We haven’t posted an update about Jenny’s poults in the last couple of weeks, due in large part to a rather hefty construction project going on around here, which I’ll elaborate on early next week. In the meantime though, while we weren’t looking, the poults have been growing like weeds!
Just a few short weeks ago these poults were just tiny chicks!
It’s amazing how much they’ve grown in just 6 short weeks. From tiny little balls of fluff…
They were so tiny when they hatched!
…to miniature fully feathered turkeys, with only scant remains of fluffy down.
"We're big birds now!"
Now in the evenings when I go up to the pen to check that everyone is secure for the night, I find Jenny crouched on the ground, surrounded by all the poults just standing next to her, as they simply don’t fit underneath anymore!
Remember how tiny they were on 4th of July weekend?
Perhaps you remember this video? There’s no way the poults could do that now!
The poults have grown a lot, and now regularly enjoy a small salad as a treat
The poults are even acting more like young turkeys than chicks. They’re not quite as playful as they’ve been in recent weeks, and this morning, while sitting in the pen, not a single poult jumped up onto my boots. This bee however, who seemed to have taken a wrong turn at a nearby patch of dandelions outside Jake’s side of the pen, did alight on my boot for a few seconds, before finding its way back to the flowers.
This is the first honey bee I've seen inside the turkey pen, clearly reminding me I'm overdue publishing an update on our bees!
There was a little excitement this morning when a Red-tailed Hawk flew overhead while I was in the pen. When you’re prey, being hyper-vigilant and aware of your surroundings can be critical to survival. Even at this young age the poults are well aware that predators come from above too.
"Uh oh, don't move, maybe it won't see us"
In the second half of this video you can hear Jenny’s chirp-like alarm call (along with our hysterical hens in the background, who weren’t amused either), and see that the poults were standing tall, on high alert…
As scary as the outside world can be though, after the incursion a couple of weeks ago, the poults have been very secure since we made some modifications to the pen walls, and I’m happy to say that there have been no further incidents. The young bronze poult we mentioned in the last post that sustained an injury that night below his lower beak, responded very well to treatment, and is now completely healed. So much so that I can’t tell which of the bronzes it was now!
Bronze Poults
The poults however are running out of room, and so as of today we are listing Jenny’s poults for sale. They’re now just about the same age as Jake and Jenny were when we first brought them to the farm last year. Clearly old enough, at least with the warm weather, to be separated from Jenny, and move on to their new homes.
"...but won't you miss us?"
Jake will no doubt appreciate a few less poults on the other side of the pen, as recently they’ve taken to grabbing Jake’s snood through the partition fence, and seem to enjoy giving it a good tug! Little hooligans, it’s really not a very nice thing to do, but they do seem to enjoy having fun at Jake’s expense.
To the poults, Jake's snood must look like an irresistible worm!
Poor Jake.
"Who? Us? We didn't do it...honest"
I expect after all this hard work, Jenny will also be grateful for a rest. She’s done an excellent job, and we couldn’t have asked for her to be a more attentive hen. There’s no question we’d have Jenny raise the next clutch, instead of using a brooder box. I honestly believe the poults were better off being raised by her.
Jenny
I wish we could keep them all, every single one. They’ve been wonderful fun to have around the farm these past few weeks, and as difficult as it will be to let them go, it’s necessary for us to reduce the size of this flock at least until we can build the new turkey enclosure.
Jenny's Poults
Hopefully by next spring though we’ll have a little more room for a few more turkeys on the farm!
I love reading these updates on Jenny’s babies! The videos too, it’s so interesting how they stretch their necks out and try to look as tall as possible when danger is near. I’m sure you will miss them, but I bet Jake will be happy to be back in the same pen with Jenny, instead of separated like he has been. I’m so glad that the one that was injured is all better now. Are they old enough to tell their sex yet?
It’s still a little early to be certain as to the sex of the poults. Over the next few weeks the males will start to lose the fluff on the top of their heads, and there should be more size difference between the male and females. At the moment my only hint is the width of the tarsal (leg) bones. The males tend to have stockier legs than the females, but it will be more obvious in a couple more weeks. At the moment I’d just be making an educated guess 😉
Amazing video. You do have quite a poultry production going. I have quite enjoyed reading about the turkeys.
We definitely have more poultry than originally intended! That is mostly down to Jenny though, we never expected this clutch to be so successful 😉
How wonderful…our robin was successful her third time and the 3 little ones left the nest today. It was sad and I will post about it next week…I am so happy for Jenny, Jake and the family!!
Awww, I’m glad your robin was finally successful, and that they all fledged. It might be a little sad that they’ve left, but I can’t help but feel happy when they make it to fledging successfully. There are so many obstacles to overcome just to get that far! 🙂
Good job, Jenny – and Clare! They all look so serious and intelligent – hard to get behind the old “walking vegetables” kind of stereotype of turkeys, now. I like watching the bunnies ‘freeze’ when we walk by a meadow with Duncan in the mornings, where they feed and frolic with the quail – Lalalalala – you can’t see me. And indeed, often we can’t!
I also enjoy the little videos a lot!
