It prevents the birds from getting out and exploring and it also prevents wild birds, particularly the large ones like wood pigeons and ring-neck doves from stealing food and defecating around the feeding area. Wild birds carry lots of diseases, so these should be kept at bay if at all possible.
A trio of turkeys will be quite happy in a pen around 30ft x15 ft. Turkeys can quite easily fly over fences and hedges, so six feet high chicken wire is more useful than anything lower. The birds could still fly over if they really wanted to but if they are content where they are the six feet wire tends to keep them in. It is not cheap, but will be worth it for your birds. If there is sufficient space, it is as well to have a spare house and pen, so that you can move the birds around and winter them in one place, whilst the other pen is resting. This way the pens will not become too poached and muddy. It also provides an opportunity to lime the earth, which helps to eradicate disease and freshen the land. Once the lime is washed into the ground by rain, it is safe to allow turkeys to return.If you are fortunate enough to have a large expanse of pasture land, then the turkeys would be in their element during the day but be sure to shut them up at night. Turkeys are also great fun just to have walking around a garden or yard area. They will hover around quite contentedly but any particularly precious plants should perhaps be protected. Nesting turkey hens make a bee-line for good examples of Pampas grass!
Turkeys should not need ASBOs So at what age should you buy your turkeys? Between 8 -12 weeks is a good time. The little poults (baby turkeys) have sufficiently grown to be out of the vulnerable period but small enough to bond to the person looking after them. If they are handled and talked to each day from an early age, they will become very tame and placid and be much easier to handle when grown up. It is possible to buy poults as day-olds but they are not as robust as chicks are at this age and I wouldn’t advise it unless you already have experience of keeping turkeys.
Expect to pay anything from $8.00 upwards for an 8-week old poult. Much will depend on the breed you buy and the age, for the price rises with age until adults can cost between $40 – $60. You can of course buy turkeys at livestock markets cheaper, in fact they can even be bought for $35 a trio but this is a gamble and quite often the birds will be crossbred. So if you have decided on the breed you would like, then going to a specialist breeder will be worth it in the long run. When buying any livestock you must always ask lots of questions and this applies to turkeys as well. If you can see the parents of the birds you are buying this will give you a rough idea of whether they will breed true or not.
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