high hopes gardens » Animals – Turkeys

August 8, 2012 – Turkeys Arrive after Long Flight?

highhopesgardens — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:11:58 +0000

Ten turkeys came today – hopefully to be ready just in time for Thanksgiving.

Happy in their new warm home.

Although we ordered them from a hatchery in Iowa, it appears they left on a jet plane at some time in their short lives!

November 24, 2010 – On the Dreadful Side of Miserable

highhopesgardens — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:25:23 +0000

31 degrees. 32 degrees. 33 degrees. Rain. Sleet. Ice Pellets. Thunder. 30 mph wind. Repeat. Today was an absolutely miserable day to butcher turkeys.

Ice covered everything – from the propane tank.

To the hog barn that caught the overspray from the plucker. Working with water on such a day leads to very difficult conditions. A couple of changes of clothes down to the undies. 13 turkeys and 8 chickens later, the job was done.

one year ago…”Lemons at High Hopes”

October 8, 2010 – Turkey Update

highhopesgardens — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:32:22 +0000

After the mysterious turkey poult deaths we reordered 10. They’ve now been released from the confines of their turkey tractor and are free range in the pasture. They seem to be enjoying their new digs.

They’ve still got about 6 weeks to go.

one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #180″

July 20, 2010 – Turkeys Arrive!

highhopesgardens — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:06:11 +0000

The farm is quite a circle of life and death. Tank, our favorite ewe passes last week and 20 baby turkeys (poults) arrive this week.

The good news is it’s so blimey hot that brooding is fairly simple this time of year. It’s hard to believe that by Thanksgiving these will be 16-22 lbs dressed out!

one year ago…”Fine Apple Crop – So Far”

September 26, 2009 – Foraging Turkeys

highhopesgardens — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:37:59 +0000

It’s about time for a turkey update. After the skunk in the brooder house, we were left with 12 turkeys. One them had a badly damaged leg from the skunk and wasn’t moving around too well, so now that they are about big chicken size, we threw it in with the chicken butchering.

The rest of them are happily about, foraging and being turkeys, starting to gobble and puff up at any hint of danger. Back from my days at the county conservation board, I learned that turkeys don’t like owls, so if you make an owl hoot, the turkeys send out an alarm that spreads through the flock.

one year ago…”Stainless Steel Milk Cans”

July 21, 2009 – Turkeys Arrive

highhopesgardens — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:41:20 +0000

Today the turkeys arrived, just in time to mature by Thanksgiving.

Here’s a two-day old turkey poult (baby turkey). They’ll be inside and under a heat lamp until they are strong/big enough to survive outside.

A group of poults gets used to their new home. We’re thinking of butchering our own poultry this year, after we try some chickens we’ll know if we want to attempt the turkeys!

one year ago…”Red Green Alive and Well at High Hopes”

November 25, 2008 – Waiting for Turkeys

highhopesgardens — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:47:47 +0000

I was up at 5 am to bring the turkeys to Milo, about 30 miles south of Des Moines. It’s first-come first serve and my turkeys got in about 11:00. Then it was about a three hour wait until they chilled in ice water so they could be transported. After dropping some off in Ames, it was home about 6:30. In the three hour wait, I visited a park close by the locker, Lake Ahquabi State Park.

There was a unique structure out at the end of a dock.

Inside the structure was an opening that went to the lake. It was an indoor fishing shack. Could be handy on a wet or hot day!

one year ago…”Last Lambs of the Season”.

November 24, 2008 – Loading Turkeys

highhopesgardens — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:41:43 +0000

Thanks to Martin, the turkeys look good and are ready to go. The second day we had the turkeys, Martin sheepishly asked us if he could take care of the turkeys. We anointed him primary turkey feeder and waterer. About a week or so into the turkey care, we went to bed one night, but Martin had snuck a note on our pillow thanking us for letting him take care of the turkeys. Evidently, it was important for him to have a significant chore, and so he did.

The turkeys will be fresh for Thanksgiving, heading to the locker tomorrow.

one year ago…”Change of Season”.

October 13, 2008 – Pastured Turkeys

highhopesgardens — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:15:10 +0000

Our pastured turkeys are now out living the good turkey life. These are the regular old commercial turkeys but we’ve trained them some new tricks.

We move this old hay wagon around the pasture with their feeder connected to it. If it’s not raining they roost on top of the wagon at night. We’ve got some electric netting around their area to keep predators out. They get water in a different place from a 55 gallon bucket that fills from the gutters off an old outbuilding. We leave the door open in the brooding shed and they can seek shelter in there if the weather turns nasty (and they have).

one year ago…”TeotihuacÃ¡n Ruins”.

August 9, 2008 – Poults Arrive

highhopesgardens — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:28:25 +0000

Our poults (baby turkeys) arrived this week.

Here they are in the brooding area. (Knock on wood) they’ve all survived the transport and first few days. Martin has stepped up and has taken primary chore responsibility for the turkeys, so is the first one to feed and water them every day. We have 16 this year. Last year many died in transport, so this year is already better.

one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #83″