Chicks & Turkeys (adding to the flock)

[talia rose]

Ok so I am officially a chick-a-holic. While picking up some new chicks to add to our flock, I got carried away. I set out to buy a few buff orphingtons, I also ended up with 2 White Crested Black Polish Bantums (my daughter begged for these due to cuteness) and 2 bronze turkeys (a first for us) ...The little Bantums peck at those turkeys all day long. Today we came home and one of the turkeys was dead. Did the bantums peck it to death? Have any of you seen that happen? right now i have the mean little Bantums in another box with some older chicks to separate them. I think I want to get rid of them....I was told it was ok to keep baby turkeys with chicks until they go outside. Have any of you done that? All advice appreciated....

[crzycakes]

It's not recommended to put them together till they get a bit older. Ours are a couple months now and we still don't have all the turkey chicks in with our chicken chicks.  We have the turkey chicks in a rabbit cage atm.  The bigger ones are in a large dog run that we have our small hens in.  Once they all get bigger, we'll move them in with our layers.  

There will always be a pecking order with poultry though.  You just have to keep a close eye on it and if one is a real bully, he'll need to be by himself till he gets big enough to go in the freezer.

[talia rose]

thanks i had been told the opposite - that they were fine together as babies but had to be separated after 6 weeks....i ended up putting the bullying bantums in with the chicks that were a few weeks older and that calmed them down...