We had one problem worth mentioning with the new turkey pen in the barn. Having such a wide variety of ages living together is not a good idea. In nature it doesn't work that way, as all eggs hatch within days of each other. Once we have turkeys a couple of weeks old they were large enough to trample the newborns. We lost several to this unfortunate reality.
My first response was to move the larger ones out to the orchard area into an old rabbit hutch for protection from the weather. That fails miserably when a few turkeys didn't make it through the cold night. Too much change in temperature too quickly. So we moved them back into the barn.
The next step was to put a couple of 4x8 sheet of plywood together to build a wall to separate the youngers form the olders. Each side had a heater, food, water. This seems to work well! w have not lost a single little one since this change was made.
Out turkeys numbers are lower than we had hoped but we should still end up between 100 and 150 turkeys for sale later this year. Be sure to reserve yours early!
Follow along our adventure as we make the transition from corporate city life to the world of natural farming. Each day brings a new experience and brings us to a deeper understanding about the life and spirit that made America great. At our farm we do our best to give the animals we raise a natural, free, happy, stressfree lifestyle. Our mission is to learn and share how to manage a farming operation that is both profitable and humane.
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