The Turkey Heads Are Getting BIG!

This is the most curious turkey. He isn't scared of anything and always
has to come see what is going on. He is also the worst about biting (tasting).
He thinks that everything is food. Narragansett 11 weeks.

One of the blue slates had to come see what was happening too!

Bourbon Reds. They still all want to see what the camera is every
time they see it. It usually means they want to taste it. 

Nosy Nosy Narragansett

Poor little Igor is now half the size of the rest of the turkeys. We have discovered
that it is not her neck, but her leg and breast bone, that are growing crooked.
She will likely have to be put out of her misery at some point but for now she is
getting around well enough and the others watch out for her.

7 Weeks

Some of the babies free ranging in the yard. Around 7 weeks old.

Even with the best of intentions, sometimes things don't get done. I had planned on posting weekly pics and updates on the turkey poults. That turned into biweekly posts. I'm not the best at keeping up with writing things when there are so many other things that need to be done around the homestead. I'll save all of that for another post, though. The babies are almost 12 weeks old now! When they were about 7 weeks old I started putting them in the chicken hoop coop during the day while the roosters were roaming the property. They were just too darn big to leave in the brooder coop anymore. I began letting them out in the yard when I was out there watching them. They never went more than a few feet from me. I assumed that if I was right beside them, they would be safe. Boy, was I wrong! I was sitting at my stone table, which is surrounded by a flower garden (my serenity garden). Half of them were under the bench I was sitting on and the others were right beside me. I was bent down talking to one of the blue slates (baby talk... its sickening I'm sure) and a swoosh of brown feathers flew by my face. I opened my eyes to see a hawk turn his head around and stare at me from atop my poor poult! He wasn't more than a foot and a half from my face! I grabbed the closest thing to me and swung it at him, while trying not to hit the turkey, and the hawk flew off leaving the poult there. The baby jumped up and ran back over to his brooder, along with the rest of them, and begged to be put back. Hence, no more free ranging turkeys for a while. I assume that the chickens are just too fast for the hawk, although we only have 6 chicks left. I think I know now where they all went to (aside from one that our new puppy got a hold of... there will be no more of that!). Now that all of the roosters have been sent to freezer camp (YAY!!!) the turkeys moved into the hoop coop full time. They have been the sole residents for about two weeks now. They are still super curious. They don't like being picked up quite as much as they used to, but they still come running over every time I get near the coop. Keegan says that they look like the flying monkeys from TheWizard of OZ when they are jumping and flapping around. I have to agree with him. I call to them (turkey turkey turkey!)and they all talk back. Keegan is the best at it, though. He figured out their alert call (by accident) and sent them all scattering. He can also get them to make several other calls and gobble. The time before last when I moved the hoop house, I broke one of the frame boards where there was a knot, so moving it got sidelined for a bit until I could fix it. Now they are moved onto fresh grass and LOVING IT! They are feathered out and beautiful! I can't believe that I was so worried about getting turkeys. They have been so much fun and are really not difficult to take care of at all. Now that I say that, though, something will happen... I encourage anyone that has to space to put them (and move them frequently because they get much more stinky than chickens if left in one area) to get them. They are no more difficult, so far, to take care of than chickens.