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Turkeys are so much utterly totally different from chickens on the subject of housing and pasture fencing desires. Grownup turkeys wish to be outside. They’re hardy birds, tolerant of many different local weather circumstances. So, you’ll maintain them exterior as a rule from the age of eight weeks onward. Sooner than that, however, you would house them in a brooder, possibly with entry to a photo voltaic porch.
Beneath, consider some basic requirements for housing and elevating turkeys.
Requirements for Elevating Turkeys
As quickly as your turkeys are old enough to dwell exterior, you would current them a roosting house with a roof, security from predators, and entry to latest pasture or range. The vital requirements for elevating these birds embrace:
- Security from predators
- Places to dust-bathe
- Roosts to fly up into at night
- Entry to range grass
- Adequate home: 75 ft by 75 ft for as a lot as 12 turkeys
These solutions for roosting constructions and fenced pens work properly when elevating spring turkeys that may probably be harvested for meat at spherical 28 weeks of age.
Roosting House
Turkeys require elevated roosting spots to spend the in a single day hours, ideally with a sheltering roof to protect them from the climate. It’s potential to assemble a single roost pen with home for a variety of birds (a 5×8′ roost will house about 20 turkeys) or you’ll assemble a set of roosts. Each means, mounting the roost or roost pen on skids or wheels will will help you switch it merely. Shifting the roosts throughout the range house helps forestall manure from construct up in a single spot.
Picket is an ideal constructing supplies (although electrical conduit can be utilized) to placed on excessive of wooden skids to take care of the roost building lightweight and easily moved. If the roost is very lightweight, likelihood is you may should stake it down so it will not blow over. Perches should be about 15 to 30 inches above the underside. If bigger, an angled ladder building permits the birds to climb to the perch areas. Cowl the roost building with a lightweight metal or fiberglass panel roof to protect the resting birds from the local weather.
Fencing
Whether or not or not your turkeys are allowed free movement over range pasture or are confined in a pen house, the fencing supplies should be as extreme as potential, in any case 4 ft, supplied that these birds can and may fly. It’s possible you’ll as properly trim the wing feathers of rogue flyers, as most turkeys will probably maintain throughout the pen happily till one factor disturbs them. For those who occur to carry your turkeys in a pen, topping the fence with netting protects the birds and prevents escape.
You need to use electrical poultry netting for non everlasting fencing in a range pasture setting. Use woven-wire fencing, metal T-posts, or wooden posts to assemble a further eternal enclosure.
It’s possible you’ll flip turkeys out onto pasture with cattle. The birds will improve the land by consuming weed seeds like nettle, dock, and chicory. Turkeys will extra revenue the pasture by selecting corn and totally different digested grains from manure and spreading them spherical.
Assure your fencing is flush to the underside and sturdy to protect your turkeys from predators, akin to foxes, raccoons, and weasels.
Housing for Breeding Turkeys
There are specific requirements for elevating breeding pairs of toms and hens to place and hatch eggs. When elevating breeding birds, you would current winter housing and nesting.
A further robust, eternal turkey house can work properly for breeding. Divide the enclosure into in any case two areas to separate the toms and hens. It’s possible you’ll let loose toms for just some hours every day to graze, then put them once more in sooner than letting the hens out to graze. Coax the birds once more into the turkey house by offering them poultry feed. Be sure that the turkeys have entry to pasture day by day, even for breeding stock. About half of an grownup turkey’s consuming routine ought to incorporate grass and vegetation from pasture.
A small pen or discipline with robust sides makes an excellent home for a broody hen to hatch poults. It’s possible you’ll place this pen all through the larger turkey house.
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