# Chickens and other breeds Help



## MrsRoeder2011 (Sep 25, 2012)

I have 17 chickens and i would like to get something different, i have though of a turkey, but i was told that their eggs wasnt good and that they was messy, but they are beautiful birds but i need to know what breed of birds i can put with my chickens, i dont want to do DUCK at all, i dont have the water source


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## aussiechicks (Sep 25, 2012)

Guinea Fowl, or quails. Quail eggs are yummy plus the boys don't crow so you can have as many as you want. And they start laying eggs from 6-7 weeks.


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## MrsRoeder2011 (Sep 25, 2012)

Oh ok so what is ur opinion o n tuckeys


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## aussiechicks (Sep 25, 2012)

I've not had any experience personally with turkeys, but I've heard that they will get along with chickens.


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## MrsRoeder2011 (Sep 25, 2012)

Oh ok good they are hard to find to buy full grown


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## Marengoite (Jul 11, 2012)

Full grown turkeys this time of year are usually headed to the freezer for the holidays.

We've kept turkeys for three years for 4H and yes, they are messy, but in proportion to their size, they are no messier than chickens. If you want to keep a turkey (as opposed to raising a turkey for the holidays), I would recommend staying away from the common broad breasted varieties like the broad breasted bronze and broad breasted white. These varieties were bred to plump up very fast and they get so fat they can't even breed. I would never want to keep one of these guys to his full adult weight because he probably couldn't walk.

A better turkey for just keeping around the house would be one of the "heritage" varieties that don't get as big, but are far more beautiful than the market varieties and they have a lot more personality. The most common varieties are the Bourbon red, Blue slate, Narraganset, Black Spanish, and for the most stunning look of any turkey - the Royal palm. This is a small variety that is pure eye candy. These are the breeds carried by most hatcheries. See: http://www.meyerhatchery.com/produc...A5WSessionId=ad7b1dd9eea04d21ac510292210a78c7 However, you usually need to order these in lots of 15 or so. Meyer is the only place I know of that ships small orders of as few as 3 birds. You might ask at the feed mill if they know anyone raising heritage turkeys so you can see some for yourself.

An additional caution is that you should check to see if there is an incidence of Blackhead disease in your area. This is a disease that turkeys get from chickens. Many people advise against raising them together because of this risk.


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