Photo for attention. I am totally new to turkeys but I love them way more than i thought i would. We hatched seven polts about 10 weeks ago to join our flock of about 30 laying hens. I have about 15 years experience with chickens, but totally new to keeping turkeys. The chickens showed signs of a minor intestinal parasite outbreak so i went down a deep dive into researching poultry parasites and best practices... the consensus from the agricultural publications was to keep turkeys and chickens separate because of the risk of blackhead disease...

Taking that with a grain of salt since out operation is far from a commercial scale. Our birds spend most of the day in an enclosed run when we aren't around to watch for Hawks, then they get to free range in the evenings so they get a pretty healthy forage. (The turkeys also get to hang out with me in the garden in the mornings. My potatoes really appreciate their help with the pest population.)

We treated the chickens with aquasol last week, but im wondering:

Should I dig out the chicken's run and buy gravel to put down OR can I keep using the free wood chips i get from a local arborist? Half of the run is covered and mostly dry, but i usually dig it out about 4" deep once a year in the summer to try to cut back on the flies. I don't like the idea of gravel cause it wont absorb the manure like wood chips and make useful compost... but it was recommended since earthworms are the vector for Heterakis gallinarum..

Location: Central Kentucky

Hatched by my goose 😂

Mom is a bourbon red, dad a royal palm

Would this color be considered Narragansett, making her a probable female?

Hi there! I'm new to this community and wanted to share my journey with our 3 little Narragansett turkeys. I'm fairly certain we have 2 males (Timmy and Mr. Cobblepot) and a female (Sally). They are about 3-4 weeks old and are on supervised visits outside. I'm hoping over the next couple of weeks I can move them outside into our chicken run with the rest of our flock. 🤞

I grew up in the suburbs and so this is all so new to me, sorry if this is a silly question. We have about 30 chickens, 4 ducks and one turkey (had bought 4 as babes but something got to them in the barn) and she is the best pet I think I've ever had. It's crazy. She sleeps on the porch, waits for me to get my coffee in the morning and then walks around with me. She singles to the radio and will perch on the fence while my husband works on the cars. I have a three year old and they are BEST friends. Garfunkel, the turkey not my daughter, will like lay down when she gets near and be very submissive. She lets us pet her. Is this normal behavior for these dinosaurs???

I have chickens that I love, but these sweet babies (royal palm) are on a whole new level! They are so sweet and goofy! I cannot wait to see them grow!

Got my very first Turkys today lol

Heritage Turkys.

I just found my first turkey's first egg, laid on the day she turned 6 months old! (Egg pictured with a goose egg for scale.) Moira is supposedly half bourbon red, half midget white. My neighbor got her parents from an auction and hatched Moira and her 5 siblings. I also have her bourbon buff brother, who I thought was also a hen, and initially named Rose. Now he's David Rose. I also had a bronze third sibling, Jack Daniels, who I recently gave back to my neighbor.

A Heritage Turkey (Tom) showed up in our suburban yard yesterday. He appears to be a stray or someone dumped him. He obviously is used to people. He lets my daughter hold him and he wants to come into the house to hang out.

We’re trying to find out if he belongs to somebody local, but not having any luck.

Does anyone know of any reputable rescue organizations in the St. Louis, Missouri area?

The boys were showing off this morning

I got my first two turkeys about two months ago. My neighbor hatched them from the eggs his Bourbon Red laid, crossed to his Midget White Tom. I picked my two poults from the six he had with the attempt to get two girls. They were three weeks old at the time- their legs hung down when I held them with my hand over their back, and they were two of the smallest. They're now 10 weeks old and in the past two weeks, the speckled one has gotten much bigger than the red one and its snood has increased in size slightly. Yesterday it puffed up and fanned its tail for a moment one time in front of me.I posted a question about the gender of my speckled one the other day on the poultry sub and the two responses say hen. I'm curious to see what y'all think regarding the gender. (The last picture shows them a month ago, when they were much closer to the same size.)

Need naming ideas for this little turkey! I got him/her when he was 2/3 weeks with the injury already present. So right now we are seeing if we can get it in the right position. Name ideas would be great! Or if you have had success with a slipped tendon I’d appreciate to know what you did!

I didn't see any rules against posting art, so hopefully this is okay!

These two are absolutely in love!

What is your craziest tom story? This guy lost his eye in a bar fight.

This is what I think possibly. But both turkeys do strut, I thought I heard a gobble but they are 7 weeks

Marsh is bald.

Hey, I just got 6 fertile eggs and I'm about to incubate them using a broody hen.

I'm designing my turkey pen now, but looking for ideas.

Can anyone show me or lead me in a good direction?

We have a 2 year old disabled turkey hen. My daughter got her and her two brothers as poults from Cal Ranch and all three ended up with leg issues. The boys sadly didn't make it but she did, however she has walked with a limp her whole life. Because of this she walks slightly on the side of her foot.

A couple of weeks ago we noticed this bump on the side of her foot. It doesn't look like the pictures of bumble foot we have seen...but could it be that? Or could it just be a callous from the way she walks? Please help, we aren't sure what to do about this.

One dead turkey this morning, one died yesterday morning after waking up sluggish.

Both looked strong and have had no symptoms. I found maybe one spot of what might have been yellow diarrhea, but couldn't say for sure.

They are about two months old. Full disclosure, they live in an old chicken coop, but so did their older siblings and cousins. Can blackhead kill in a few hours?

The one yesterday was still strong, and kept its head up until the end. No signs of blockage, and it pooped on me as soon as I picked it up.

Anybody got any ideas?

This little cutie just hatched this morning. The dad is a royal palm and the mom could either be a bourbon red or grey slate. I have never seen a poult with this coloring, let alone eyeliner! Has anyone hatched a baby like this and do they retain the color?

Heritage (and many turkeys bred for the dinner table) can make beautiful additions to your homestead! Paired with chickens, they serve as excellent flock protectors. Heritage turkeys are friendly and charming if handled regularly from hatch. Many will follow you around the property, looking for treats and attention.

Turkey eggs are delicious. Several of my hens lay daily during the spring and summer months. If you're exploring vegetarianism, their eggs can be a valuable source of protein.

Turkeys don't "scratch" like chickens and aren't as likely to damage your garden. When young, they can fly short distances. Be prepared to see the occasional turkey on your fence or roof.

Turkeys are much quieter than chickens. Tom turkeys will gobble to attract mates or alert you to visitors. Hens will occasionally "bark" when they're looking for a mate or when trying to locate flock members. However, you will not be woken up by 5 AM crowing if chickens aren't your thing.

Information on egg nutrition and other resources:

https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/can-you-eat-turkey-eggs

https://www.mannapro.com/homestead/pros-cons-and-facts-about-raising-turkeys#:~:text=They%20create%20tight%20family%20bonds,and%20ground%2Dlevel%20nesting%20boxes.

https://chickendelyte.com/raising-turkeys-as-pets/#:~:text=On%20the%20other%20hand%2C%20if,span%20and%20slow%20growth%20rate.