How tall do turkeys get?

[winteree]

Well even through i haven't gotten the egg's yet I'm going to be trying to hatch out some heritage Narragansett turkeys and i was in the middle of building them their coop when it hit me. I have no idea how tall to make this thing i was aiming for 30in even. but i have never even been up close to a turkey unless it was at the fair how tall should the coop be?

 

[Lucky7Guns]

We like to shoot for at least five feet tall as it helps when you need to get in to clean or make any other changes. It gets old quickly having to crouch down or crawl while working. Hope this helps, best of luck to you.

 

[R2elk]

Well even through i haven't gotten the egg's yet I'm going to be trying to hatch out some heritage Narragansett turkeys and i was in the middle of building them their coop when it hit me. I have no idea how tall to make this thing i was aiming for 30in even. but i have never even been up close to a turkey unless it was at the fair how tall should the coop be?

As you note, Narragansetts are heritage turkeys and as such can fly well. They also do not like to sleep on the ground preferring to sleep on roosts instead.

My heritage turkeys have free access to a coop that has roosts in it but they prefer to sleep on the outside roosts instead. Even on the coldest nights during the winter (-30°F this past winter) they still spent their nights on the roosts that were outside of the coop. They would spend the majority of the freezing days warming up in the coop but still roosted outside at night.

I personally would not build a coop for heritage turkeys that has less than an 8' ceiling.

 

[winteree]

We like to shoot for at least five feet tall as it helps when you need to get in to clean or make any other changes. It gets old quickly having to crouch down or crawl while working. Hope this helps, best of luck to you.

lol's good thing i didn't cut any wood yet

i going to make it about 6 foot tall that way i've got good head space

 

[winteree]

As you note, Narragansetts are heritage turkeys and as such can fly well. They also do not like to sleep on the ground preferring to sleep on roosts instead.

My heritage turkeys have free access to a coop that has roosts in it but they prefer to sleep on the outside roosts instead. Even on the coldest nights during the winter (-30°F this past winter) they still spent their nights on the roosts that were outside of the coop. They would spend the majority of the freezing days warming up in the coop but still roosted outside at night.

I personally would not build a coop for heritage turkeys that has less than an 8' ceiling.

lol's good thing i didn't cut any wood yet

 

[Lucky7Guns]

You bring up a good point if the roost is built into the coop, I would agree that 8' is a good height. We have our roost on the outside for our heritage breeds so they can have fresh air while roosting. Just a thought, best wishes.

 

[winteree]

You bring up a good point if the roost is built into the coop, I would agree that 8' is a good height. We have our roost on the outside for our heritage breeds so they can have fresh air while roosting. Just a thought, best wishes.

i don't like the idea of having outside roosts we have alot of predators here and that doesn't do well for my nerves i'll make sure to have a good sized coop but i'm most likely not going to let my birds sleep outdoors.

 

[EeyoreD]

As you note, Narragansetts are heritage turkeys and as such can fly well. They also do not like to sleep on the ground preferring to sleep on roosts instead.

This. My Narragansetts actually pretty much eschew the coop and shed entirely and prefer to roost on the (single story) house or on my truck (we won't talk about what my paint job looks like). Of course the adults I got were used to living outside. I'm not going to say it won't happen and I don't know what sort of predators you have, I've never lost an adult Narra to a predator. And I've also seen evidence that they will fight to protect their poults. Obviously coyotes/wolves/large predators will be an issue but for adult birds, because they can fly and have an incredible array of pointy bits for protection, smaller predators are less of an issue.

If you can get them to roost in an enclosure, that's obviously great. But my experience with them is that you can build a palace for them and they'd much rather crap in your gutters.

I've had them for three springs, this spring is the FIRST time I've had one go in the coop and that was because she liked the nesting stalls I had in there. I imagine when the poults are hatched and a bit older she'll be back outside. The other hen has completely ignored the coop and sheds and is nesting.... somewhere.

 

[winteree]

This. My Narragansetts actually pretty much eschew the coop and shed entirely and prefer to roost on the (single story) house or on my truck (we won't talk about what my paint job looks like). Of course the adults I got were used to living outside. I'm not going to say it won't happen and I don't know what sort of predators you have, I've never lost an adult Narra to a predator. And I've also seen evidence that they will fight to protect their poults. Obviously coyotes/wolves/large predators will be an issue but for adult birds, because they can fly and have an incredible array of pointy bits for protection, smaller predators are less of an issue.

If you can get them to roost in an enclosure, that's obviously great. But my experience with them is that you can build a palace for them and they'd much rather crap in your gutters.

I've had them for three springs, this spring is the FIRST time I've had one go in the coop and that was because she liked the nesting stalls I had in there. I imagine when the poults are hatched and a bit older she'll be back outside. The other hen has completely ignored the coop and sheds and is nesting.... somewhere.

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yeah i think i have settled on protected outdoor roosting poles |====| <-like that. like the inside of the coop be competley inclosed for those ones who want to sleep indoors their will be outdoor roosting polls for them to sleep out doors as well

 

[EeyoreD]

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yeah i think i have settled on protected outdoor roosting poles |====| <-like that. like the inside of the coop be competley inclosed for those ones who want to sleep indoors their will be outdoor roosting polls for them to sleep out doors as well

Good plan. Give them a perch 3-4 feet off the ground (if possible) in the coop and give them options outside and let them decide. But note that they actually nest/brood on the ground.

I would bet that they will choose the outside posts but during some weather they may appreciate the inside option. Also, I didn't mention and you may already know - toms cannot fly even remotely as high as the hens (I'm sure I'm going to hell for laughing at my tom trying to get to the roof from the truck cab and faceplanting into the side of the house). But, unless you've clipped him and trimmed his spurs, the tom is going to be completely able (and eager) to defend himself against mid-sized predators (coyotes/wolves/bears are a different story). Especially if he already has some height.

Basically I think you have the right idea.