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12:32 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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My friend who we are in business with is just going to pick up a turkey and her 12 chicks errr now what do we do with them? What do they eat and what do we need to watch out for?
3:15 pm
Councillor
New members
Wed 12-May-10
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hi joanna i am trying to remember back to when my dad kept turkeys he always bread a few for christmas and kept some to breed from the next year from whar i can remember the turkey hens were good mothers and stayed with the chicks longer than the chickens and also went to bed earlier .my old man said they felt the cold more and wernt as robust as the chucks .the other thing he did was to worm them every 5/6 weeks because we kept them with the chickens and they get some sort of head desease ,i think it was called black head but that may be a local name ,aparently the chickens carry it but dosent afect them but it grows in the turkeys gut so worming stops it doing its stuff the other thing was he kept the young turkeys away from the other birds because the cant eat the corn properly till they are 2/3 months he used to make up a seperate mash for them but i supose there is a ready made meal on the market now ,hope this helps MOS
ps he also gave them fresh grass cuttings and they ate more of it than the chickens ever did
sit down with a cupa and the urge will subside
3:19 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
Offline6:46 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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That site was useful TA, I found that one earlier and the info from MOS fits in with what that was saying too. I think the thing I would be worried about at the moment is the cold, they are in a barn in a slatted cage but it has been a wee bit chilly with all the rain we have had for the last few days. Useful to know about keeping them away from other birds as they don't eat the same stuff and giving them grass cuttings. All good stuff. We managed to work out a water feeding system that might work which didn't involve a lot of expense 
Application of a bit of science 
4:16 pm
Senior Class
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Wed 11-Nov-09
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I'd read about not keeping turkeys with chickens too - but here in Croatia they are commonly kept together, so maybe blackhead is a country-specific disease. Our neighbours keep white turkeys, geese and chickens all together in the garden and they don't seem to have any problems. One thing that's been a source of great entertainment for us is finding out how curious turkeys are. If I'm doing anything in our garden near them, they all come over to have a look, and chatter away amongst themselves. They are fascinated by our lawnmower and when I was cutting the grass today near the boundary fence, all 15 of them followed me as I went up and down and up and down; I had my own little gang of grass cutting groupies. And when I came indoors just now, my neighbour was staking a new young fruit tree; all the turkeys were in a huddle watching him intently and gossiping about what he was doing. So sweet. And I bet they'll taste great too.
8:07 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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Hi Bib and welcome. Here in Latvia they are apparently kept together as well (I found out after I had posted the message above from my Latvian friend). I think that if the blackhead disease gets introduced somehow then the turkeys die from it but the chickens don't so probably you have to be careful about buying in the chickens in case they have the disease. If you get the other birds from those raised in the same place as turkeys then I am guessing they should be okay.
11:24 am
1st Grader
New members
Wed 15-Sep-10
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We've kept a pair of turkeys for Xmas with our dozen or so chickens for the last couple of years without problems.We are in the Forest of Dean. We have bought eggs and brooded under Sussex broody or incuator. Diseases seem to be prevalent in intensive farming- so usual sensible precautions about not over using your land. They are prone to cold and can occasionally drop down dead for no apparent reason so not as easy as your usual fowl. We have fed on corn and scraps and then turkey fattener for the last month or so. They are remarkable birds and change so quickly: it is a bit like having an extended advent calendar in the garden.
12:27 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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clareteach said:
They are remarkable birds and change so quickly: it is a bit like having an extended advent calendar in the garden.
The mind boggles at having a mobile advent calendar! 
Welcome to the forum Clare, it looks like you'll be able to teach us a thing or two.
I'll try that again!
7:31 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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8:10 pm
Councillor
New members
Wed 12-May-10
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Any sort of milk especialy sour milk yoghurt cheese cream ,they love it, and a bit of wine vinegar in there water does them good too
sorry ime rambling again 
sit down with a cupa and the urge will subside
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