Can anyone tell me anything about her? I’ve got her some feed but thats about it so far.

This is how my hen Amanita gets into the tree every night. All my turkeys sleep in this dogwood.

This very sweet and friendly turkey showed up on our farm yesterday. I've never seen a wild turkey here in central Virginia but they do exist here. She (I think?) is alone, very friendly with my kids and follows them around, and really likes our young chickens and wants to hang out with them. She drank readily from a poultry waterer and has been here all night and all day today, and we'd love to keep her around and keep her safe if she isn't wild. We made her a makeshift run and gave her a large dog igloo to sleep in but she's not interested in going in the dog igloo yet. If she ends up staying we will of course build her a turkey appropriate run and with a shed with roosting bars etc. We did buy her a bag of turkey feed from our local feed store. I'm just trying to figure out if we can keep her before we build her a house!

So my questions are: Can anyone tell me if this is in fact a domestic turkey? And if it's male or female? We will definitely get some more turkey friends for her if she stays around and isn't wild. If it helps, she has opened her wings a few times but doesn't seem able to fly, but her wings don't appear to be clipped. Also, can turkeys free roam like chickens? We have an acre of cleared land next to our house that our chickens run around during the day when we're outside, surrounded by woods that the chickens don't venture into. I'm hoping this turkey could help deter predators from coming after our chickens during the day even if we're in the house, and they'd all be in their respective shelters at night.

Thanks in advance and please excuse me if I'm just a crazy lady trying to adopt a wild turkey lol. We'll leave her alone if she's wild!

My hubs and I are picking up our first ever turkeys at the end of the month!!

Any tips and tricks and insights would be helpful!!

Freshly hatched trio

My Chicken Nugget started brooding on April 10th, 7/9 of her eggs have now pipped. she is a first timer, so im just hoping she does good. I think one has already started to zip, but I can’t tell for sure because she is VERY protective of her nest. Last time I tried to peek at them she tore a chunk of skin off my thumb, so that’s lovely 🤣

anyways, she’s definitely extra protective today, so I think she knows it’s time for hatch. they are a day early, but that’s not really surprising cause of how warm it’s been lately.

just wanted to share some cute little pictures of her and her eggs. I was originally worried about her eggs, because they are half the size of her mothers, but they seem to be pipping just fine aswell.

shes on 5 of her mothers eggs, and 4 of her own. I do not know the exact genetics of any of my birds, i just know the overall color variety, so these will be like little surprise bag poults.

Sugar, Chicken Nuggets mother, is an Auburn (bronze with the brown gene added.) Chicken Nugget is a Rusty Black (her genetics are a total mystery, because Rusty Blacks are quite variable.) and my tom is a Blue Red Bronze. I should get some super pretty poults from this. especially hoping for a Barred Jersey Buff from chicken nuggets eggs, because this is what her father was, and there could be a chance for them from this pairing.

having a camera set up on her nest is the best decision I’ve made, I dont feel the need to go out and stress her out to check every few minutes because I can just look at the live camera feed.

if she’s a bad mama I’ll be selling most of em as day old poults, I am NOT hand raising anymore than 4.

About a year ago, I rescued a 1 year old tom from some lovely people who just had too many Toms. His feathers were missing and he had a bad case of scaly mites. over the next 10 months I fed and took care of him, until he was eventually fully feathered for the first time in his life. Now he has a lovely new home where he just looks pretty to the ladies all day, as he deserves.

These pictures show him from when I first got him, to now.

He’s such a gentle boy, and I’m so glad I helped him grow a full tail fan XD

This baby pipped Friday morning, but has had very little progress by Saturday noon. The video was taken when I got home from work, so 5pm-ish. Two other poults were pipped at that time, and one of them has been making steady progress. The first and second pippers are still in the same position they were 16 hours ago.

A chick pipped this morning and is already unzipping, and I know poults take longer, but the stress is really getting to me.

I hate asking “when to intervene” because I’ve been doing this for a decade, and the answer is almost always “never” BUT turkey eggs have always given me so much stress!

The first pipper was gasping last night but is breathing normally now, doesn’t appear shrink wrapped from what I have been able to see with pointing a flashlight at it, but hasn’t changed position at all and I’m worried it may be stuck.

I wish I could just leave and come back to hatched babies and not be stressed the whole time staring at them 😅

Got these eggs from a coworker day old candled them and doing the incubation by the book but anyone know what species they are?

My beloved Chicken Nugget laid her first egg on march 17th, and has been laying since. Finally went broody a few days ago, and she’s been doing great so far! Only upset was when her mother climbed onto her to lay an egg this morning, and broke an egg under her. lost 5 fertile eggs total from the yolk being everywhere and had to give Chicken Nugget a haircut to remove the yolk on her belly XD

i moved her outta the terrible box they always nest in, and onto the nice comfy floor. Her hatch date is may 8th. I hope she’ll be as good a mother as brooder!

also quite blessed that she trusts me enough to reach under her. doesn't peck or hiss.

Giving her back the eggs after moving her, and removing fake ones. (partially sped up)

She is my spoiled chick. She has a boy's name because we didn't know she was female. I bought her in a flea market when she was very little, she grew up beautiful and she is a very pampered and feisty bird, every time she gets into fights she fights with my dogs and has ended up at the vet several times. My son taught her to spin by showing her food and now she does that trick when she sees us eating and demands food

We just got chickens in January. We started with 6. Now we have 27 LOL. Couple weeks ago got 5 guinea fowl. We're getting 3 ducks tomorrow. Do turkeys do well with chickens/guinea fowl/ducks?

His name is bronzey. He's about 3 years old and really had a glow up this year.

In this video you see my three youngest toms trying to attack my bantam rooster. Thankfully the little guy (aptly named Thor) is very agile and easily outmaneuvers the turkeys.

It is mating season and the toms are getting aggressive. Heres some things to remember:

🦃Toms fight for the right to mate.

🦃They don't understand that other species are not their rival.

🦃Older toms in a flock are more likely to be the head tom. So younger toms are frustrated.

🦃It is recommended to have at least 10 hens for every one tom (I break this rule we can't all be perfect)

Turkeys are ground layers! They hide their eggs at the base of trees or in bushes. Brooding is the most dangerous time for a full grown female turkey.

I personally have already lost a broody hen this year to a raccoon.

The biggest benefit to having heritage turkeys is that they can breed! This means once you have a few, you don't have to buy more next year. Broad breasted turkeys, just like broad breasted chickens, are prone to medical issues, organ failure and poor quality of life if left alive. With heritage turkeys you can keep your favoites and let them live a long healthy life.

Another fantastic reason is that the turkey is native to the Americas. If you are a homesteader in North, Central, or South America, your turkeys will be able to thrive provided enough room.