We have been raising baby turkey pullets for the past two weeks and I am still in awe of how fast these little creatures grow! According to Nayt they will be at their full butcher weight in only 14 weeks. I would not have believed it a few weeks ago that our fuzzy little babies would be full grown but today, I believe it.
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| 2 days old. So sweet and fuzzy |
We have 2 white breasted and 2 bronze breasted turkeys. To our best
When we first got them, we were not entirely sure where to put them. Ideally the poults(baby turkeys) need to be kept warm and cozy. So, we got ingenuous and put them in an unused fish tank.
We picked up a simple brooder lamp at bi-mart and a bail of shavings. Bam. Baby turkey home which has lasted all of two weeks. Now, our little chickies have out grown it.
It's actually been a lot of fun watching them grow and learn. Right now they are hopping and trying to fly. By the end of the weekend they are going to need to be in a new home since the two big white breasted boys think it's fun to jump to the top and scare the crap out of me.
Turkeys are actually facinating. Did you know that There are six subspecies of wild turkey, all native to North America? I didn't either. White breasted like the one below, are the ones you typically have on thanksgiving. The bronze breasted are considered heritage turkeys and they won't get nearly as large.
Male turkeys are called “gobblers,” after the “gobble” call they make to announce themselves to females (which are called “hens”) and compete with other males. Other turkey sounds include “purrs,” “yelps” and “kee-kees.” An adult gobbler weighs 16 to 22 pounds on average, has a beard of modified feathers on his breast that reaches seven inches or more long, and has sharp spurs on his legs for fighting. A hen is smaller, weighing around 8 to 12 pounds, and has no beard or spurs. Both genders have a snood (a dangle appendage on the face), wattle (the red dangly bit under the chin) and only a few feathers on the head. I have also read that hens are much moodier and like chickens there is an established pecking order. Already our babies have a pecking order and the boys are starting to fight among themselves.
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| I love the bronze breasted coloring. |
Turkeys can run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour. Crazy right? Right now our babies are flapping, hopping, and trying to figure out their new wings. Right now I actually hear them in their jumping. Before they started trying to fly we had a roost in their for them, but the whites were using it like a trampoline so they no long have toys until we get them moved to a bigger pen. Crazy kids.
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| as tall as their food jug now |
Poults in the wild eat berries, seeds and insects, while adults have a more varied diet that can include acorns and even small reptiles. However our little guys have been eating Purena flock grower. They seem to enjoy it and we have just about gone through the first bag. We only have 4 so the one feeder and one water system works well for us.
The babies actually need a lot of sleep and take naps constantly. That was one thing I didn't expect. Another is how friendly they are. They have actually adopted Alynn as their mommy bird and come running to see her. She loves her babies and it is hilarious watching them interact. We are all going to be sad when they go out to the farm in a few weeks.
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| Adorable little tail feathers coming in and they are already strutting their stuff! |
Here's another fun fact...
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| What our babies will one day be! |
Benjamin Franklin never proposed the turkey as a symbol for America, but he did once praise it as being “a much more respectable bird” than the bald eagle.
Turkeys are pretty neat if you ask me! :) Do you raise turkeys or birds? Any tips for a newbie? Feel free to share your knowledge!
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