I thought with the new chick season among us, some of you might be considering adding a few turkeys to the backyard flock. Our local feed store usually gets in a variety of fowl in addition to chickens; including ducks, guineas, turkeys and last year they even had quail and geese.
One of the most common questions I get over at the Iron Oak Farm blog is “Can I raise chickens and turkeys together?”
In reality, there is more than one answer to this question and a few factors to consider. The short answer is yes, you can raise turkeys and chickens together. We have for years. We also keep geese, ducks, and guineas with our chickens in the same coop and run. But before you head off to the feed store to buy a variety of poultry, there’s a few more things you should know.
Blackhead
For anyone who’s ever done a Google search of the following phrase “Can I raise chickens and turkeys together?” Has surely encountered the word “blackhead”
Blackhead is a disease that can affect both chickens and turkeys. For chickens they usually show no symptoms and can lead normal, healthy lives while carrying the disease. Blackhead in turkeys, however can be deadly, especially to young poults.
What to do?
Blackhead is a regional disease. It’s not exclusive, but usually if you contact your local county extension or a local poultry vet, they should be able to tell you if blackhead is in your area.
When purchasing fowl, you should have an understanding of where the birds came from. What area of the country. Talk to the breeder or contact the hatchery and discuss your concerns before purchasing.
Brooding
In my opinion, turkeys and chicks should be brooded separately, and for a few different reasons.
1. While you can get a good idea if blackhead is not a problem for you and your flock, you can never be 100%. If there is an issue with blackhead, most young turkeys don’t survive. Adult turkeys have a much better chance of surviving blackhead and some do just fine with an infected flock, but poults should be quarantined.
2. Turkey poults are frail. They’re gentle and slow moving. Chicks can be hyper and dominant, they boss turkey poults around causing injury.
3. Chicks and Poults should be raised on different feeds. Turkey poults require more protein to develop properly. Angel wing and other problems can occur if turkeys aren’t provided enough protein in their diet. 24-30% protein is an appropriate amount. We feed Purina Game Bird Startena. It has a 30% protein content and gives our poults a great head start.
Chicks, on the other hand, should be fed around 18-20% protein.
Adult Birds
If you’re raising your turkeys for meat, then the feed ratios will continue to be a separated issue. You’ll want to keep the turkeys on a high protein feed so they are large enough for table in the Fall.
Laying chickens should be on a layer formula which has less protein and more minerals like calcium to promote laying and healthy egg shells.
Meat chickens should be on a formula somewhere in-between, usually a grower feed. If Cornish cross are fed game feed, they will grow WAY too fast and it will be detrimental to their skeletal structure and internal organs like the lungs and heart.
Keeping a Mixed Flock
The turkeys we keep right now, are our breeding turkeys. They’ve become pets so we simply want to maintain a healthy weight and encourage the hens to lay. Now that they are adults, they enjoy the same layer formula that we feed our chickens and they do fine. Tom, our Black Spanish is 6 years old and is in great health. If we have a particularly cold winter, we sometimes switch to, or mix in a higher protein feed, which seems to keep all our poultry happy and on the plump side.
If you’ve done your research about blackhead, and have raised your chicks and poults to adulthood, then you should be able to keep an integrated flock.
As far as personalities, our turkeys and chickens get along fine. The turkeys keep to themselves, and because they are slower and less frantic, they let the chickens eat first, then move in and take care of their needs.
There’s little problems with nest boxes and territorial issues. Our turkey box is on the floor of our coop, and the chickens prefer to lay in the elevated boxes.
They sort of exist as though the other weren’t there.
(Keep in mind there are always exceptions to the rule, so always monitor new introductions between any birds, until you are comfortable that the relationship is safe.)
We’ve had great success with our mixes flock and with a bit of research, you can decide if turkeys are a good addition to your flock this spring.
Do you keep turkeys and chickens together? Tell us what works or doesn’t work for you by leaving a comment below or visit the Community Chickens Facebook Page.
33 Comments
I am actually experiencing the opposite which is why I googled to see if I could keep the chicks with the turkey chicks. Our little turkeys are running around crazy running over the sleeping chicks and biting their heads. It is the craziest thing. I had to take them out and separate them because they killed 2 of the chicks. They all hatched about the same time in the same incubator♀️
This is exactly what I needed to read right now, thank you! We are about to introduce our turkeys to our chickens!
I am about to take a male and a female turkey as a rescue with 5 chickens whose owner is ill. Do you think they will be okay to join my exsisting 5 girls in my back garden. I think my coop will be okay as it has a upstairs area suitable for the chickens and a section on the ground surrounded on 3 sides which should suit the turkeys, all covered by a roof. This keeps the whole area dry, they have an wire enclosure for night time and the run of the veg garden area during the day. Oh well they are arriving tomorrow so fingers crossed. !!!!
