Yes, the turkeys have arrived. And with them all of last year's anxieties. I think the hatchery throws those in for free. They are no less cute than last year's, chirping mightily and sprinting around in their new home.
We also ordered 10 Chinese geese and they came in the mail the next day. Our plan it to experiment raising the geese and turkeys together, and using the geese as guard birds. I hear they can be mean.
The goslings are even cuter than the turkeys. We gave them a full day to find their feet before introducing them in with the turkeys.
Once together, I realized just how huge the goslings are relative to the poults. It made me nervous, especially when one gosling went after whichever poult was nearest, grabbing its wing and chasing it around. They eventually settled down and now the goslings are a hot commodity when it comes time to hunker down for the night - they make a nice toasty bed.
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteWill you consider using the geese for weeding? I have raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese together but by the end of the first two weeks the waterfowl were really fowling up the brooder. So that they had to be moved. I have a wire bottom brooder now to keep waterfowl drier. The geese will be ready to go outside sooner as well.
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