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

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

How can I make my own hanging chicken feeder?

**This project includes cutting with a saw. Adult supervision strongly recommended.**

While you have time on your hands, you might want to make your own feeder. This is a relatively easy and low-cost project. We made it in about an hour, but that included rounding up supplies. 

Supplies we used include: A five gallon bucket, a power or hand saw, a drill with a quarter-inch bit, ten quarter-inch bolts (about an inch long) with nuts and washers, plumber's strap, clamps or vise grips, ratchet straps, or feel free to improvise with what you have on hand.

Step 1. Find your bucket. We recommend using a five-gallon bucket. We used a smaller bucket for these pictures, but have found that a five-gallon bucket works much easier. You can use one with or without a handle. If it doesn't have a handle, just drill a hole in each side and use a piece a wire.

Step 2. Cut the bucket. We used a table saw, but if you can clamp it to something you can use a hand saw or saber saw. Cut around the bucket about two inches up from the bottom. After the bottom is off, cut along the side. If you want to use the handle that's there, cut fairly close to the handle. That will make it easier to attach together.

Step 3. Squeeze the bucket together until it's about an inch and a half smaller than the circumference of the bottom. The sides that you cut will overlap. A ratchet strap seems to work really well to hold the bucket in place. Once it's in position, clamp it.

Ratchet strap

Step 4. After it's clamped, drill about three holes down the side and bolt it together. Put the nut on the inside of the bucket so the chickens don't scratch themselves when they eat.

Step 5. Take the plumber's strap and cut three chunks out, each with eight holes. Bend in a L shape so there's one hole on one side and seven on the other. This will allow you to adjust the size of the hole for the feed based on the birds you are feeding.

Step 6. Drill three equally-spaced holes in the body of the bucket. Drill the holes about an inch from the bottom. Put a bolt and washer through the outside of the bucket. Put the plumber's strap onto the bolt with the "L" shape facing in. You'll want the L shape about an inch to an inch and a half below the bottom edge of the body of the bucket. Finger-tighten the nuts in case you need to re-position later.

Step 7. Position the bucket over the bottom so that it's equal all the way around. Mark each hole from the bottom of each piece of the plumber's strap with a marker so you know where to drill the holes.

Step 8. Drill the holes in the bottom of the bucket. Bolt the top to the bottom through the plumber's strap into the bottom. Tighten the bolts. 

You're done! You can hang the feeder with the handle or set it in the pen.

--Dale AKA Turkeyman

What's the deal with Easter Egger chickens?

You've probably heard about Easter Eggers, known for laying colorful eggs. While that's a common nickname, Easter Eggers are actually part of the Araucana breed.

Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Buff, Silver, Wheaten, and White Araucanas are recognized by The American Poultry Association.  Araucanas are believed to have come from South America during the 1920s or 1930s. These Araucanas laid blue eggs.

Araucana hen with tufts.

It's not just the eggs that set Araucanas apart from other chickens: they have no tail or tail bone and they have tufts near their ear lobes. The tufts are actually created by a lethal gene, meaning that some forms of the gene are fatal and results in chicks that die in the shell.

In the 1970s, Araucanas were bred with "normal" chickens, creating the Ameraucana cross-breed. Ameraucanas were admitted into the Standard of Perfection in 1984.

Purebred Ameraucanas have been crossed with other varieties of chickens, creating Easter Eggers, Rainbow Layers, Olive Eggers and other types of bird. Like most crossbred chickens, they are good layers. Due to the crossbreeding, though, not all Easter Egger chickens lay blue or green eggs.

As always, ask further questions in the comments.
--Dale, aka Turkeyman

Why are my baby chicks huddled together?

One of the most common and easily fixed problems with young chicks is the temperature in the brooder. Check out this handy diagram, used with permission from our friends at Purina. 

Always remember, use two regular light bulbs and not heat bulbs. Heat bulbs can be a fire hazard, especially with chickens flying in the pen. For other tips on getting started with baby chicks, check out this post.

--Dale, AKA Turkeyman

Incubating and hatching chicks

So you want to try your hand at hatching your own chicks? 
The very best method is to have a broody hen do the job for you. This can be difficult because “going broody” has been bred out of most  hatchery non-purebred egg-laying breeds. 

The alterative is to get an incubator. The Styrofoam ones work very well and are inexpensive. I use a commercial incubator from 1949 that holds about a thousand eggs. With any incubator you must check the temperature every time you start hatching for the year. For a still-air incubator it should be 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit at the top of the eggs. For an incubator with a fan, it’s 99.5 degrees anywhere in the incubator. Make sure you test your thermometer, too. For reference, ice water is 32 degrees. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s directions for water amounts, so the chicks have enough moisture to help them develop.