Some new chickens have become sick and I suspect coryza. Unfortunately, I have my beloved pet turkey hen in the coop and want to know if she will need to be culled with the rest of my flock.
I have 3 Goats, bourbon red 6 month old Turkey I think a hen, a 2 year old Narragansett tom Turkey, 2 pekin ducks, a Maren Rooster& Brifelder hen. 3 pot belly pigs in there own large pen.
We also have Cochins roosters and hens and Bantam chickens living together. They all get along except for the past couple days where
the problem I have is my bourbon turkey is attacking my Maren rooster. His comb cut where the turkey pecked him, the turkey stomped on him and he is wobbly off balance, I have him separated now cleaned him up and put salve on his wounds.
The turkey pecks at my new chicks as well.
Does anyone know why my turkey is doing this? How can I stop the behavior?
any help will be great.
Great info, thank you. I’m in Alaska and just wondering on the size of a pop door for the coop. How do you make it so both turkey and chickens can get in and out without a giant pop door?
Hello! I keep ducks, turkeys and chickens all in the same run.. HOWEVER… If you have ducks I do suggest they be seperated, due to mess and nutrition. Vitamin deficiency is high with ducks, so diff nutrition is required. I use all flock for everyone and add or subtract protein for the birds. Oh and I would also suggest 2 of anything. Animals get lonely as well. Farm love!♥️♥️
I found a baby turkey in our barn; no mama, no babies around. We don’t know where this little fella came from, but I stuck it under a broody hen. Is that ok?
Hi good morning with raising mixed birds in my coop can anybody tell me how to control parasites and such and what I should be doing as far as keeping it under control
Diatomaceous earth food-grade will take care of parasites in your Coop.
and if you add some to their food it will take care of internal parasites.
Hello good morning my name is John and I’ve been raising turkeys chickens and guineas even ducks I’m always concerned with parasites and things you really can’t see below the surface so any information you folks could offer me what to look for and what to be careful of I would really appreciate it
I keep chickens pheasants pigeons ducks and now guineas and turkeys all together in one coop. They have never had problems, although the turkey are more dominant, while the pheasants are the most flighty. I mix fancy scratch chicken food and high protein game bird pellets together. They all eat out of the same pan and drink out of the same watering mechanism. No fights have happened, except when two male pigeons got into a mating fight.
Question: can a single poult be safely put into a pen with a group of laying hens (about 9 weeks old)?
We’ve picked up a poult thinking it would be fun to raise one for Thanksgiving. My goodness he’s needy! He does not like being alone. If we hold him, he’s quiet and generally content. The minute we put him back in his brooder, he’s chirping out of control! Even if I had the time/desire to site on him… I’m not really wanting to bond with my dinner. Husband suggests getting a 2nd poult. But the other birds available are all heritage poults… Suggestions?
Do you sell your turkeys? We live in Grantsburg, WI, and I’m researching having a Turkey – should I have at least 2? We already have about 6 laying hens, 3 bantams, 1 bantam rooster, and about 6 guineas. This is our 3rd year ever having birds. Because we don’t have a dog now, it’s even easier fir the hawks and foxes to attack our birds. So frustrating! Anyway, I was just wondering if you sold turkeys and at what age turkey we should get one at? Thank you
Good Evening
I have five small turkey between 3 and 5 months old wat food must I give them to ensure that they grow healthy
Regards
Turkeys need more protein than chickens do, so we recommend that you feed young poults a 28% protein starter feed for the first 6 to 8 weeks. Then you can switch them to an 18% protein feed. There are feeds made just for turkeys, or you can also look at the protein content in wild game bird feed. Thanks for asking!
What is the breed of the brown chicken?
There’s more than one breed of brown chicken pictured in this post. Looks like a Red Sex link or Golden Comet in the photo on the homepage. Both of which are excellent egg-laying birds.
Good afternoon,
I have raised some turkeys for meat, but I’d like to keep a couple as pets and for eggs. How old should they be before putting them in with my year old chickens and is there a way that I should introduce them?
Thanks
First, check with veterinarians in your area to make sure that there aren’t outbreaks of histomoniasis, also called “blackhead”. This is a parasite disease that affects both turkeys and chickens, but turkeys are more vulnerable. If there have been reported cases in your area, consider keeping your turkey separate.
Otherwise, you might create a small fenced off area for the turkey within the chicken area so that they can sniff and get used to each other for several days. They release the turkey and see how they get along.
Message*Hello,
How do I go about introducing my 3 month old turkey hen to my chickens?
