Homegrown TURKEYS are Terrific

(Page 4 of 5)

October/November 2001
 
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We need to treat these large, intelligent birds as humanely as possible, giving them enough secure space, places to dust bathe and roosts to fly up to at night. A yard or fenced pen of one-eighth acre (75 feet by 75 feet) can support up to a dozen turkeys. You will need some woven-wire field fence, such as 1047-12-11 (available from farm or hardware stores), to keep predators, such as dogs, foxes and raccoons, away from your birds. If you don't want to make this a permanent fence, partially drive in some metal T-posts so they can be removed later, or use an electric poultry netting.

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FRESH FOOD AND WATER

Keep your birds on fresh range at all times by moving the portable roost to clean ground on a weekly basis. During the week you can move the feeder and waterer daily to keep the surrounding area from getting trampled or too heavily manured. Mow the pen to keep the grass 4- to 6-inches long.

A 4-foot-long automatic waterer connected to your homestead water supply will cut the time needed to perform chores. You can use a 5- to 8-gallon poultry fountain instead, but you'll have to carry at least 2 gallons of water each day for every dozen mature turkeys. Build or buy a range feeder that will hold about 100 pounds of feed. It takes about 3.25 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of live turkey weight. Your feed consumption will rise from as little as a half-pound per bird, per week at two weeks old to nearly a pound per day near maturity.

ENJOY YOUR FLOCK

Turkeys love to be around people. You should visit your birds at least twice a day, whether or not they need feed or water. An old farm book I have states that turkeys can die from loneliness. If you aren't careful, they might follow you back to the house just for company.

As fall approaches you will need to decide if your turkeys are pets or dinner. Luckily, by raising heritage breeds, you can have your turkey and eat it, too. Excellent instructions for slaughtering can be found in "Storey's Guide to Raising Turkeys" . If you want a perpetual breeding flock of heritage birds, you should harvest some of the toms to maintain a ratio of one tom per 10 hens. You can either offer your extras for sale (many folks like to keep a strutting tom or two, similar to the way some folks keep peacocks) or slaughter the extras.

In the spring you can let your birds mate to expand your flock and sell turkey poults or trios (a tom and two hens) and invite others to join the growing network of turkey lovers who are preserving the biological diversity of this wonderful, useful bird - and the flavor and purity of their holiday dinners.

Raising the Roost

You can build a moveable turkey roost, like the ones pictured above, which can be towed to fresh range as needed by a garden tractor or all-terrain vehicle. Using moveable roosts will keep manure from building up inside the pen. To build a 5-foot-by-8-foot roost, you will need 22 2x4s for the roof supports, side frame and roosts. Space the roosting boards 18 inches apart, and place them flat between the side supports. Reinforce each roost underneath with a 2x4 joist. Cut two 7-foot-long 2x4s for the front roof supports and two 5-footers for the rear supports. Make two 10-foot-long 2x6 skid runners, and cut a 45 degree angle on the front ends so the runners will slide without digging into the soil. Use three more 10-foot-long 2x6s for the roof rafters. You can use metal or fiberglass panels for the roof. The completed roost will shelter up to 20 turkeys.

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