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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Urgent help needed for young turkey

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  • From: Catherine Noble <cathie@dungog.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Urgent help needed for young turkey
  • Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:13:36 +1000

On 21/09/10 06:55, John D'hondt wrote:
Worst problem looks to me that is probably a turkey that was reared on all kinds of chemicals and antibiotics. It may indeed not survive the change.
That's what I'm thinking
But basically turkeys will eat the same food as chickens. (although they no doubt would prefer nuts) The chickens are more dangerous to the turkey than the other way around. If it would fit in the hen house that is where I would put it if only because of the chickens keeping it warm.
Warm isn't much of a problem with summer coming on, though the nights are still cool
In my experience, the more you worry and the more precautions you take and time you put into something, the higher the chances that it goes wrong. This is Murphy's law at it's best. Yep, murphy'll get you every time!


It's my understanding that those birds have been bred to grow off too fast. They do have to have a special diet, but they don't live long on it. They gain weight faster then their bones can adapt to it.
Like commercial breeds of chickens- couple of months old and they all just drop dead one after the other
Turkey can be housed with chickens, but it's not advisable. Chickens MAY carry blackhead, it doesn't bother them, but it's deadly to turkeys. I have mine running together, didn't know the dangers when we got the turkeys, but we were lucky. Our chickens weren't carrying it.
That'll be what I was thinking of in the "don't mix" department. Couldn't remember the particulars.
Even if you keep it and care for it don't expect it to live long. Their poor little hearts can't handle how fast they grow and they are prone to heart failure.
I don't have any illusion about it living a long and healthy life, I'm just wanting to keep it alive for another two months,at the same weight if possible or perhaps more, to purge the worst of the nasty chemicals from it so it's fit to eat at Christmas.
Greetings;first of all,i am sure you have givin it water.
Gave it half an hour to get used to the cage I put it in, then gave it water. Didn't seem to understand what the water was, but I did give it a bowl, so maybe it was the container?
i would puts some greens out and perhaps some craked corn or chicken scratch.
It's on grass, next to a cage of hen and chicks (mother hen is not overly impressed) and gave it the same grains I gave the hens, but it doesn't seem to recognize the grains. I may have to buy some pellets for it if it can't get the idea, though I did see it trying to peck at the grass.
You should give the bird some small gravel for the gullet.other than that most turkey are quite hardy,
That's what I'd expect of real turkeys, but this one being a factory bird, I wasn't so confident. Will give it some of the shellgrit I give to the chooks.
i doubt that the chikens will be a problem.
Apart from the mother hen, none of them seem to care about it one way or the other.
Where are you located?
Australia, so the only turkeys I've seen in the flesh are brush turkeys,which build mounds ti incubate their eggs, and strongly object to other creatures thinking that they have rights on that particular patch of ground (even when the other creatures have been gardening there for over 40 years;-p

Thanks for all the help, everyone. If it had been a real bird, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, just put it near the hens and let it be, but artificial poultry is just trouble looking for a place to happen.The other thing is, the first bird that came off the truck landed too close for me to dodge, so I actually hit and killed it. When I headed home, it was still on the road, so I brought it home for the dog,who has so far refused to touch it. What on earth is in a commercial turkey that makes it unfit for canine consumption???

Thanks for all the info,
Catherine





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