Millions of Americans own poultry to test their skills as a hobby farmer or to own as a backyard pet. Chickens and turkeys are the two most commonly owned creatures and it’s easy to understand why.
Why Raise Chickens?
One of the obvious reasons people begin chicken flocks is to produce their own eggs. By doing this, you can avoid supporting industrial farming. These chickens are often kept in small, unsanitary and inhumane housing where they do not get the socialization or exercise they need. American Pastured Poultry Producers Association also says that pasture-raised chicken eggs have higher Omega 3s, a lower Omega 6:3 ratio, increased vitamin D, and more antioxidants than store bought eggs, making them more nutritious. They even have only one-third of the cholesterol of factory eggs.
Chickens are also great compostors! They are natural grazers and have a vast diet. They have a natural urge to foyage and turn over soil, seen by them pecking at the ground. This is why they’re masters at composting. They are omnivores, so they will eat basically all of your kitchen scraps, including meat. It is still important to feed a proper diet to ensure they receive all the nutrition they need, but your scraps can be naturally discarded as a bonus treat to them! Even better, you can add the chickens’ waste to your compost and use it in your garden as fertilizer.
Why Raise Turkeys?
Turkeys, although a less common choice than chickens, still have their benefits. For one, they are cleaner than chickens. They do not scratch around like chickens do and instead, keep a much tidier coop. This is a big benefit that makes them lower maintenance as you don’t have to clean up after them as much.
Turkeys are also amazingly fun to sit back and watch. Their personalities shine through. They are friendly, curious and social creatures. They’re more likely to be interested in what you’re doing than chickens are. They are also very gentle, which is a great quality in a backyard pet if you have children.
Turkeys do lay less eggs than chickens, but their eggs tend to be much more flavorful and usually larger.
Since it’s so much fun to have both, many wonder if it’s possible for the two birds to live among each other in peace. In short, yes it is, with proper precautions and knowledge of a few factors.
Blackhead Disease
The number one thing you need to know about keeping chickens and turkeys together is blackhead, scientifically known as histomoniasis meleagridis, a disease which affects both species. The actual process of how blackhead forms and spreads is quite complex and requires very specific criteria. In simple terms, it is often carried by an actual earthworm, that is then eaten by a chicken or a turkey. Most commonly, healthy birds become infected by eating food or bird droppings that are contaminated with the organism. Chickens are a very common carrier of the infection.
Blackhead disease is caused by Histomonas Meleagridis, which is a protozoan that resides in a parasitic cecal worm egg. This worm is expelled by the infected bird, through its droppings, and then eaten by another bird directly from the feces or through other means, such as an earthworm that has eaten the worm egg. In other words, it is often carried by an actual earthworm, that is then eaten by a chicken or a turkey. It is a vicious cycle that is very difficult to put a stop to once it has started. This protozoan can survive in the ground for approximately three years if the conditions are right.
Blackhead is named for the dark coloring of the face it causes and its common symptoms are listlessness, drooping wings and bright yellow droppings, a tell-tale sign. Internally, the birds’ liver becomes inflamed and becomes covered with ulcers. Young birds are especially susceptible and can die within a few days of symptoms occurring. Sometimes, there are no symptoms at all and the first sign is a dead bird in the flock.
The difficult part with blackhead is that adult chickens can carry the disease and show virtually no symptoms. In fact, they can live normal lives with the disease and be asymptomatic, which presents a serious problem in preventing the disease spread to turleys, for whom it is much more fatal.
In fact, once a turkey flock has been infected, 70 to 100% of the birds may die. Another big problem with blackhead is that it is extremely difficult to eliminate from the flock and the land once contaminated. It can survive in the environment for years.
This all sounds scary, but really, the most likely route of infection is fecal, meaning the turkey will likely get infected if it sits in infected feces. If you keep your birds in tight, unsanitary quarters, you have a recipe for disaster. It is unlikely for turkeys to come down with blackhead if they are free range and have the space and housing they need.
Social Benefits
Another factor to consider is the behavior of the two birds and if they can co-exist. Typically, the two can cohabitate and live amongst each other without major issues.
