A couple years ago we got turkeys & Farmer John built them a shelter, which we referred to as the Turkey Hut. We no longer have turkeys, but the hut worked well for chickens. So well that Farmer John built a second hut just for the chickens.

THE CHICKEN HUT

INSIDE THE HUT

THE RUN

THE DOME SHAPE

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In the Spring of 2012, we decided to raise turkeys for the first time. It was a great experience, but cost more than we expected. Here’s the run down on our expenses.

PURCHASE COST

We ordered 3 different turkey breeds:
6 Giant White = $42
5 Bronze Breasted Bronze = $35
4 Rio Grande = $40
Shipping = $20
Purchase Total = $137

FEED COST

May = $90 (13 turkeys)
June = $95 (13 turkeys)
July = $140 (12 turkeys)
August = $150 (12 turkeys)
September = $105 (9 turkeys)
October = $70 (6 turkeys)
Total Feed Cost = $650

TOTAL COST(ISH)

Purchase Total = $137
Total Feed Cost = $650
Total for 9 Turkeys = $787
Total for 1 Turkey = $87.40

The Giant White & Bronze Breasted Bronze Turkeys ended up being around 26 pounds when butchered. That meant they were about $3.36/pound.

It’s personal preference whether the turkey is worth that amount of money. But, I can say everybody who’s tried the turkey has thought it was the best they’ve ever had.

THE REALITY IS IT COST MORE THAN THAT TO RAISE OUR TURKEYS

The $87.40 was easy math. It’s really more complicated than that. That cost didn’t include housing, feeding supplies or butchering costs. Our cost on those items was about $800. I’m not sure the best way to include these expenses. Although, we paid for these things, they will be with us longer than the turkeys.

Farmer John built a Turkey Hut to house the turkeys, which cost around $275.

He also bought a waterer, which he thinks is the best type for turkeys. It was around $30.

We didn’t have to pay anyone to butcher the turkeys because we have the Whiz Bang Chicken Plucker. But, we paid $500 for this best invention ever.
To make the monetary matters even more complicated, the 2 Rio Grande turkeys weren’t processed that first fall. They take another year to mature & get to butchering weight. So, we kept them around & ended up getting babies from them. That’s got to be worth something on the positive side, right?

HOW WE LIKE TO COOK THE TURKEY

Our favorite way to cook the turkey is in my mom’s electric roaster.

Well, that was confusing. Plus, I’m not sure I really want to know the exact cost. It’s an expensive hobby/way of life. But, our kids are learning a ton & we’re showing them the benefits of good, homegrown food.

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Our turkey hen laid eggs under a fir tree. She was very well camouflaged & it took us awhile to find her.

We weren’t sure when exactly the eggs would hatch, or even if they would hatch. Then one day Farmer John & one of the kids spied her walking around with the new babies. So exciting!

She was a good mama keeping her babies in the tall grass nearly unseen. They spent most of the day searching for bugs.

Then one day she took her clan down to the neighbors. It was quite a jaunt from our house. I’m not sure what made her travel so far, but after that we had to coop them up. We can’t have turkeys wandering the countryside. She was not happy about being in a coop.

I really enjoy hatching babies using an incubator, but there is something extra special about watching it happen naturally.

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Hatching turkeys wasn’t in our immediate plans, but then Farmer John found where our year old turkey hen has been laying her eggs. We could have just left them for some critter to eat or we could see if any would hatch. We chose to try hatching them.

We set 7 turkey eggs in the incubator with chicken eggs that had already been in there for a few days. We knew from the beginning that we would have a little problem when it comes time for the chicks to hatch. Chicks take 21 days to hatch. Turkeys take 28 days, plus the turkeys were getting a later start. We didn’t want the turkey eggs in the incubator when the chicks were hatching. But, we didn’t know for sure if they were fertile or if they would develop. So, we decided to set them & worry about what to do if they actually developed.

The thermostat was set to slightly less than 100°. The thermostat turned a light on when the incubator needed warming up & turned the light off when it reached the optimal temp.

We used shot glasses with water to raise the humidity.

Farmer John’s original plan was to put the same insulated foam from the walls on the top, but he didn’t have enough material. Instead, he made this super fancy top out of foil & saran wrap. It may seem kooky, but it worked. I was so nervous that this move to the new incubator was going to harm the developing turkeys.

