[massa]

this might be a daft question but i have four turkey poults one i hatched at 1 week old and three i bought at 3 weeks old. the one i hatched is really friendly and when i go to change food water etc it comes over to say hello and pecks at my hand and feet he doesnt mind being picked up at all and is not phased by anything, the three i bought are the complete oposite and are scared even when i look into the brooder they try to get away everytime i go to change food etc and fly into the sides and roof of the brooder, when i pick them up they screachand really dont seem to like being handled.

so the question is- is there anything i can do to stop the three i bought being so scared all the time and be more like the one i hatched?

[jaxchucks]

Hi

I hatched 5 Turkey chicks 6 weeks ago, and to start of with they loved been handled and picked up. after about 2 weeks they started going to the far end of the cage and jumping out of the way. we started to take them outside for about 20 mins each day to stretch their wings and we soon realised they were growing so quickly they just wanted more freedom and space. we put them in the garden in a large cage for 2 weeks them took them to our allotment. they are doing really well but we no longer handle them unless they aproach us.
Jackie

[massa]

at what age did yours go outside jaxchucks?

[GrannieAnnie]

Ours don't go outside until they are 5 weeks old.  Turkeys can be susceptible to chills until then, even if the weather is good.

[jaxchucks]

Hi we put them out in the day time from just over four weeks as the smell in the lounge was not at all pleasant LOL! for a few nights we brought them back in but they were just not happy back in the small cage and cried (more like a peeping sound) so we filled the big cage with lots of straw, put a large plastic cat basket in for them to cuddle up if they were cold I must add here we are south facing in a very protected garden. we could see them from the kitchen window so kept checking them and they were a lot happier. They are now seven weeks old and growing rapidly, we have taken them off Turkey crumb and now on Turkey rearer and any bugs ect they find
Jackie