How can I fix my baby turkey's leg?

My baby turkey has a twisted leg. What do I do?

We've had turkeys for 43 years and this has worked for me: Put a piece of tape on the good leg (you may have to experiment to find the right kind of tape), turn the bad leg until it's straight, leaving natural space between them. Attach the tape to the bad leg. Both legs should be facing forward. Keep an eye on it to make sure the turkey can walk or hop to get food and water. Take the tape off in a few days to check the progress. You may need to retape it. From my experience, the turkey should be able to use its leg.

-Dale, aka Turkeyman

 

Here's a way to lift feed bags without hurting your back!

How do I trim my chicken's beak?

A family who raises backyard chickens in the city had a problem: one of their hens was having trouble eating because her beak was overgrown.

The fix is simple once you know how to do it: trim the beak to help her eat.

When I went over to help, I could tell the family spent a lot of time working with their chickens. Ms. Ash was very docile and easy to hold. 

We wrapped her in an old t-shirt to keep her calm and tuck her wings against her body. A towel works well, too.

Then we used a very technical tool: nail clippers.

Sitting at the table, I situated Ash on her back on my lap. Then I could hold her head steady with one hand while clipping her beak with the other. This can also be a two-person job.

Here she is before trimming:

Notice how the top part of her beak hangs over the bottom. I took a little at a time and clipped. Ash helped by twitching--that trimmed it back pretty easily! If she was being aggressive and pecking at her flock mates, I might have trimmed it back further to blunt her beak. That was not necessary here.

Here she is after trimming:

 

The top and bottom of the beak are now the same length. We checked to make sure there were no jagged edges. Special thanks to Brianne for allowing these photos and serving as hand model!

Since Ash was so calm, we looked at her toenails while she was inside. We trimmed them back a little bit, but they weren't in bad shape at all. We just trimmed a little at a time to make sure we didn't get too close to the quick. If you cut the quick, they will start to bleed. 

As a reminder, if you are giving a chicken or turkey a pedicure do not paint their nails. They will pick at it because it's shiny and/or red and nail polish is not an ideal poultry food.

There you have it: a simple spa day for the pullet. She was back in her coop in less than 30 minutes.

--Beth, aka Turkeyman's daughter

Why is my hen bullying the others?

You are always going to have a “boss chicken".

Most times it’s a rooster but it could very well be a hen (guys know how that works)**. If you see some chickens being picked on keep an eye out for which one is doing it. If it’s a rooster you can try to pull his spurs. If that doesn’t work or it’s a hen try clipping its upper beak. You could also isolate it and see if a less aggressive one takes over.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman

**Eyeroll from Dale's daughter editing this entry.

How do I heat my coop?

With cold weather starting in Wisconsin, we are get many questions about heating the chicken coop. 

Chickens can do very well in cold weather. The only problem is with the roosters. Some breeds 
have large combs that can freeze. Most times they come though it fine but there is a small chance they won’t.

Since we mainly raise and hatch purebred chickens we do heat the pens where they are kept. If these eggs get the least bit chilled they may not hatch. For these pens we use oil filled heaters. With these the heating element is in the oil so there is no chance of a fire. 

Never use heat lamps since a chicken can fly into the bulb. If it breaks, the hot glass can set the bedding on fire. 

You must stop drafts but make sure there is fresh air in the coop. With most older coops that is not a problem. We do keep a few chickens just for eating eggs. Unlike the purebred chickens, there’s no heat in these pens. We water them using plastic ice cream buckets and only give them what they will drink right away. Eventually the bucket will be frozen on the top. We then exchange it with a clean bucket and take the frozen one to the house to thaw out. 

Some people clean their pens every week or worse yet every day. When you do this the poor chickens end up with their feet on the cold wood or concrete. Leaving the litter build up is called the deep litter method. Years ago we would clean the chicken pens out once a year (whether they need it or not) just adding straw to keep it clean.

As always, ask questions in the comment section.

Dale, AKA Turkeyman

How do I introduce new chickens into my flock?

 If you are buying chickens and want to keep them with your current flock, it's important to take a few extra steps to make sure the birds don't fight or pick on each other.

•   Make sure they are about the same age. Size is not that important. You can mix standard & bantams if they are about the same age. Just don’t mix three-month-olds with mature birds.

•   The best and easiest way is to put them in a pen that is new to both your current and new chickens. That way it’s not "yours" or "mine". 

•   If you do not have an extra coop space try separating them within pen you have or putting a cage in the pen until they become used to each other.  

• Remember to pull the spurs on the roosters.  Don’t pull spurs until you physically put them together.

•   If you have a large outdoor run you might try putting them together in the run during the day and separating them at night in your coop.

•   They are going to fight some no matter what you do. So keep an eye on them and remember you’re smarter than they are.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, AKA Turkeyman

Step-by-step tutorial: using a broody hen to hatch eggs

We've talked about broody hens here and here. But maybe instead of fixing a broody hen, you'd like to have her set on eggs so you can get some "free" chicks. 

The first thing you want to do is make sure she does want to become a mother. (Check the links above for signs of broodiness.) Next, find a place away from the other chickens for her. If you leave her in the same pen, the other chickens will try to lay in the same nest and may even kill the chicks when they hatch. Only one hen per pen otherwise you may find two hens on one nest and the eggs in the other nest cold. 

Years ago, when we set several hens at once we used bushel baskets with covers. Twice a day, we would take the tops off and let them eat and drink. Then, when they went back to their nests we would put the tops back on and make sure there was one hen per nest. 

To set a broody hen:

• You will need a nest box about the size of the one she is used to. 
• Put some sort of bedding in it, but not so much the eggs could be buried.
• Make sure it's fastened down so it doesn't move when she gets in and out.
• It does seem to help if the place is a little on the dark side.
• Place the eggs in the box and move the hen.
• Always move her in the dark.
• If you find she has rolled an egg out from under her you can toss it. Somehow they know if an egg is going to hatch. 
• By the 23rd day, all the eggs that are going to hatch should.
• Remember, chicks can go up to 72 hours before eating or drinking. 
• You can move the hen and chick to their new pen. 
• Give them water, but nothing so deep the chicks could drown in it.
• For feed, it's best to use a chick starter. The hen will be fine eating it.
• Remember, you will be getting straight run chicks: both pullets and cockerels. 

It's wise to have a plan in place in the rare case that after all of this the broody hen does not want to become a mother.

--Dale, AKA Turkeyman