New Arrivals

Our DIL works at the Clearwater Hospital. A coworker has a small farm like ours but with more types of creatures. Earlier in the year he had a duck that was broody, but someone wanted the eggs. When the duck lost her eggs she took some eggs from a turkey. The eggs hatched last week, but the coworker didn't want new turkeys right now so DIL came home with 3 poults last night. The turkey has 5 more that will hatch soon and so we have turkeys. These are from Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys from the flock sold by Rochester Hatchery 4 years ago. Our pigs are going off to be butchered shortly so the turkeys will move to their shelter at least for the winter.

What a nice gift! Will you butcher them for Christmas turkeys or is that not enough weeks?

What a nice gift! Will you butcher them for Christmas turkeys or is that not enough weeks?

We will keep a pair for breeding, but we will butcher them for Christmas 2013. These are naturally breeding turkeys.

That's a great addition to your farm, Rosewood! We also got some heritage turkey poults in early summer, some Bourbon Reds, and are going to keep a breeding flock. These guys are really nice birds personality wise, too

We lost one today. Apparently the mother duck tried to take them swimming and one got pretty wet. We are to get 5 more soon. We had planned on adding turkeys soon, but thinking of getting a place for them ready next spring.

Oh, shoot! Come to think of it, a mother duck raising poults probably isn't the greatest combination due to the water thing. I guess poults are really susceptible to dying if they get wet, so I've been told. I didn't realize you got the mother duck along with the poults, but if they're only a week old I guess you'd have to have her or a brooder house for them! We still have to make our winter coop for ours. They are about 4 months old now and getting quite large. I've got them in the new chicken coop in the largest pen at night, and during the day they have a large fenced area to graze in. I really like them

We didn't get the mother duck, but she apparently took the poults swimming before they were removed from her care. The duck actually stole the eggs from the real Mom and wasn't very willing to give up the poults either.

Oh yes a mothers love . Ducks can be very possesive, as I'm learning this year.

Our turkeys have been growing nicely in the pigs' shelter. We insulated the walls and closed up the areas that were just stucco wire. We are renovating here with a new office nearing completion. Tonight we were taking some books and other print materials from storage and came upon a 2006 Rochester catalogue which contained an ad for the type of turkeys we are raising.

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I remember that catalogue, I think we bought some bbb poults from Rochester that year in fact but we didn't over winter any.

We now have a trio of Ridley Bronze, i am not certain on the difference between the two varieties? Music, Melody and Harmony are very nice birds and we are enjoying them. Melody started laying eggs 4 days ago. I hope she gets her seasons straightened out soon and we have eggs to hatch (or for her to hatch) in the spring.

Mine started laying again last week too, PG. don't worry- these guys are awesome layers. They lay for most of the winter, a quick break in early spring, and then again all summer. Though you have to watch in summer because they hide their eggs and the go broody!

Rosewood, these are a very nice looking variety of Turks!!

I am curious what the differences between BBB and Ridley Bronze are if anyone knows?

I understand that the BBB are a bit bigger. These are the unimproved, naturally breeding BBBs rather than the commercial AI breeding BBBs. I'm still looking for someone that has other descendants from the Rochester Hatchery flock.