Question from a Reader-Turkeys

My family is considering getting backyard turkeys this year and Dale’s article on turkeys was largely the inspiration for this. I had a couple questions though that I had hoped he might be able to help me with.

~Tricia

Tricia, I have personal experience with turkeys but I am not an expert. I will answer the following questions but I would certainly defer if you found better information.

We have several backyard chickens as well and we only live on 1 acre. I know that chicken diseases can be very harmful to turkeys – if we keep them housed separately and assure that they don’t roam the same parts of the land, will they be ok to share the yard?

We have never had a problem with putting our chickens and turkeys together. We have actually put the poults in a sectioned off area of the chicken coop. If you house them separately and let them roam in a differ area of the yard, I don’t see a problem. I think if there is any problem, it will manifest itself when the poults are young and you haven’t got much invested in them.

2. I keep reading mixed reviews on the friendliness of turkeys. I have three children, will they be ok to work with the turkeys or are the birds too aggressive for kids?

We get the large white hybrid turkeys. They are very friendly. They often approach us and sometime strut but they have never pecked. Heirloom turkeys which are more natural may be more aggressive. I don’t know. We are going to get heirloom turkeys for the first time this year so I will find out.

3. In your article, you mentioned getting large white birds. My personal preference is not white – but I thought you might have some wisdom on why you suggested white as opposed to any of the darker colors.

We get the large white turkey because they grow the biggest and that is what we have wanted in the past. They are also more economical feed converters, but that doesn’t matter quite so much because when we feed out turkeys out to such heavy weights, they are not economical anyhow. The last ten pound to get them up to 40+ pounds takes a lot of feed.

4. How long did you keep your birds before slaughter to get those astronomical weights that you reported?

I think we feed them about 16 -20 weeks. That is a long time.

5. Our plan is to keep the birds in an 8 x 10 metal shed and let them roam our fenced yard during the days. Firstly, will this shed be suitable for 4 birds and secondly, will they fly away or up into our trees if we let them free roam the yard during the day?

The shed is big enough. White hybrids will not fly. I think heirloom turkeys will. You can always wing them – cut the feathers off the trailing edge of one wing with a pair of scissors. As I mentioned one of my articles, you will cut the feathers off the left wing if you are a republican off the right wing if you are a democrat. We are going with heirloom turkeys this year because I am interested in them, they are more colorful and I have heard that they have more interesting taste. I expect it to be more of a wild or gamey taste. We will deep fat fry them. So of course we don’t expect to raise very big turkeys this year. The only reason to dress out a 40+ pound white hybrid is to impress your company which they will. But they are not economical (Over $2.00 a pound to grow) and they are not particularly young and tender. I fix that by drizzling drippings over the meat after I have carved it. That really fixes dry or tough poultry meat. Beware of foxes and raccoons. I will soon have an article up on Backyard Farming about our turkey disaster. Two years ago a fox got three of our four turkeys. I think you will find turkeys fun and fascinating! If you have any other questions, email me and I will blunder my way through them.

~Dale

Omlets Anyone?

If you are in the market for some backyard chickens, here is an option for a pre-made coup. It is sleek, sophisticated, and has everything you need to start raising a small flock.

Here is what I liked about it. First, like I said, it has it all, a roost, run, and a hen house. It also includes some free extras like a waterer, feeder, shade provider and 10 egg cartons. It has a great modern look and modern colors, there is no way those pesky neighbors would complain about the look of this baby. It seems like it would be easy to clean and collect the eggs. It has a skirt around the bottom to keep predators out.

The Facts:

• You can order the omlet with or without chickens.

• They deliver anywhere in US.

• It houses up to 4 medium sized chickens/6 bantams (bantams are a very small breed chicken)

• $495 without chickens, $20 more get 2 chickens with it, additional chickens $10

My economist husband wouldn't go for it, he had a spread sheet charting how many eggs we needed to produce to pay for our recycled coop!

But for ease, looks, and space, for some this product may be worth the cost.

~marisa

Megan's Container Herb Garden - Sowing the Seeds

I have to be honest - this year I thought we were going to have to forgo the garden altogether because I've got a baby coming in two weeks and then we are moving in mid-June. I have been so bummed because we found ourselves in EXACTLY the same situation last year - this last year has been crazy! But I just couldn't stand it...the buds coming out on the trees, the state of the economy, my nesting instinct - they were all screaming to get my hands in the dirt and sow something! So, I decided I'd try a container garden with the hope that I can take it along to wherever we end up.

This isn't my first time trying a container garden - but hopefully it will be my most successful attempt. I have tried to grow things in pots before but always found that I was over or under watering, burning my plants, or just forgetting about them. Having your plants in the real ground affords a little more complacency than a pot. But I'm determined to make it work this year - with all of you as my witnesses!

