An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Raising Backyard Turkeys: Varieties, Feeding, Shelter, Care

by Stacy Benjamin

Overview

From an expert in homesteading, this accessible guide shows you how to nurture happy, healthy turkeys right in your own yard.

Written by a backyard homesteader with a small flock of heritage turkeys, An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Raising Backyard Turkeys focuses on eggs, meat, and personal enjoyment. Poultry expert Stacy Benjamin will show you how to:

-Raise your own poults
-Understand turkey behavior and breeding habits
-Provide proper shelter and nutrition

Includes full-color photographs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635867572
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	01/07/2025
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook

About the Author

Stacy Benjamin is a poultry enthusiast, a gardener, a beekeeper, and an environmentalist who raises chickens and heritage-breed turkeys at 5R Farm in St. Helens, Oregon. Benjamin writes about raising poultry for Backyard Poultry and Countryside magazines and shares her popular turkeys on Instagram under the handle @5rfarmoregon.  

Table of Contents

 
Preface
 
Chapter 1: Why Raise Turkeys?
Definition of a heritage turkey; history of heritage breeds and broad-breasted varieties; why should you raise turkeys; picking the right breed to raise (either heritage or broad-breasted).
  
Chapter 2: What to Expect when Keeping Turkeys
How many eggs do turkeys lay; comparison with chicken eggs; recipes for enjoying turkey eggs; time to maturity for harvest; keeping turkeys for fun. How many eggs do turkeys lay; comparison with chicken eggs; recipes for enjoying turkey eggs; time to maturity for harvest; keeping turkeys for fun. 
  
Chapter 3: Turkey Behavior
Turkeys are not just big chickens; wild instincts; vocalizations and noise; flock dynamics; tom to hen ratio; dominance and tom turkeys.  
 
Chapter 4: Shelter and Space Requirements
Can turkeys live with chickens; coop design basics and do turkeys need a coop; outdoor roosts and runs; how much space do turkeys need; free ranging and predators.
 
Chapter 5: Nutrition and Care
Nutritional requirements for adolescents and adults; foraging; treats; seasonal care considerations in summer and winter. 
  
Chapter 6: Raising Poults from Day 1
Where to purchase poults; setting up the brooder; nutrition; important differences for brooding poults compared to chicken chicks; poult behavior; when and how to transition poults outside. 
  
Chapter 7: Natural Brooding and Raising the Next Generation
Courtship behavior; broody hens; nesting locations and requirements; broody hen and poult safety; is interspecies hatching (turkeys hatching chickens or vice versa) a good idea; introducing young poults to the rest of the flock. 
 
Chapter 8: Healthcare
Heritage turkeys are generally very hardy with minimal health issues; respiratory issues; leg and feet issues; parasites; reproductive issues. 
 
Glossary
 

Editorial Reviews

If you are thinking of acquiring turkeys, first read this book."—Gail Damerow, author of An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Raising Backyard Ducks

“Stacy Benjamin is your mentor for how to raise turkeys in the healthiest, happiest way.”—Marissa Ames, editorial director for Mother Earth News and Backyard Poultry magazines

“Whether you are raising turkeys for your table, collecting delicious eggs, or growing out poults, this will be your favorite guide!”—Janet Garman, farmer, speaker, and author of 50 Do-It-Yourself Projects for Keeping Chickens

From the Publisher