Let’s move on the eggs. First, you must have a rooster for every 12 to 15 hens. Try to collect the eggs twice a day, keeping only the clean normal-shaped ones (don’t wash or put in the fridge). Put them in an regular egg carton pointy end down. Place a small piece of 2x4 (or similar) under one end, alternating ends twice a day. Doing this you may keep eggs up to two weeks before setting. If your incubator has a turner, place the eggs point end down. If you don’t have a turner,  put an X with a  pencil on the eggs’ sides and lay them down flat. Turn them halfway twice a day. A turner will do this for you. 

Stop turning the eggs on the 18th day. If you have a turner, take the eggs out of the turner and lay them flat, put the recommended amount of water in and do not open the incubator until all are hatched. Wait a couple days if you have one that isn’t hatching, just in case it’s a late bloomer.  Because of their yolk sack chicks can go 48 to 72 hours without food or water.

When you are ready to take them out of the incubator, it’s time to transfer them to the brooder.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.
-Dale, aka Turkeyman

Why have my hens stopped laying?

It happens to the best of us: you have your chickens, everything is going smoothly and all of a sudden they stop laying eggs. Are they done laying forever? What the heck happened?!  As our friends at Nutrena's Scoop From the Coop blog point out, there could be many factors leading to a drop in egg production. 

Start by troubleshooting your flock's environment, stress levels, and food. Find more details here.

Still can't figure it out? 
As always, ask questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman

Where can I buy and sell my poultry?

Maybe you have a backyard hen that's started crowing. Maybe you want to find a specific breed or just see what's out there. Animal swaps are a good way to buy and sell birds and equipment.

We've posted a detailed list of what to expect at a swap. If you're in Southern Wisconsin or Northern Illinois, a great chance to use this knowledge is coming up Saturday, April 15 at the Walworth County Fairgrounds in Elkhorn, WI. The Walworth County Fur & Feather Swap supports the 4H and FFA exhibitors at the Walworth County Fair. With only $2 admission and selling spaces starting at $5, it's an inexpensive introduction to this style of buying and selling. 

Keep in mind health papers are required.
In order to sell poultry you must be one of the following: NPIP, Wisconsin Tested Flock,Wisconsin Associate Flock, or have current 90 day test papers.  
Details here.

--Dale, AKA Turkeyman

How do I incubate or set eggs?

There comes a time when chicken owners want to incubate eggs from their chickens. Your new incubator should come with detailed instructions. It’s best to closely follow these instructions for the first few hatches. After that you can try new things that you have thought about or heard about. 

The incubator's directions might not tell you how to check your thermometer for accuracy. The best kind of thermometer I've found is a digital meat thermometer. Fill a glass with ice water, let it set until the ice is melting. The thermometer should read 32 degrees Fahrenheit. If it doesn’t, just consider the difference when adjusting your incubator. A still-air incubator should be kept at 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit and a forced-air incubator at 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit.


Turn the eggs at least twice a day. For incubators that require hand-turning, the eggs will be on their side. Mark the side with a pencil so you know how far to turn them. The directions may say that if you have an automatic turner, on the 18th day take the turner out, lay the eggs flat and don’t open the incubator until the 22nd day. The reason is the chicks can get caught in the turner plus you will have to clean the turner. We have a 1940s Humidaire Incubator where the eggs are set upright and the whole incubator rotates. The chicks hatch fine standing up while the incubator turns.

While you are waiting to set your eggs, store them in a carton pointed end down (also how they are placed in the turner). Place a piece of wood under one end (a 2x4) and switch the end twice a day. You can keep fertile eggs in a cooler room for up to two weeks. Do not wash them or put in the fridge. Before setting we spray them with a 50/50 mixture of Original Listerine and water. This works to disinfect them before you put them in a hot, wet environment.

You can help the slow-hatching chicks. We keep a eye dropper filled with mineral oil in the incubator. If they don’t get out right away the membrane on the inside the shell dries on the chick and they can’t move. The oil will loosen the membrane. You might see chicks with  “splay legs”  or bad wings. 

Remember there’s no big hurry to get the chicks out of the incubator. They will be fine without feed or water for up to 72 hours.   

