turkey

[roadkill]

Im thinking of getting a turkey and feeding it up for xmas , Is it ok to have one turkey on its own or do you have to have them in a pair????

I really only want one but if i have to have two i will

roadkill

[Birdie Wife]

I think it would be much happier (therefore eat more and get nice and fat!) if it had a friend. You could call them Christmas and New Year

[steelsy]

I'd love to do that for christmas - haven't really got the room though

[armadillo]

They're probably social creatures like chickens, I would have thought it best to have two. Perhaps you could give one away as a present?

[lynda66]

They're probably social creatures like chickens, I would have thought it best to have two. Perhaps you could give one away as a present?

that's my worst nightmare lol ..... someone giving me a still live turkey .... he would never get eaten, then i'd have to get him a friend, and before you know it i'd have 20 turkeys running round lol

[Hilary B]

I would get a few, and sell the rest to anyone who appreciates a really good Christmas dinner. half-a-dozen turkeys MIGHT have the brains of ONE chicken (but I wouldn't bet on it). Remember to get feed medicated against Blackhead.
I bought hatching eggs and reared about 20 turkeys a year for about 5 years (well I only bought eggs once. I kept the best trio from that hatching as breeders) I sold them when we moved away to a house with almost no garden.

[armadillo]

Hmm yes, probably best to kill and pluck any to be given as presents unless you're very sure that the recipients will be able to do the deed themselves!

[Madasafish]

Blackhead medication is no longer used as banned under EC legislation. We have two turkeys from eggs... in a large pen made from pallets and wire...

Good source of manure..

[Hilary B]

Blackhead medication is no longer used as banned under EC legislation. We have two turkeys from eggs... in a large pen made from pallets and wire...

Good source of manure..

Odd that it got banned. It was a few years ago we were keeping them. (and was it EC or EU?<g>)

[lynda66]

i always knew getting a blackhead was terminal ..... i use clearasil

[roadkill]

so what is blackhead and what does it do to the turkey? how is it caught ???

looks like i will be getting two might start building there new home at the weekend

[Hilary B]

I can't remember the details (a few years since we kept turkeys, even longer since I read the details of the disease) but the name is descriptive, and it is very serious.

Remember that if there is a stupid thing that a turkey can do, they WILL do it. They will try to walk on the surface of a leaf-covered pond or puddle, they will panic at a thunderstorm and dive into the corner of the pen, where (if there are more than a couple) they will suffocate each other, they will reach through a wire mesh fence after an interesting titbit and get tightly stuck, being too stupid to reverse if they can't reach, etc......