How to raise turkeys, by Carol Dunn:

Turkeys are native to the Americas and were domesticated

by the Aztecs in the 1500s. Explorers took turkeys back to
Europe with them, and new breeds were developed, which
eventually found their way back to the Americas. The early
stages of raising turkeys require time and attention to
detail. When your turkeys pass eight weeks of age, the
process of raising them gets much easier. Turkeys are calm
and friendly, and most breeds make good pets.
Choosing a breed: If you are raising turkeys for meat,
choose a breed specifically developed for that purpose,
either broad breasted white or broad breasted bronze.
These grow fast and will be ready for butchering in about
five to six months. If the appearance of black pin feathers
on the finished carcass would bother you, choose the white.
Because of their size, broad breasted turkeys cannot breed
and do not fare well physically as they get older, so they do
not make good pets. Heritage breeds can also be used for
meat, but they grow slower and will not have as much
breast meat as a turkey you might see in the grocery store
freezer case. Heritage breeds are good foragers, and they
can breed naturally. They are far more intelligent and agile
than the special meat breeds.
Sizes of meat breeds and heritage breeds or crosses: The
broad-breasted white turkeys will be the largest, with toms
reaching 45 pounds (25-30 for hens) live weight at
butchering. Broad-breasted bronze are smaller, reaching 25
pounds (16-20 for hens). The Royal Palm (often raised as an
ornamental) will weigh 22 pounds (12 for hens) at maturity.
Blue Slate, a rare breed, weighs in at about 33 pounds (18
for hens). Standard Bronze and White Holland varieties
reach 30 pounds (15 for hens); Narragansett, Bourbon Red,
Black and Chocolate varieties all mature at about 33
pounds (18 for hens).

Baby turkeys (poults): Only buy poults from a certified

pullorum-free poultry producer. In small quantities (20 or
less), turkey poults will cost about $5-$10 each, depending
on the rarity of the breed, plus shipping and handling.
Some hatcheries have minimum order requirements of at
least 10 poults. You can expect typical mortality to be
about ten percent. Count yourself lucky if you lose fewer
than this. Their care is tricky. See the Helium article "How
to Care for Baby Turkeys (poults)" for full instructions on
raising a flock from day-old poults.
Pen: An enclosure should be large enough for each adult
turkey to have 100 square feet of space. If their
confinement is too close, they will peck each other. If you
want to use the eggs the turkey hens lay, provide two
laying boxes per hen as a hiding place for the hen while she
is laying. The box should be 25% larger than an adult hen,
located in a darker corner and filled with straw. Turkey
eggs, about the size of jumbo chicken eggs with a much
tougher shell, are more viscous than chicken eggs, thus
ideal for baking.
Feeding: Meat turkeys should be fed three types of feed
until the time of slaughter: starter (until 8 weeks of age),
grower (from 8 to 14 weeks of age), and finisher (from 14
to 20 weeks) combined with small grains. They require a
high protein game bird ration. The average adult turkey will
eat one pound of feed per day. Until they reach maturity,
turkeys will gain one pound for every 3 pounds of food they
consume. In the pen or out, always have clean water
available. For some reason, the water fountain is usually
the favorite perch of one troublemaker, so try to orient it in
the pen or hang it from a chain so this is not a comfortable
option.
Habits on free range: Use caution when free ranging
turkeys. Until they can fly well, they are an easy target for
dogs, hawks and other predators. Conversely, they are

great for pest control and will forage beetles, mosquitoes,

ticks, flies, grasshoppers, seeds and grasses. The toms will
puff up and strut around on display a good portion of the
day if there are hens around. There will be mating disputes
in the spring, with some bloodletting, but a hierarchy is
eventually established within the flock. The toms also
gobble frequently if they sense any challenge in their
territory, including dogs, cars, people and loud noises.
Heritage hens are very effective at hiding a nest to brood
eggs. A typical clutch will contain up to two dozen eggs,
and brooding time is 28 days. Not all eggs will hatch, and
not all that hatch will survive.
Turkeys want to roost off the ground. If you do not provide a
roost for them in their pen, they will huddle on the ground.
When they are allowed free range, be sure to herd them
back to their pen before sunset, as they will fly up into
trees and roost there overnight. Once they develop this
habit, it's hard to break.
Weather: By eight weeks of age, turkeys will be able to
withstand summer weather. They enjoy being outdoors and
particularly rolling in the dirt to take an occasional "dust
bath." Contrary to old wives' tales, turkeys will not drown in
the rain. At least this writer, after ten years of raising
turkeys, has never seen anything so bizarre. When they are
young, however, they will be likely to bunch together on
the ground in the rain, so they may need to be coaxed into
the shelter of their pen.
Diseases: The most common and devastating disease of
turkeys is blackhead, which kills most of the turkeys which
contract it. Chickens carry the blackhead parasite, so never
raise turkeys and chickens together. Some producers
advise not even raising both on the same farm. Many
producers recommend that you wait four years before

raising turkeys on the same soil/grounds where chickens

were raised. Coccidiosis may result if the pen is not kept
dry.
Whether for pets or for meat, raising these grand birds can
be an enjoyable and rewarding experience with a little
extra time and effort.