If you don't have an incubator, you can set eggs under a broody hen. Depending on the size of the hen, you can put up to a dozen eggs underneath her. A few days before setting move the hen to a place of her own. Any kind of box or basket works well. Make sure that it won’t tip over when the hen gets off to eat and drink. Mark a couple of eggs for her to start with. Change these every day (they are fine to eat or set) until she is ready. Just put a dozen or so fertile eggs under her. All this is best done when it’s dark. Then just wait 21 days. If you find an egg rolled out of her nest just pitch it. Somehow a hen knows if an egg is bad.

As always, ask questions in the comment section.

--Dale, AKA Turkeyman

Why is my chicken losing its feathers?

Your chicken is molting.

Molt is nature’s why of “rebooting” poultry. 

When the days got shorter and cooler chickens will slow down, stop laying and lose their feathers. They don’t have to be laying when they molt. They will take six weeks or more to grow feathers back and resume egg production. 

Photo via Flickr

Birds can go through either a hard molt or a soft molt. A hard molt means all the feathers are lost almost at once so molting is over relatively quickly. A soft molt means the feathers are lost and regrown gradually. Sometimes you may hardly notice a soft molt, except as a reduction in laying. 

There are actually two juvenile molts before a chicken's first annual molt. The first mini molt begins at 6-8 days old and is complete by approximately 4 weeks when the chick's down is replaced by its first feathers. The second mini molt occurs between 7-12 weeks old and the chicken's first feathers are replaced by its second feathers. It is at this time that a rooster's distinguishing, ornamental feathers will appear 

Waterfowl molt a little differently. The first molt occurs shortly after nesting. Drakes trade their gaudy breeding plumage for drab brown feathers known as "basic" plumage. The second molt occurs from fall to early winter. Only the birds' body feathers are replaced during this molt, in which drakes develop their brightly colored "alternate" or "nuptial" plumage. 

The manner in which waterfowl molt their flight feathers, or primaries, is unique among birds. Most birds undergo a "sequential molt," in which their flight feathers are lost one at a time from the innermost primary feather to the tip of the wing. This allows many birds to retain their flight capabilities while molting. However some waterfowl undergo a "simultaneous wing molt," losing all of their primary feathers at once, which renders them flightless for 20 to 40 days.

Ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman

How do I raise baby turkeys?

Raising turkeys is similar to raising chickens, but there are some differences you should know.

Royal Palm tom

There are two types of turkeys: heritage breeds and broad breasted breeds. The heritage breeds are also called "ornamental" breeds. They include Royal Palm, Bourbon Red, Narragansett, Slate and Black among others.


Broad Breasted White and Broad Breasted Bronze are larger and typically raised for meat. We'll refer to them as whites and bronze.

Here's a handy reference from Oklahoma State's Animal Science Department.

Once you understand the breeds, you can decide which one you'd like to raise.

You raise the heritage breeds the same as you would raise chickens, including the feed. They are usually no more trouble than chickens. The whites and bronze, however, are a different story. You must use a 26% to 28% starter feed. I recommend a medicated feed to prevent coccidiosis. Click here for our entry on Feeding 101. When they are ready for grower, I recommend a 20% grower in pellets if you can get them. This eliminates wasted feed around the feeder. 

All poults (babies) need a starting temperature of 95 degrees F. Be careful not to get over 95 degrees, and you must lower it by five degrees per week.  Stress can be a real problem for the poults. It's caused by overcrowding or being too hot. They must have plenty of room to move around. You can tell they're too hot two ways:
1. At 2-5 days they get weak, have trouble standing and die.  
2. At 10-14 days they start picking at each other. Birds almost always pick at the rear end, and once in a while at the wings.  Left alone, they will pick each other to death in a matter of hours.  If you notice picking, lower the temperature, make it dark in the brooder and put a piece of tape over the picked part. Put white tape on the lighter turkeys and dark tape on the bronze. Masking tape and electrical tape work well. This helps camouflage the wounds.

Some times in your turkey raising you find one of your bigger turkeys died. If you find the bird on its back that's a heart attack. This is not unusual in larger birds. However, if you find them on their breast it is a concern. Try to figure out what may be wrong. Make sure they have clean feed and water at all times.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale AKA Turkeyman

How do I get the most out of a swap?

Swap meets are very popular with poultry breeders. Here are a few tips to help you have the best experience possible. Want to try them out? The Walworth County Fur & Feather Swap is Saturday, April 9 in Elkhorn, WI.

Who holds swaps?
Most swaps are fundraisers for either a poultry club, 4H club or other youth organization.

Do I buy baby chicks at a swap?
Yes, but you must realize they might not be purebred and they might be straight run (mix of male and female birds).

"Take us home with you!"

