Teenage turkeys
It has been about five weeks since my turkey impulse purchase and the turkeys are finally starting to look like, well, turkeys. When I first bought them, they looked just like baby chicks. No more. Their bodies and necks are elongating and they definitely have an awkward turkey waddling gate. One of the turkeys, the black one, has more than a waddle. At one point a few weeks after getting them, the black turkey became ill. In fact, I thought it was going to die. The turkey rallied, but has been a little off ever since. It’s almost like it had a turkey stroke, because the movement on one side of its body seems a little out of sync. In spite of its physical challenges, it’s doing OK.
One big difference between baby chicks and baby turkeys is that the turkeys have a definite flying instinct. Even though these little guys are still in the poultry box, they flap their wings and push off for as much flight as they can muster in the box. I’m not sure how we’ll keep them contained once we move them outside into the pasture. We shall see!
Sandy
The 10 Year Challenge 
Sandy, I haven’t been following, but what is the long term plan? Not to be insensitive as a hunter/gatherer, but Thanksgiving or Pets?
Hi Jer!
Well, the original plan was to make them Thanksgiving turkeys, although the kids protested almost immediately. However, they’ve agreed that if the turkeys turn into mean nasty beasts we can have a new conversation about their fate.
Sandy
I hope the dark one goes on to be a healthy adult despite the initial event (whatever it actually was). I am betting the flying instinct will be an issue while they are young and still relatively lightweight but as they mature and get heavy, I would guess that their desire to fly will be outweighed (pardon the pun!) by their body weight.