There are some benefits to housing these two birds together. Newly-hatched turkeys tend to develop slowly. Chicks, on the other hand, learn quickly. If you raise a poult and a chick together, the poult often learn from the chicks to eat and drink more quickly by mirroring the chicks. Broody chickens may also be used to hatch turkey eggs. An average chicken can handle four to six eggs herself. Most hens will even accept some poult eggs with her own that she has hatched herself.
It is important to remember that the two grow at different rates though and while chickens may help turkeys pick up on social cues, they may also accidentally cause harm. Chicks move very fast and tend to have a more dominant personality. Interaction between the two should b e closely monitored to ensure there is no injury caused to young poults.
Once the birds reach adulthood, they often simply leave each other alone. Turkeys tend to wander off and roam away from other birds, while chickens tend to stay huddled together.
Medical Benefits
While blackhead is the biggest risk of keeping turkeys and chickens together, combining the two can help boost immunity to another disease. Chickens raised with turkeys can require a specific form of Marek’s disease, a herpes disease common in chickens and rare in turkeys. This is a respiratory infection and is very contagious, spread by dander. Marek’s disease is extremely deadly with a mortality rate on average of up to 100% on average. Morbidity sits around 50% and infection continues at a high rate for three to four weeks. Signs of Marek’s disease include: paralysis of legs, wings and neck, grey eyes, weight loss, unkempt feathers and vision impairment. Raising turkeys with chickens can expose them to a related, although harmless virus, that keeps Marek’s disease from causing tumors in the chickens. It only helps prevent this one specific presentation (tumors) and is still a debated topic though.
Living Arrangements
You’ll want to make sure your flock has adequate shelter and space to roam and get the exercise they need to be happy and healthy. For chickens, the minimum rule of thumb is about square feet per chicken inside the coop and 10 square feet per chicken outside the run. Turkeys are a larger bird and require a bit more space. For them, you’ll need about the same indoor space, but a bit more outdoor space, approximately 20 feet per turkey.
For outdoor space, you want a predator-proof enclosure. Fences should be at least six feet tall to ensure chickens can’t get out and predators can’t get in. In fact, it’s best to have a roofed structure made of chicken wire. Foxes and coyotes are the main predator for birds in North America and these creatures can dig. Therefore, the wire should be buried in the ground at least 12 inches. It is also wise to put boards or cement around the bottom of the wire to ensure predators can’t dig their way in at all.
Turkeys and chickens are obviously not the same size, and housing must be considered. Your chicken coop may not be big enough for a turkey, which on average weighs approximately 12 pounds, as opposed to a chicken’s average 1.5 pounds. Coops for chickens are also not designed for an extra large bird, so your turkey may have trouble fitting through the door, or climbing the ladders. You will want a bird door close to the ground, as turkeys cannot jump or fly very well.
Both require heat lamps for their young inside their shelters. It’s best to contain their young inside a structure like a basin or kiddie pool to keep them warm with lights and safe. Line these with bedding and provide their food in there to ensure they’re getting all they need. As mentioned, baby poults are not the brightest young and will eat sawdust, so avoid using that as bedding.
All structures should have food and water stations as well. Chicken coops and turkey coops are very similar and are one of the simpler parts of owning both.
Food
Turkey poults and baby chicks require different feed. Poults require more protein in their starter-grower feed than chicks. Baby poults also sometimes need help finding their food by literally picking them up and placing them near it. Again, not the brightest bird, but definitely worth it for their fun personalities.
In all life stages, turkeys require more protein in their grain than chickens. If they’re not being raised for market, you can usually feed them the same layer feed though. At the beginning, it is best to feed them separately and keep an eye to ensure they are growing at the correct rates.
Long Story Short
If you’re looking to create a mixed flock, it is definitely possible. It’s important to keep blackhead in mind and try to minimize the possibility of that by separating chicks and poults at birth since it mainly affects young birds. Once you are sure you have no risk of blackhead, it’s a matter of having adequate space, housing and feed. After that, it’s slowly introducing the two birds and keeping a close eye on them.
Also, be sure to check your local ordinances about laws on owning chickens and turkeys. Happy farming!