How do I choose healthy chickens?
-The sellers will have them in boxes, cages or crates. You don't want the box to seem so crowded they can't move. It might be a clue the sellers aren't taking care of them at home.
-The birds should look generally healthy, with no runny nose or runny eyes. They should not seem lethargic. The birds should not sit with feathers fluffed up (not to be confused with broody hen), and should jump if you touch the cage.
-More than 95% of the people selling are honest people, but there's always a small percentage trying to sell a five-year-old hen as a year-old pullet.
-Find someone who is hosting the swap, and ask if they know the seller.

How early should I get there?
The earlier the better, since that's when you'll have the best variety. Most swaps have a food stand so you can have breakfast there.

What do I need if I buy birds?
-If you think you're going to buy something, bring at least a carrier or a few cardboard boxes with covers. If you think you're in the market for baby chicks bring a small box. If you are in the market for the bigger animal, bring a carrier. If you think you are not going to buy anything, bring both. (rimshot)

-In Wisconsin, you should get pullorum and typhoid papers to sell birds at swaps or show the birds at fairs. 

Even if you have backyard chickens, you should have papers showing it's from a Wisconsin Tested Flock, Wisconsin Associate flock, Wisconsin 90 day test papers, NPIP (National Poultry Improvement Program). By state law if you bring birds together you have to have one of the four types of papers. They should be in the name of the seller, so you know who sold the birds.

What should I ask the seller before buying the birds?
Most people will talk to you about the birds if you have questions.
General questions--what do you feed your birds, how long before the birds start to lay. You'll get a different answer from everybody but you'll average it out. General rule: people selling at swaps are really friendly.

If you see something you like but aren't ready to buy it yet, get their name and number so you can call them when you are ready.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, AKA Turkeyman

What is wrong with my turkey's wings?

If you notice the wings of your waterfowl and turkeys are dropping down or sticking out, they might have a condition called split wing or angel wing. It's a condition where the last joint in the wing goes in a different direction.

The most common cause in waterfowl is too high a percentage of protein in the starter feed. A 16% to 18% medicated feed seems to work well. If you are raising them for meat, after their skeleton has stopped growing you may feed a higher protein grower of around 20% to 22%.

In turkeys it just seems to be the nature of the beast. You start seeing it at about ten days in about a quarter of them.

It is rare to see angel wings in chickens.

To fix it hold the wing in one hand, grasp the very last part of the wing and tuck in under the rest of the wing so the feathers are parallel with the wing bone. 

Tape it this position for two days, three at most. 

Remove tape. If it’s still not correct re-tape it. We have found that small strip of duct tape (no pun intended) works best.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman

How do I keep my chickens warm in the winter?

I’ve put off writing this for awhile since the weather here in Southern Wisconsin has been mild.

For the most part chickens tolerate the cold very well. Some breeds do better than others. The comb is the part of the chicken most at risk in the winter.

Chickens with rose combs fare the best. The main problem is males with large combs. They can freeze, turn black and slough off. They usually live although they will go off their feed, will not breed and sometimes die. I have heard that putting Vaseline on large combs help keep them from freezing. I have not tried it, but it used to be popular years ago.

Coops don’t need to be heated. Try to block off any drafts while leaving plenty of ventilation.

If you do feel you have to have heat do not use a heat bulb with adult chickens. They fly around and can hit the bulb causing hot broken glass to hit the bedding. Also be careful of the heaters that have coils that turn red when hot these also can cause a fire.

In the cold weather some people like to feed corn to boost energy. In a limited amount this is fine. The problem comes if you feed too much. Chickens need 15%-16% protein to lay. Corn is around 8% so you can see the more corn you feed the less protein the chickens receive. The chickens will stop laying.   

Water: We use ice cream buckets and try put in just what they will drink. Every few days we bring the buckets in the house to thaw out.

Frozen eggs: Sooner or later you will get eggs that have frozen. If the shell has not cracked it should be fine. However if they are cracked I would toss them. A crack could let bacteria in.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman
photo credit: DSC_0164 via photopin (license)

Egg matters

Trivia about eggs:
When a female baby chick hatches, it already has all the eggs it will ever lay.

When an egg is incubated, the white of the egg becomes the chick. The yolk is the nourishment. During hatching it is absorbed into the chick's body. This enables the chick to go for 72 hours without food or water.

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that puts eggs in the fridge. I think if you buy your eggs at the store they should go in the fridge because those eggs are required to be washed and sanitized. This takes the natural “bloom” off. If you keep your eggs on the counter, do not wash them until you are ready to use them.

