An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Raising Backyard Turkeys Varieties, Feeding, Shelter, Care

by Benjamin, Stacy

• ISBN13: 9781635867565
• ISBN10: 1635867568
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-01-07
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC

Summary

From an expert in homesteading, this accessible guide shows you how to nurture happy, healthy turkeys right in your own yard.

Written by a backyard homesteader with a small flock of heritage turkeys, An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Raising Backyard Turkeys focuses on eggs, meat, and personal enjoyment. Poultry expert Stacy Benjamin will show you how to:

-Raise your own poults
-Understand turkey behavior and breeding habits
-Provide proper shelter and nutrition

Includes full-color photographs.

Author Biography

Stacy Benjamin is a poultry enthusiast, a gardener, a beekeeper, and an environmentalist who raises chickens and heritage-breed turkeys at 5R Farm in St. Helens, Oregon. Benjamin writes about raising poultry for Backyard Poultry and Countryside magazines and shares her popular turkeys on Instagram under the handle @5rfarmoregon.  

Table of Contents

 
Preface
 
Chapter 1: Why Raise Turkeys?
Definition of a heritage turkey; history of heritage breeds and broad-breasted varieties; why should you raise turkeys; picking the right breed to raise (either heritage or broad-breasted).
  
Chapter 2: What to Expect when Keeping Turkeys
How many eggs do turkeys lay; comparison with chicken eggs; recipes for enjoying turkey eggs; time to maturity for harvest; keeping turkeys for fun. How many eggs do turkeys lay; comparison with chicken eggs; recipes for enjoying turkey eggs; time to maturity for harvest; keeping turkeys for fun. 
  
Chapter 3: Turkey Behavior
Turkeys are not just big chickens; wild instincts; vocalizations and noise; flock dynamics; tom to hen ratio; dominance and tom turkeys.  
 
Chapter 4: Shelter and Space Requirements
Can turkeys live with chickens; coop design basics and do turkeys need a coop; outdoor roosts and runs; how much space do turkeys need; free ranging and predators.
 
Chapter 5: Nutrition and Care
Nutritional requirements for adolescents and adults; foraging; treats; seasonal care considerations in summer and winter. 
  
Chapter 6: Raising Poults from Day 1
Where to purchase poults; setting up the brooder; nutrition; important differences for brooding poults compared to chicken chicks; poult behavior; when and how to transition poults outside. 
  
Chapter 7: Natural Brooding and Raising the Next Generation
Courtship behavior; broody hens; nesting locations and requirements; broody hen and poult safety; is interspecies hatching (turkeys hatching chickens or vice versa) a good idea; introducing young poults to the rest of the flock. 
 
Chapter 8: Healthcare
Heritage turkeys are generally very hardy with minimal health issues; respiratory issues; leg and feet issues; parasites; reproductive issues. 
 
Glossary