Turkeys and Chickens

Does anyone keep turkeys with their chickens?
I thought it was not safe to keep turkeys
anywhere that chickens habitated due to blackhead.

I keep chickens and turkeys together all the time. In winter it is a bit more tricky because turkeys are prone to health issues more so than chickens if there is too much dust or humidity. So I tend to let my turkeys free range all winter with a barn for shelter, not heated and so not dusty or humid.
In the spring I tend to pen my turkeys with some chickens to help with breeding groups, make sure your turkeys have lots of area and are not stuck indoors for any length of time.
I have not had an issue with black head disease so not worried about that at this point.

Thanks Hidden River.
I have not got the turkeys yet just trying to
figure out where to put them.

i LOST All OF MY TURKEY CHICKS THAT I HAD WITH MY CHICKENS ,OVER FIFTY IN TOTAL AND THAT IS THE ONLY REASONING THAT I CAN FIGURE OUT THAT CAUSED IT .I AM LUCKY THAT I AM ABLE TO REORDER THESE BREEDS AND THIS TIME I WILL NOT HAVE THEM TOGETHER WITH THE CHICKENS ,AS FAR AWAY AS I CAN TO AVOID THE SORROW OF LOSEING THEM AGAIN .SOME WERE OVER FOUR MONTHS OLD ? SEEMS THEY DIED AT CERTAIN AGES BETWEEN THREE MONTHS AND FOUR MONTHS !

My Poults are keept with the chicks in the brooders depending on how many hatch.
I have some of the coops that have turkeys and chickens in them and I have some that are just Turkeys.
I have heard pro's and con's on it but I keep them together some what.
cant figure out when people say they keep them separate I have to ask do you change clothes and footware and disinfect your hands between the chicken coops and the Turkey Coops? reason I ask is most disease's can be spread on a persons clothes, Shoes and hands

appway wrote:My Poults are keept with the chicks in the brooders depending on how many hatch.
I have some of the coops that have turkeys and chickens in them and I have some that are just Turkeys.
I have heard pro's and con's on it but I keep them together some what.
cant figure out when people say they keep them separate I have to ask do you change clothes and footware and disinfect your hands between the chicken coops and the Turkey Coops? reason I ask is most disease's can be spread on a persons clothes, Shoes and hands

I only have the one chicken coop so no I don't change.
And I don't have the turkeys yet I just realy want this
trio as they are Blue Slates and I am one of those that
loves anything Blue. I have been considering turkeys for about a year so the Blue Slates would be the ones.

Sounds like a nice trio Karona
I would ask if they are or haave been with Chickens
And I would watch your chickens as they like to beat up any new Poultry and will even beat up big ol' Turkeys
and I agree with Hidden Keep the dust down and not real Humid you should be fine
If you do get them remember we want Pictures

appway wrote:My Poults are keept with the chicks in the brooders depending on how many hatch.
I have some of the coops that have turkeys and chickens in them and I have some that are just Turkeys.
I have heard pro's and con's on it but I keep them together some what.
cant figure out when people say they keep them separate I have to ask do you change clothes and footware and disinfect your hands between the chicken coops and the Turkey Coops? reason I ask is most disease's can be spread on a persons clothes, Shoes and hands

..................I think that what I might have gotten is BlackHead ? not sure though ,never brought the birds in for testing .But I have heard from enough people that raiseing them together raises the risks and I truly believe that .I do have two full grown toms that are in with the chickens and they are doing just fine other then the chickens pecking at there tail feathers ? I just figured that I'll keep them seperate and hopefully that will give them the best chance at surviveing ,but to each there own

I've been doing a little research on this topic lately as we have acquired a couple turkeys. They have been in the chicken coop for the first month or so while the pigs finished their move to the freezer. We have renovated the pig's shelter where the two now have a comfortable new home. Next spring will see some more building for either turkeys or pigs.

appway wrote:Sounds like a nice trio Karona
I would ask if they are or haave been with Chickens
And I would watch your chickens as they like to beat up any new Poultry and will even beat up big ol' Turkeys
and I agree with Hidden Keep the dust down and not real Humid you should be fine
If you do get them remember we want Pictures

Well I could close one door and keep them seperate for
a while.
I also need to learn how to feed them etc.
Also worried about them flying off to the neighbours.
We live on thiry acres but at the end of a short road
with 1 acre parcels. Last thing I need is one of the
neighbours shooting them for dinner.

I keep mine together and even when they were young and flighty they didn't fly that far. However I've seen your place and am not willing to put "my money were my mouth is" LOL
I also free range mine, I have 1 big Blue Slate Tom who we have given the duty of Guardian. He is a massive bird who has a really good temperment and guard he does.
Hopefully everything works out for you.
As for feeding they aren't much different than chickens.

Ruffledfeathers wrote:I keep mine together and even when they were young and flighty they didn't fly that far. However I've seen your place and am not willing to put "my money were my mouth is" LOL
I also free range mine, I have 1 big Blue Slate Tom who we have given the duty of Guardian. He is a massive bird who has a really good temperment and guard he does.
Hopefully everything works out for you.
As for feeding they aren't much different than chickens.

I am guessing this is Meagan?
Thanks for the input
I think I will try.

Ruffledfeathers wrote:I keep mine together and even when they were young and flighty they didn't fly that far. However I've seen your place and am not willing to put "my money were my mouth is" LOL
I also free range mine, I have 1 big Blue Slate Tom who we have given the duty of Guardian. He is a massive bird who has a really good temperment and guard he does.
Hopefully everything works out for you.
As for feeding they aren't much different than chickens.

When you said he guards does he only look after his girls
or everything in the barn yard?

He looks after just about everything with feathers. Whether they want it or not. He has just started to really assert his dominance and get involved with the hen pecking order. So far so good, I'm still watching because I would hate for anything really bad to happen. I also have a young Tom (Easter dinner) thats up and coming and am starting to see the dance, that Tommy dance.

The only real threat that I have is between my Tom and my Drake. That whole she's mine is mafia style war. I've had my Tom jump the fence and joust with my drake. I've also seen my Drake come out and all out start a fight with my Tom.

It really comes down to me making sure everybody has enough space ie. free range.