Ever wonder how to tell if the eggs are getting old? A very simple old time way is to put them in water. If they lay on the bottom-- still fresh. If they bob up and down– iffy. If they float toss them. The reason this works is eggs lose mass (get lighter) as they age.

Sometimes you see a spot of blood when you crack an egg. A lot of people think this means it’s fertile. All it is a blood vessel that broke while the eggs was developing.  Don’t worry, go ahead and use it. Not any different than blood in a steak. 

A broody hen (she wants to be a mother) somehow knows if an egg she is sitting on is any good. She will roll the bad ones out of her nest.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman.

photo credit: honorarium via photopin (license)

How do I trim a chicken's wings?

We get a lot of question on how to keep chickens from “flying the coop”. My good friend Twain Lockhart sums it up very well in this video. If you decide to trim your chickens' wings, make sure you take extra precautions against predators, as described in this Ask a Poultry Farmer post.

Trouble seeing the video? Click here.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman

Meet the man inside the chicken suit

If you have specific questions that haven't been addressed in this blog, or if you just want to meet Dale for yourself, here's your chance!

Dale will be at the Walworth County Fair giving a talk on backyard chickens on Sunday, September 6 at 10:00am in KiddieLand.

He will cover the basics of raising chickens:

• How to check zoning in your area
• Creating an exit strategy
• How to tell what the chicks will look like when they're adults
• What to feed them
• Building a coop
• How to tell if a chicken is laying
• How to defeat predators
• How to get rid of parasites

As always, you may ask questions in the comment section of this blog.

Hope to see you at the fair!

Radio talk about the backyard flock

I've been interviewed by reporters about chickens and turkeys in the past.  Recently, when a local radio talk show host voiced concerns about a new ordinance proposing backyard chickens in Janesville, Wisconsin, I had to call in. 

The host asks a lot of questions about topics we've covered here on the blog:

Chicken talk

-The importance of an exit strategy
-Preventing predators
-Avian flu in backyard flocks
-Cost of raising chickens for eggs
-Most importantly, the smell




The show's podcast is here. I call in at 40:15 to set the record straight. Hopefully we answered a lot of questions for the audience.

As always, ask further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman


photo credit: Saved Photos-27 via photopin (license)

How are chickens judged at poultry shows?

Crested duck, 2014 Walworth Co. Fair, Elkhorn, WI

The Rock County 4-H Fair holds its poultry judging on Thursday. Exhibitors will showcase their chickens, turkeys and waterfowl in front of a professional judge.

When the average person is at a poultry show and looks at the birds they think, "That's a chicken, a duck or a goose." There's much more to it than that.

Birds are shown as class, breed and variety. A chicken example is American class, Wyandotte breed and Silver Laced variety.

With ducks and geese it's a little different. The classes are Heavy, Medium and Light. Ducks also have a bantam class. A goose example is Heavy class, Toulouse breed and Gray variety. A duck example is Medium class, Crested breed and White variety. (Pictured)

There are hundreds of breeds and varieties of poultry, and so a judge uses a book published by the American Poultry Association called The American Standard of Perfection to determine how the birds measure up. The Standard describes each class, breed and variety. It includes pictures to show how they should look. Each bird is judged based on how close they are to perfect as described by that book. There is also a Bantam Standard of Perfection for bantam, or smaller, birds. 

Basically, it's a beauty pageant for poultry.

Another great resource to learn more about poultry breeds: Oklahoma State University's Animal Science Department.

As always, post further questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman

When's the last time you made a chicken error?

Even the poultry guy can mess up.

A little background: We mainly raise chickens for show and not for eggs to sell. We typically incubate all the eggs from our purebred breeding stock. We then sell purebred chicks to 4-H members and others who enter them in fairs and shows around the region. 

Instead of letting the chickens keep laying past our six month breeding season, I decided to stop them from laying and extend their breeding life from two to four years. When it's not the breeding season they will still lay a few eggs a day. That's just enough for breakfast at our house.

To stop their laying, I started to feed only cracked corn instead of layer feed. That's an old trick. After about a week we started to get thin-shelled eggs. It took a couple days for me to realize that there is no calcium in corn and it was affecting the eggs. I was concerned the lack of calcium in their diet would lead to calcium deficiencies in the hens. Also, they need grit to grind the corn up in their gizzard.

So for the first time in many years we are supplying oyster shells along with the corn to improve digestion and the quality of the eggshells.

As always, post further questions in the comments.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman.

 photo credit: 168a via photopin (license)