Definitely not ‘walking vegetables’ 😛 Before we got Jake and Jenny, I remember reading someone’s article where they stated that turkeys weren’t ‘stupid’ as some people suggest, just ‘different’. It wasn’t clear to me what the author actually meant, as he couldn’t really put his finger on exactly what that difference was. Now we have turkeys, I think I see what he was driving at. In many respects, I’d rather have turkeys than chickens. Chickens, even hens, can be vicious to each other, and roosters can be a pain (sometimes literally) to handle, and are hard on the hens. Turkeys just seem more quiet, more relaxed, and the Toms very sedate compared to the roosters we’ve had here. Even Frodo can be a bit of a handful when the mood strikes, and he’s ‘tame’ by rooster standards. I rather prefer the personalities of the turkeys overall, and they’re actually very friendly , and I think quite beautiful birds in their own unique way. I just wish they didn’t need so much more space, as we don’t have a lot of flat areas here with our terrain, so that constrains how large our enclosures can be. Otherwise we’d have a lot more of them I’m sure! 😀
Oh, Clare, I’m sad… they’re like family to us you know 🙁 , but you must do what you must. I was laughing at your “…but won’t you miss us?”
Precious photos and comments from you! You have wonderful material, write so beautifully, and I see a children’s book you should write.
Just wanted to stop by and see how the construction was going and see I’ll have to wait awhile. I’m off to dry some tomatoes, chop the last of the purple cabbage from the garden… and I have little seedlings already for more brassicas, since that is what has done so well this year.
I’m sad too, I’d love to keep all the poults, but that wouldn’t be fair on them. They’ll soon need much more space than we can give them in the current enclosure, and with our predator issues here, it’s difficult to house them temporarily, safely, while we construct a new pen.
As for the construction, I promise to update on that early next week!
It’s great to have an update. When you didn’t do a Fowl Friday post last week, I worried that some disaster had befallen your little turkey family. Glad to know it was just a major project (which I’ll look forward to hearing about soon.)
It’s been hectic here trying to get our project completed, but as I skipped ‘Fowl Friday’ last week, I knew I had to sit down and post at least a brief update. I was afraid someone might have thought the worst had happened. Not to mention, nobody would recognize them if I skipped two weeks! Fortunately, I’m more tenacious than the predators around here 😉 so we did manage to correct the issue that led to the pen breach, and everyone has been safe since. Just eating us out of house and home!
Clare,
The video was so cute, Jenny looks like a very happy mother. Hope you bees are doing well?
I did a check for mites yesterday with the bottom board, 3-4 mites and one small hive beetle larva, nothing too bad. Did also see our first beetle in the hive yesterday.
We’re doing a mite count today…I’m curious to see where our Varroa infested hive is at the moment. So far we’ve been fortunate on the small hive beetle front, although I have heard of some beekeepers in the area that have sighted a few in their hives. Here it seems to be a bigger problem if the hives are in too much shade, or too close to a creek or river. Hopefully your hive will just be able to deal with it. I think it’s more of a concern for a weak colony, than a strong one. I promise to post a bee update soon though. If the weather warms up enough this weekend, I’d like to peek in our hives.
This series has been so fascinating! Do you realize most of us have never watched a turkey (or chicken) through the phases of their lives (Usually, we only see the end product on the Thanksgiving table, and usually the phases of that end product’s life were less pleasant.)
thanks so much!
You raise an interesting point. Even for me, this is the first time I’ve had a front row seat. I’ve never watched a turkey hen raise her own poults. In commercial industry the eggs are incubated artificially, and the chicks never see their parents, or green grass (which is a large part of why we acquired turkeys in the first place). Unless you own your own turkeys, or have a small farm nearby, watching a hen raise her own chicks really isn’t something you’re likely to witness, except for seeing wild turkeys out on range. It’s unfortunate really, for a number of reasons, as it’s been really fun to watch all this unfold from the first egg, to the last chick hatching, and beyond! 🙂
I’m so glad they made it!! They’re all beautiful. Hooray for happy endings! 🙂
They are quite cute still…wait though, it won’t be long, and the boys at least won’t look quite so adorable 😉
Oh how they have grown. So wonderful to follow their lives and their comixcal ways. Where do they go from here? Do you keep them?
We don’t plan to keep them (possibly one or two at most), as we need to reconstruct the turkey pen this fall. We do hope to add a few extra turkeys next year though, but want to focus on improving the structure first.
They have really grown! Teenagers now, I suppose – that’s why they’re such hooligans! 🙂
You’re right! They’re behaving just like ornery teenagers! 😉
Always makes me sad to see the inevitable growing up and parting of the ways but what fun it has been watching the process. Jenny looks a little worn out and will appreciate some quiet and rest as some of her brood move on. Will you reunite her with Jake then?
Yes, once we free up some space the pen after some of the poults move on, we’ll take down the temporary partition so that Jake and Jenny both have full run. I think Jake misses her 😛
They really have grown quite a bit…it happens so quickly! I never realized how textural the neck was…very interesting!
The neck is quite textural, although even more so on the males. Jenny’s neck isn’t half has lumpy and bumpy as Jake’s!