Turkeys grow well

[bee_pipes]

I am much impressed with the rate of growth on the turkeys. The Mennonite fellow I bought them from said chicken feed was okay. Can't imagine how fast they would grow on the higher protein turkey food.

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/threemontholdturkey.jpg
This poult is just now three months old. It is standing next to a group of year old orpingtons. If these work out well, I could see raising a dozen of these next year.

Regards,
Pat

[Deberosa]

Nice birds! I am going with buff orpingtons now - have 50 females and 5 males arriving in early Sept. They should be laying in the spring!

[bee_pipes]

For our first time with chickens, they have worked out well. There are larger meat birds, and better layers, but these are good all-around and easy to manage. Our biggest problem is not enough hens for roosters - sounds like you have that covered. The roosters are easy to deal with, and were the friendliest of the bunch when chicks. I took advantage of that and spent a little time with them, now they are easy to catch and handle.

When we isolated surplus roosters, they became a bit aggressive. Wasn't too bad, and was only for a short time until they were dressed for the freezer.

This year we incubated our first batch - got 100% from the orpingtons. As soon as the last bag of starter runs out, maybe another two days, the chicks and keets will join the adults. All the chicks are healthy and active, growing like weeds. Hopefully that will help the rooster to hen ratio for us.

The first batch from the hatchery were born at the beginning of July last year. The first egg arrived at the beginning of December. They laid through the entire winter. We have had a few low egg count days this summer - the heat may have stressed them out a little. But they seem to have acclimated within a day or two and got back up to regular numbers.

I couldn't find any bourbons in the area. I think next year we will get a dozen eggs from a hatchery and incubate them. We will keep a pair of royal palms for breeding next year, also. I appreciate you talking about your turkeys - had a lot to do with our trying them this year.

Regards,
Pat