Can you keep chickens and turkeys together?
Question by Fedora Man: Can you keep chickens and turkeys together?
I’ve heard that they can get sick from chickens, but I’ve also heard that sometimes, people will let them intermingle, and they don’t have problems. Do the male turkeys try to attack roosters, or do roosters usually pay respect to the toms?
What do you think? Answer below!
5 Responses to Can you keep chickens and turkeys together?
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you can cook chicken or turkey but not together .
Patsy
March 9, 2013 at 5:20 pm
In my observations it’s based on if they are raised together from chicks. =) I’ve seen chickens, turkeys, and ducks raised together in a big pen and they’ve not bothered each other.
BlackDame
March 9, 2013 at 6:15 pm
Look, I’ve read ‘no’ to this in the books and as a consequence have never tried keeping turkeys with my chickens. I loaned the book that said it (and never saw it again) but if memory serves, it is because of a disease called “black head” that the turkey gets.
However if you have now done it successfully I’d be very interested to hear more.
David Bendtner
March 9, 2013 at 6:36 pm
If you are planning on raising chickens & turkey together,the two facts that need looking into are the presence of very aggressive intolerant birds among the mixed flock & the danger of disease transmission.
I have raised a good number of chickens & also have had experience hatching & caring for goslings,turkey poults & guineas keets,when very young they have been around the mother hen ,but later as they grow up they have mingled with each other causing no problems at all.I need to mention that all the poultry grow up free range but share a common secure night enclosure.
Open range allows them ample space to do their own thing without trampling on each others toes.A regular immunization schedule takes care of their health & keeps communicable diseases at bay.Roosters & toms pretty much keeps out of each others way.
dee k
March 9, 2013 at 6:43 pm
I have 16 chickens, 3 roosters and 2 Bronze turkeys (1 male 1 female) together in the same large pen 60ft x 40ft approx. I also have a pair of Bourbon Red turkeys but they are in a separate pen as I want to breed from them in the Spring. I did have 3 turkeys in with the chickens but I sold a male one yesterday. They have large shed with a choice of perches 3-4ft off the floor and 3 nest boxes. The perches for the turkeys need a prop underneath them to stop them buckling under the weight. Turkeys do fly and mine would often roost on the shed roof and I had to shoo them down in the evening. I clipped their wings but now they are bigger they don’t fly so much.
You should worm the whole flock as turkeys can catch Blackhead disease from chickens but mostly this occurs in young birds and free range birds develop an immunity.
I find my male turkey does sometimes take a dislike to my dominant rooster maybe once a week? and they will fight as my rooster defends himself but its over quite quickly usually. The rooster did get his comb torn once but it healed OK.
Bear in mind where your hens lay eggs, the female turkeys start laying in April and are big and clumsy birds, sometimes I would find broken chicken eggs in the nest box where she had trodden on them by mistake. This can encourage egg eating if you are not careful.
Trust Me I'm a Doctor ♥
March 9, 2013 at 7:16 pm