Although experts suggest raising turkeys in a separate environment, away from chickens, we realized our limited space meant if we were going to raise turkeys they would have to be kept in our chicken coop. This arrangement has worked well, so far. However, the turkeys are way too big to be comfortable roosting with the chickens, not to mention they prefer to roost outside. For the past few months the turkeys have made themselves at home on top of the private duck waterfall, making for a very messy pond. Undoubtedly, we waited too long to provide proper sleeping arrangements for the gobblers. Finally the turkey roost is complete.
After a few weeks of forcing the turkeys to bed at night we realized our roost is a bit too short for these large birds. We plan to make a lower platform for them to use as a step to get up under the roof. I really like the design of the roost as it provides some much needed shade during the day, if only the roof was a bit taller.
I am utterly baffled to think about how much these birds have grown since March. When we brought them home they weren’t much larger than a day old laying chick. Now they are so big I can hardly pick them up (yes, I had to pick them up the first few days to get them on the roost). Apparently it is as difficult to teach an old turkey a new trick as it is to teach an old dog (or an old child).
Turkeys are known for their lack of intellect but that may be part of the reason I like them. When we go to feed the birds the turkeys walk right up to me and wait patiently for me to feed them a treat. I could quite easily reach down and grab them by the neck and all they would do is look up at me with a questioning look in their eyes.
For great turkey information visit:
http://raising-poultry.blogspot.com/2009/03/raising-turkeys-for-fun-and-profit.html
Useful turkey information is not as easy to find as information on chickens. Do you know of any good turkey info sites?
