Heirloom Turkeys

All they do is make noise! But they sure are cute.

The Turkey Poults arrived last Thursday morning. We had the chicken coop all cleaned out (thanks to Elizabeth), the heat lamp hooked up, water and feed ready to go. The poults come in a small box with a divider; Blue Slate breed on one side and Narragansett on the other. Each poult has to be hand-delivered to the water and feed so they know where to find these on their own. And then we check on them often so see how its going.

Last year we had amazing success with receiving 11 birds and ending up with 11 at the end of the season. This year is more to the norm with already losing 6 out of 22 birds. Things seem to be settling down in the coop now so we hope to keep all the rest.

When we first researched raising turkeys, we read the statement that for the first 6 weeks its hard to keep them alive, after that its hard to kill 'em. At this early stage they are quite fragile. But we'll keep checking on them and are looking forward to the day we can let them go outside, and they can start roaming around. Last year we had so much fun watching the birds and listening to them. What a funny bird! And of course we look forward to late November when they all go to the processor and then to the customer for great turkey dinners!

Happy Thanksgiving.