectly fine and then she will wobble/stumble. She can run. She chases my 8 year old around. She is able to extend her neck but is keeping it tucked close most of the time. I've checked her feet. Her legs both look normal. Nothing off about her vent. Her feathers did look off to me but I assumed it was a molt or something...awkward teenage growth. The vet said the feathers I was seeing were blood feathers and everything looked normal. She gets super pale at times (not the ashy blue/grey) but will still have splotches of red. She is not jumping. She won't jump/fly up to roost anymore. We do have a mixed flock with chickens and ducks. They are currently eating Nutrena Nature Wise All Flock with 20% protein. Previously, they were eating Cluck and Co All Flock, also 20% protein. We rotate treats...frozen peas, oat grass and nature's best oregano, marigolds and alfalfa treats. Not so much that last one since the food has the oregano too. They get to free range a few hours when I'm home. We've had a fox issue so supervised free range for now. The vet checked her out and couldn't find anything obvious. Put her on an anti-inflammatory. She's had 2 days of meds and I haven't noticed any changes so far. Symptoms were noticed July 26th?. We isolated her for a few days. No better, no worse. Assumed it was more physical or maybe neurological and not sickness/disease so we leg her back with the flock. Now just over a week later my smallest female that's roughly a month younger is having issues. I was outside with them all weekend. This 2nd one was perfectly fine just yesterday. Any ideas?? Tips? Advice? If it was blackhead there would be other obvious symptoms, worse symptoms. Nothing I've looked up fits. I'm calling the vet back in the morning too. Thanks in advance. Sorry so much, just wanted to get all the details out.

5 Comments
2024/08/06
01:19 UTC

27

Enjoying a snack ❤️

5 Comments
2024/08/05
18:44 UTC

5

Laaaaaaazy turkeys?? Help.

We have all our poultry together, up until recently no problems. Both turkeys now spend all day, everyday in the chicken coop. (Despite having a nesting space of their own.) They'll come out to eat and right back in. She's now not laying, they aren't mating because they're just laying in the coop. They're too big for the chicken coop so the chicken eggs just crushed by them. It's aggravating me to all hell. I understand it's hot but has anyone delt with this...how can I fix my laaaaaaazy turkeys?? I really don't want to eat them...I wanted turkey babies.

5 Comments
2024/07/03
16:08 UTC

13

New to me turkeys

I picked up three 1 1/2 year old hens today. I'm wondering how long it will take for them to feel like this is their home now. My chickens and ducks free range all day and I'd like the turkeys to do the same.

8 Comments
2024/06/14
02:33 UTC

6

Just lost a six week old poult, help me prevent losing the rest

On Saturday morning we went out to let our six week old poults (4)/ chicks (8) out of their coop into their run. These same birds have been together for a month. This poult was somewhat listless, and puffed up. She was still eating and drinking. We brought her inside, assuming she was a bit cold, as it was windy, but still warm, we are in New England. Over the next two days she did not improve despite being isolated in a small brooder with a heat plate. I gave her cooked scrambled eggs and electrolytes in her water. I also gave her nutridrench. She had diarrhea periodically. This morning we woke up to her having died overnight. All of the other chickens are acting normally. The turkey poults seem fine, but some have seemed to have loose stools occasionally. Could this be coccidiosis or blackhead? Should I treat for coccidiosis? No vets in my area will treat poultry. My vet will only euthanize (I can do that myself). What can I do? This is my first time with turkeys, but I have plenty of chicken experience.

6 Comments
2024/06/10
23:55 UTC

6

How to grab my turkeys

I need to treat my turkeys due to fleas. My chickens are easy because they're smaller but the turkeys are not a fan a whoop my butt 😅😅 any ideas or tips??

5 Comments
2024/06/04
03:19 UTC

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