Eastern Wild Turkey poults or eggs... free

[megalomaniac]

I'm coming up first weekend of April with my 11 y/o son to hunt. I expect I'll be covered up in eggs by then from my hens if they start laying in March like the local birds do here. If anyone of you guys would like some eggs to set or some poults, let me know, and I'd be happy to bring them up. Otherwise, I'll be eating them for breakfast I can ship eggs, but would need you to cover the cost of shipping. I have the proper paperwork I will include documenting their legality, and I'm NPIP certified and AI clean (last flock test 12/15).

This is for those that are serious... if you have chickens and have ever had histomoniasis (blackhead) disease, I'd rather you not get the eggs/ poults, as they will just die. I gave one of my extra gobblers to a friend's father last summer. He lasted about 3 months under his care before he succumbed to blackhead Also, they will need to be kept under netting in an enclosed run, otherwise they will just leave your property and be devoured by predators.

Oh, my birds will be 2 y/o's this spring. The two gobblers are sporting nice, thick 8-9" beards at this point!

 

[catman529]

I actually would like one or two but I don't know if the chickens here have ever had blackhead or not. I will be hatching a couple of chicks from the eggs here if I can find a cheap incubator.


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[Rockhound]

Yep I pmed you about this last year fixing pm you again

 

[megalomaniac]

My birds won't go into the enclosed coop since they were about 5 months of age. I have a roosting bar about 5 feet off the ground with the netting above them apexed at around 10 feet high. I feel bad when they sleep outside in the winter when it's below freezing and wet while the chickens are tucked in nice in their coops, but I have to remind myself these birds are designed to handle the cold.

If you don't keep them under netting, they will just fly off and probably be eaten by predators. I hatched out 10 last year with my show chickens, with the plans to just let them do whatever they desired as they aged. When they were a couple months old, they just flew over the 6ft woven-wire fence and free ranged in the back yard. That went on for about a month until a local fox picked all of them off save for one jenny that seemed to prefer hanging out with the chickens over her own kind and never left the run.

Plus, although my birds are healthy, I wouldn't advocate introducing them into wild bird flocks for the potential of spreading disease.

Oh, and btw, I have enough takers for all the eggs the girls should produce by the time I come up. I can still probably ship eggs at the end of April if there are others who really would like to have them.

 

[megalomaniac]

Oh, and don't think these are good pets... they are terrible. The birds will tolerate you as long as you are outside their 'comfort' zone (about 15 feet). Get closer than that, and they start to wig out and could potentially harm themselves.

The dominant gobbler is pretty pissy though. If he's in the wrong mood, he'll give you a series of fighting purrs, then will try to wing-slap you if you turn your back on him.

 

[REN]

ill take the 2 year old if you don't mind just tying him up at an agreed upon location. i will ease in to said area and call at him 2x (to make it sporting of course) then shoot him in the face

 

[catman529]

Are the turkeys less tolerant of people than guineas?


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[megalomaniac]

dunno catman, I've not raised guineas....

the turkeys are just fine being raised captive... just don't expect them to be like big fat orpingtons that seem to like being picked up. As long as you are outside their comfort zone (which is about 3 feet for the gobblers and around 10 feet for the hens) they aren't too spooky. They don't like change, though. Anything different (a new person feeding them, maintenance in the run, etc does seem to bother them a bit)

 

[catman529]

dunno catman, I've not raised guineas....

the turkeys are just fine being raised captive... just don't expect them to be like big fat orpingtons that seem to like being picked up. As long as you are outside their comfort zone (which is about 3 feet for the gobblers and around 10 feet for the hens) they aren't too spooky. They don't like change, though. Anything different (a new person feeding them, maintenance in the run, etc does seem to bother them a bit)

They sound like guineas. Which I always have said the guineas remind me a lot of turkeys. I guess I will stick to trying to raise a couple of chickens and keep turkeys in the woods where they belong so I can call one in and shoot it

 

[202P&Y]

Sent you a pm

 

[megalomaniac]

no more pm's guys, please... I already have as many takers as I expect the girls to produce! I'll post again if someone backs out and my waiting list is open!

 

[callemquacktn]

Hate I missed out on this opportunity. Definitely let me know if you have anymore later in the spring.
I raised turkeys all my childhood and even a couple yrs after the wife and I got married.
Was just telling her the other day I would like to get some more.