When I first watched the show Fixer Upper and they showed Chip & Joe’s farm with all the livestock I was mesmerized by these beautiful turkeys. They were in their pastures with her goats, that is when I knew I need some of my own. Like every other decision I make my husband, Trevor thought I was crazy at first for wanting some since the past years I would practice for months with my bow to archery hunt turkey’s in the wild. Long story short, we got them! The turkey’s we have one our homestead are called Royal Palms – they are one of the few turkey’s not primarily selected for meat production, the Royal Palm is best known as an ornamental bird with a unique appearance, largely white with bands of metallic black .

I knew I wanted these to be my lawn ornaments. A little under two years ago when we gained access to our land and we started to put up fencing we ordered chickens & turkey’s online at the same time. When they arrived we treated them both the same as you would to raise chicks. I have had so many questions about how my turkey’s roost in the same coop as the chickens and how do you train them how to not fly away with wild turkey’s.

Tom & Hen getting along together with all the chickens.

Our hen eating the same feed as all the chickens.

To be honest I think ours are just happy. We have had wild turkeys come into our pastures before with all the mating calls. They come and go but our domesticated turkey’s stay. Raising domestic turkeys is similar to raising chickens: they eat basically the same diet. They require the same safety precautions, lay beautiful fresh eggs, and have a yearly molt. Royal Palm turkeys average weight is between 10-15 pounds, making them a medium sized breed that is easier to handle. That is something you need to be prepared for – You will be buying more chicken feed. Also they are bigger birds which means bigger poop than chickens. I have to clean the coop more after with these additions. Right now we have 42 chickens, 1 rooster, 1 Tom (make turkey), 3 female hens. Here are some pictures of Turkey’s on the homestead, they should speak for themselves. If you have been wondering if you should get some the answer is YES

The large eggs they produce are amazing with breakfast fried. Turkey eggs contain most of the same nutrients as chicken eggs but are richer. The average turkey egg is 50 percent larger than a chicken egg. Tom is very funny,. he follows you around like a dog and he will photo-bomb any picture he can. I put up videos to try and share his personality in my Instagram stories. If you have any other questions please comment below or send me an email. I love to hear about what all of you are interested in learning about!

Love,

Christina & Trevor

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