Raising Turkeys as Pets

 

A few weeks ago, I posted about incubating and caring for newly hatched turkey poults with the intent to write another post shortly afterwards about socializing the poults to become pets.  Sorry for the long wait and thanks for your patience.

Today I finally had some time to get my thoughts together and below is what Mr. Freak and I have done with our Royal Palm turkeys from the point of hatching up to them reaching young adulthood.


Feeding:

From hatching until 8 weeks of age a turkey poult should be fed a game bird/turkey feed that is 28 - 30 % protein.  Do not skimp on this as the young turkeys need this much protein to grow during the first weeks of life.

After 8 weeks of age, move to a game-bird/turkey pellet that is 20% protein. Supplement the feed with berries, cracked corn, fruits and vegetables.


De-worming:

Keep in mind that turkeys can get parasites from the ground and also if they are raised with other types of poultry (chickens, ducks, etc.) At 8 weeks of age, they should be de-wormed.  We used Panacure brand de-wormer that was recommended by our vet and it works well to keep the parasites/worms away.  Follow the directions on the package.  After the initial de-worming, the turkeys should be de-wormed again every 3 to 4 months.


Socializing/Bonding:

To form a bond with your poults, start handling or holding them periodically during the first week of their life so that they get accustomed to you.  They will imprint on you as their "mother" and look to you for food and security.

At 2 weeks of age, get some small crickets from your local feed store or you can order them in bulk at flukerfarms.com (very inexpensive if bought in bulk). Hold each poult in your lap and offer them a single cricket.  They will usually take it from you and try to swallow it whole.  You may have to kill the cricket in order for the poult to eat it.  Then the next time you offer the poult a cricket, set him on the ground and snap your fingers, while holding a cricket in the other closed hand.

The poult will soon associate snapping fingers with a treat, even when no treat is in your hand later on.  Do this "training" for a couple of weeks and they should be fully trained to come to you when you snap your fingers (at around 3 - 4 weeks of age).

From 2 weeks on, spend time with the poults - letting them sit in your lap or near you while you pet them.  The only way for them to get used to you is to be near them and be calm and quiet while around them.  They will come running to you when they see you after this initial bonding period.

We started taking walks around our property with the turkeys at 1 month of age.  They will follow you as their "guide" if they have bonded to you from the "cricket training"


Housing/Shelter:

At about 4 week of age, place the poults in an enclosed pen, cage or barn area where you plan to have the turkeys spending the night as they grow older.  You need to get them familiar with their "safe place".  Turkeys need to know that there is a place that they can run to if they are scared or want to take a nap.

We have set up an old barn for this purpose for them.  They like to roost in the rafters of the barn and sleep there at night.  But, an enclosed 10 foot by 10 foot dog kennel will work just as well, as long as there is a roof on it to keep predators out.


Ongoing Care:

As the turkeys get older, take them for walks, spend time with them, feed them treats and let them sit in your lap to nap if they want to. If you spend the time to do all of these things, the turkeys will make wonderful, smart and enjoyable pets.

Incubating and Raising Royal Palm Turkeys

Mr. Freak and I started our new flock with two female and two male Royal Palm turkeys. From the four, they have produced over 50 fertile eggs so far this year.

This was our first attempt at raising Royal Palm Turkeys and oh what a learning experience it was!  Filled with hope, joy, disappointment and finally success as we learned how to incubate and nurture these wonderful little peepers.

The first incubation and hatching out went horribly wrong and only two of seven babies survived.

The second hatching went much better and twelve of thirteen survived. On the third hatching, eleven of fourteen made it.  On the fourth hatching, eleven of thirteen hatched out.

It is normal to have two or three of the eggs being incubated not to hatch due to them being non-fertilized or spontaneously aborted for whatever reason.  Not all of the eggs will hatch - unless you are very lucky.

I have learned quite a lot about the process of incubating turkey eggs, much of it by pure trial and error.  I have taken notes on what worked and what didn't over the course of the past few months and thought I would share that with all of you.

So here goes ...


Incubation:

• Make certain that you have an incubator that has a circulating fan in it along with a good thermometer/thermostat.  Without these, there are hots spots and cold spots in the incubator and any temperature above or below the optimum of 99 - 101 degrees can mean the death of the embryo in the egg.

• When you first start incubating, turn the incubator on and let the temperature stabilize in the optimum range (99 - 101 degrees) before placing eggs inside. This "warm-up" process may take 6 - 8 hours, so leave the incubator empty at this time.

• Once the temperature is stable, place the fertilized eggs in the incubator, making sure not to jostle, bang or shake the eggs (this can lead to spontaneous abortion of the embryo/fetus).

• Add warm water to the channels that are on the bottom of the incubator, this will increase the humidity level during the gestation period.  Optimum humidity is 80 percent or higher.  You want it like a sauna for the babies during this time.  The windows of the incubator should be "fogging up" which indicates a high humidity. You could also invest in a humidity indicator, but the foggy windows are a pretty good measure of the humidity.

• Gently turn the eggs 3 - 5 times per day for the first 25 days that the eggs are incubating.

• On day 26, 27 and 28, STOP TURNING the eggs and position them with the air sac facing upward (the eggs themselves should be on positioned on their sides).  This will help the baby to emerge from the shell with its beak and face upward without having to struggle to get out of the shell.

Hatching:

• On these last 3 days (day 26, 27 and 28), check for dimples or cracks in the shell that will indicate that the baby turkey is trying to break through the shell with its beak.  Actual hatching could take 12 to 24 hours for each chick.

• If you see that the chick is having trouble coming out of the shell, resist the urge to help, but make sure that the lining just inside the egg shell is moist (not dry or rubbery).

• Have a spray bottle with very warm water  handy and lightly spray the egg shell to keep it moist and easier for the chick to escape from.

• There should be plugs on the top of the incubator which either stop or allow more air into the use. Remove those when the babies are hatching. This will assure that the chick has sufficient oxygen when it is trying to break free of the shell while hatching.

• Once the baby hatches, LEAVE him in the incubator until his down feathers are dry and fluffy (up to 6 - 12 hours).  This will help the chick to better regulate his body temperature and this will also help the chick to transition better from the difference in temperature from incubator to the brood area.

After Hatching:

• Once the down feathers are dry, move the chick to the brood area.  This can be a tub, box, or any other enclosed area with a heat lamp to keep the chicks warm. 

• Also make certain that there are no drafts or cold breezes flowing over the chicks.  At this young age, they cannot regulate their body temperature very well and can get chilled, sometimes leading to death.

• Make certain that each baby is drinking and eating after the first day, but before the third day of life.  Turkey babies are not the smartest creatures, so you may have to drop turkey starter crumbles at their feet so that they will peck at it and start to recognize it as food.  You should also dip each one's beak into a small amount of water so that they start to recognize water for drinking.

• Make certain that the baby can scoot around the brood area. If the baby cannot get around immediately after being placed in the brood area, do not put the baby directly under the heat lamp.  To do so will overheat the baby if he cannot scoot out from under the heat lamp.

• The temperature in the brood area should be 95 - 98 F degrees with a humidity of 70 - 80% for the first week. Then the temperature can be dropped 5 F degrees and the humidity can be dropped 10 % every week after that  - until both get down to normal room temperature and humidity (about 4 weeks of lowering the temperature and humidity).

Hope this is helpful to anyone who is interested in incubating and raising turkeys.