Thanks
First, check with veterinarians in your area to make sure that there aren’t outbreaks of histomoniasis, also called “blackhead”. This is a parasite disease that affects both turkeys and chickens, but turkeys are more vulnerable. If there have been reported cases in your area, consider keeping your turkey separate.
Otherwise, you might create a small fenced off area for the turkey within the chicken area so that they can sniff and get used to each other for several days. They release the turkey and see how they get along.
How does everyone setup their mixed flock nesting boxes?
Right now we have our raised chicken coop and an attached run. The turkeys just roost in the bars that are in the run. I want to make sure that the turkey hen has somewhere to lay her eggs. Where should I be putting that box? (The all free range throughout the day)
Thanks!
Just lost my young bronze. Had him with the chickens. Gave him layer mash and I believe it killed him. If I try this again and get turkey/game feed, how to I make sure he’s eating it and not the laying mash ?
You might try keeping the laying mash in an area that your turkey can’t reach, but the chickens can. For instance, you could put the mash in the chicken coop if the door is too small for your turkey. The chickens can get in, but the turkey can’t.
We do think that the mash wouldn’t have hurt your Turkey. Most laying mash mixtures are high in protein, and turkeys need more protein than chickens do anyway. There might have been another cause of your tom’s demise. (Sorry).
Here’s an article that might help you with feeding chickens and turkeys.
https://www.communitychickens.com/feeding-turkeys/
I have my first mixed flock and ended up that way by mistake. I had 20 hens and a buff Orpington rooster a year ago and something got into y coop and pen and killed them all in one night. So this spring I got all new pe, coop and chickens and along with those chickens came two turkeys a hen and a gobbler. I didn’t know that there would even be an issue until someone told me that keeping them together can actually change the eggs, not harm them just not good eggs. Can anyone tell me what that’s all about?
I’ve read up on “blackhead” a far no issues, my chicks and Turks will be six more baths old in October.
Thanks
We have always raised chickens and turkeys together. We have a flock of about 25-30 laying hens, a tom turkey and a hen turkey. They get along great and we enjoy them all.
We kept our turkeys with chickens and they were more or less free-range once they reached a little bit of size. Our guineas and turkeys stayed together and were a flock that roamed much more than the chickens. We even had a turkey hen that preferred the Toulouse geese, as she grew up with them. She pattered around the edge of the pond as her “siblings” were on the water. Our pea hen preferred the wild turkey flock that came on to our place, more than her “husband” the pea cock. Strange bedfellows arise from mixed flocks.
I have raised meat chicks and turkey poults together with no difference in results than when they are separated. I have had hen turkeys protect my laying hens from a Hawk attack. The Hawk was on the top rail of the fence looking at the chickens who were cowering in a corner. The hen turkeys covered the chickens with their wings making it impossible for the Hawk to attack.
I have always raised mixed flocks. I often raise silkie chicks and turkey poults together because silkie chicks are not aggressive and get along well with the poults. I provide different feeds by slightly elevating the feeders for the poults so the silkies can’t reach it, but the taller poults can. During the late fall/winter months I do the opposite of the author, I provide a feed that is higher in carbs than protein because the birds need the energy to keep them warm. In nature, winter provides a lower amount of protein (insects/lizards/mice, green vegetation, mushrooms) and higher amount of carbs (acorns/nuts, seeds, roots, and some fruits).
It was nice to see someone with some sense about keeping mixed flocks. I get tired of hearing the emphatic NO. Good job.
Hi there
I have a lone turkey, ‘she’ is really happy in with her 3 emergency chicken – bantams I think, siblings (we were give these as her turkey sibling didn’t make the hatch and the other 4 eggs were duffs) and a sermea hen
I have 9 layers in a separate pen to the above 5 birds
When the time comes for them to all move in together how might does miss turkeys house need to be? They are 6 weeks old but miss turkey is quickly out growing our brooding house!
We are thinking if making her a sort of small/turky sized shelter with a roosting bar for her and whoever sleep in should that be suitable.
I’m in the south east if UK and it doesn’t often drop below -4 and then its only for a couple if nights. The chickens area gets a lovely winter sun for most of the day.
Hi! Chickens and turkeys do pretty well together. Our overall recommendation is to create a house that will fit Miss Turkey, but also has some spaces where the chickens can go that she can’t fit into. Sometimes turkeys can get a bit aggressive with chickens and they will need to have space where they can get away from her if need be. You might create a roosting coop with a divider. Have an opening in the divider that only the chickens will fit through. You can run the roosting bar through the divider so that everyone can roost, but some chickens may choose to roost away from Miss Turkey. Good luck!! Let us know how things are going.