After the chicks hatched we moved the turkey eggs back to the original incubator and placed them in the turner. I tossed the 4th egg that still didn’t look like it was developing anymore.

Our first incubator hatched turkey poult!

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We have tried a variety of watering methods & the thing that has worked best for us are the use of waterer nipples. Farmer John attaches 2, 3 or 4 nipples in a bucket or similar container then hangs the bucket in the coop or brooder. Sometimes he adds 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the water, as well. This keeps the water clear & free from algae type growth. It also acts as a natural dewormer for the chickens.

THE NIPPLE

The nipple we use is a push in style, as opposed to screw in. Farmer John drills a small hole in a container and the nipples attach easily.

There are many places to get the nipples, and as they are becoming more popular the farm stores are starting to carry them, but Farmer John orders ours from QC Supply. We’ve had them a number of years, and they haven’t needed replacing.

HOW WE USE THEM

The nipples are attached to a 5 gallon bucket (or something similar). The bucket hangs right at chicken height & water doesn’t drip out of the nipple until a bird pushes against it.
A definite advantage to this type of system is the ease of refilling the waterer. I don’t have to fight with an annoying plastic container that doesn’t want to unscrew. I just put a hose in the bucket.

My other favorite thing about this set up is that it keeps the brooder clean! Chicks can’t step in, poop in or drop food in this waterer. They learn very quickly how to get a drink.

Waterers hanging in a chicken tractor, duck pen & brooder. We adjust the height of the bucket as needed.

Our friends at Sain Creek Poultry & Hobby Farm don’t use buckets, but have quite a system of pipe through much of their coop with the nipples attached.

We use this watering method for all our feathered friends.

Here’s to Happy Chickens/Turkeys/Quail/Ducks & Clean Waterers!

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A number of years ago Farmer John told me about chicken tractors. I thought he was crazy. Cuckoo. It did not go with my vision of a cutesy coop surrounded by flowering perennials and a picket fence. I also couldn’t imagine why you would want to move your chickens throughout the yard.

Let’s be realistic, my cutesy coop was not practical. The majority of our chickens are livestock, not pets. We have to house them in ways that are efficient for the purpose & cost effective.

Luckily, that’s where Farmer John & I work together & both compromise a little. He tries to be efficient & cost effective while keeping my cutesy stuff in mind.

He came up with a chicken tractor that’s both efficient & looks nice. The bones of the tractor are 1/2 inch electrical conduit, tin roofing & plywood.

THE CHICKEN TRACTOR

THE ROOST

THE DOORS

MORE THAN JUST CHICKENS

CHICKEN ROW

We have 3 similar, but not exactly the same, chicken tractors. They have all done their share of moving around our property, but lately have been sitting in a more permanent place alongside our two chicken huts.

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Like many birds (including chickens), turkeys have a third eyelid called a nictitating membrane. This eyelid is used to moisten the eye & clear out debris.

We generally see the 2 eyelids that move up & down to meet in the middle.

However, turkeys also have a third eyelid. It is nearly transparent, but can be seen. In this turkey pic the nictitating membrane is almost half way across the eye.

In the photo on the left, the nictitating membrane is fully across this eye, making it appear hazy. It’s always such a bummer when I get a great turkey or chicken pic, but the eyes are hazy. They’re slightly creepy looking. Totally normal, but still weird.

The photo on the right is the same turkey as the left photo, but I snapped the pic just a second later. The third eyelid is not visible. And, not quite so creepy.

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Before we raised turkeys, I didn’t know they had caruncles. I also didn’t know caruncle was even a word. I’ve since learned that the bumpy non-feathery skin on their face & neck is known as their caruncles. Technically the wattle is also a caruncle.

The coolest thing about their caruncles is that they change color. Typically they are a peachy color. As the turkey’s mood changes, so does his caruncle.

The larger caruncles on a tom’s neck are the major caruncles. Hens do not have these, although they do have small caruncles.

Caruncles, one of the interesting things about a turkey.

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One day a few weeks ago Farmer John let the turkeys out & didn’t get them put back in their turkey hut before roosting time. They all decided to roost on our front porch. Is it weird that I didn’t mind them there? They were kind of fun to watch. I don’t normally get to see them during the night. I learned two things. One is that they are light sleepers. Every little sound and their heads were up & eyes peering around. The second thing is that they look kind of dead when they sleep.

The turkeys had a sleepover on our porch.

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