Every spring I pour over my seed catalog and dream of what I will plant and even though I knew we weren't going to have a garden - this year was no different. So a few days ago when I decided to try growing my little garden in pots I knew I needed to resist the urge to have an elaborate array of heirlooms and instead keep it simple. We went with an Italian herb garden with Basil, Rosemary, Oregano & Sage. I bought one of those seed starting kits at the store to keep it simple and sowed every single one. I promised my 7 year old he could sell the extra ready to plant herbs in the parking lot of the local grocery store.

So we no have 72 little pellets of peat holding our herb seeds - 12 of each type. Since I decided slightly last minute to do this, I did not put together one of the ingenious seed starting shelves and instead am opting for a southern facing window with a bench placed in front of it.

My kids are ecstatic and I feel much more at peace. And if all goes according to plan, midsummer we should be up to our elbows in homemade tasty pesto! I'll keep you posted!
Megan

Surprise....Carrots!

Michael and I have started preparing our garden plot, in doing so, we turned some of the soil and added some compost. To our surprise we had a small crop of carrots that didn't get harvested last year.

They may be small and stubby, but they are still delicious!

Pruning

It's pruning time, especially here in Utah with the warmer air and as trees, shrubs and flowers are all preparing to bloom. We are learning a lot in my arboriculture class about good pruning techniques and the more I learn and practice the more I realize it's pretty much common sense with a little bit of an eye for art/ balance and some basic technique. I will just share a bit of the things I've learned that you can use in your own yard or helping out a neighbor who needs some help.

1. For everything you prune, the first thing you need to do is to set a "goal" for the tree.

Where do you want it to grow? What do you want it to look like today when you are done? Next year? How much fruit/ cleanup do you want from it? etc.

2. Assess potential problems: Are there power lines above the tree that it could grow into soon? Is the tree touching any power lines currently? (If so get professional help, some trees that hold lots of water are great electrical conductors and could give you a nice shock!) Is it headed towards a fence/ house/ roof/ too close to a sidewalk, etc.? Are there crossing limbs/ branches?

3. These factors will determine what you do with your pruning, so once you have assessed the situation.... go for it! Start making some cuts... but remember some important things..

4. Trees don't heal... they seal. You will often see the results of poor pruning when a tree struggles to seal off an improper cut. The desire is a perfect circle exposure. The more oval shaped the cut, the more surface area, and therefore the more energy required to seal the wound. So when you make your cuts, angle your loppers, saw, etc. so that the blades are perpendicular to the stem or branch. If you see a donut shape overcoming your cut in the next year or two... nicely done! You have made a quality cut.

5. Keep your cuts close to a lateral. There is what is called a bark branch ridge on every new branch. Your cuts need to be just outside of the ridge and as close as possible. A tree is full of starches (energy) to keep the tree growing. When you make a cut, all of the energy that was being sent to the cut branch now can be used elsewhere! If you leave a long stub, the starch will continue to shoot down the stub and it will be wasted. If the cut is close to the lateral branch, it will thrive and receive the extra energy you want it to gain.

6. Step back after 5-10 cuttings. It's really easy to get excited and make lots of cuts, but if you don't step back and see the big picture, you may be stuck with a gaping hole or unbalanced tree. So be patient and take a few steps back and look at the tree from all angles. If you are unsure about a cut, have someone watch the tree and shake what you will be cutting. They can tell you what it will do to the overall appearance of the tree.

7. Keep moving. Don't get stuck in one spot. Keep moving around and taking cuts from all sides of the tree and it will quickly thin out.

8. If you need it to grow a certain direction, cut just above a bud facing the direction you would like it to grow. The burst of energy will force the bud to shoot.

9. If it's too tall, use the rule of 3rds. Although many of us were fans of the flat top back in the 90's, it's not a good look for a tree. Pull back 1/3 of the taller limbs 1/3 of the way. Another 1/3 pull back 2/3 and the last 1/3 you can remove.

10. Every tree is a bit different. You have a different goal for each tree and they will each respond according to your actions. Keep fruit trees, for example, open in the middle, they like to branch out with an open center.

Tree care is a long term, low intensity process. Be patient and be smart about your pruning. Quality pruning will give you a well balanced and quality tree or shrub, and maybe you'll enjoy it now, maybe next year!

Broilers at Two Weeks

Rites of Spring

Several events signal Spring is here. Crocuses, the first flower of Spring dot our landscape. Our Spring crops are planted. Our broilers have arrived. Each year we grow 40-50 broilers for our Sunday dinners. We roast them or rotisserie them, but first we have to raise them. It is exciting to get the call from the Extension office to come and pick them up. We raise them as a 4-H project for our children. We brood them in a box with wood shavings for bedding. We then move them into the chicken coop for a couple of weeks and then out to the pasture pens. We feed them out to heavy weights; 7-10 pound carcass weight. We have a big family to feed. We hope that 45 survive. Broilers are not very hardy. I don’t suggest broilers for small back yard farms. They are not worth the effort to grow just a few. Stick with layers which are easier to keep and a lot more economical. (See my other articles on chickens.)

Crocuses, the first flower of spring.

The spring crops are planted. The compost pile in the middle of the garden is for summer crops.

The broiler chicks are here!