Is raising turkeys more challenging than raising chickens?
Yes, raising turkeys is more challenging than raising chickens. Poults do not learn to eat as quickly as chicks do. Sometimes I even feel that poults do not learn to use the source of water as readily as do baby chicks. I also believe that turkey poults may pile up onto one another when frightened or cold more frequently than do young chicks. Is it feasible for a homesteader to keep a tom and a couple of hens and expect the hens to hatch poults in the spring? Yes, the midget hen is a good mother and she will do a good job incubating and raising the poults. I would suggest that while she is incubating that you remove the tom so he will not harass her while incubating. Watch the hen and poults carefully when she leaves the nest to make sure the tom does not injure the poults.
