If you’re going to try raising Toms, they’re pretty noisy IME. Hens not so much. If you’re going to get any of the broad breasted varieties they’re also not very bright. We usually have at least 2-3 out of around 15-20 depending on the year manage to kill themselves in the dumbest ways possible. For example, it’s raining, so I’m going to sit in a new rain puddle and get hypothermia instead of going inside with the rest of the flock! 😩 We don’t free range them with the chickens anymore, but some of them are truly determined to get a Darwin award.
heyitscory
Yes they’re loud, but they all talk at once, so they’re louder the more there are.
I find them less annoying than barking dogs… or barking children for that matter.
Uh, better than peacocks and worse than ducks?
More irritating than hens by a little; less irritating than roosters by a lot.
Much of California has roving suburban turkeys, so it’s not like they’re the worst neighbors.
Bolfreak
What other birds do you have? At least two of each species is recommended and if you have chickens, I wouldn’t suggest a tom, also because your neighbors might get tired quick of the gobbling. The hens can also be pretty loud and fly well, usually onto cars, roofs and over fences. You might could look into smaller turkeys like Beltsvilles or Midget Whites. I’m a fowl enabler, but you might not have a great setup for turks.
NerpyDerps
They make constant noise. Constant. If they’re not gobbling, they’re chirping. Chickens are much quieter than turkeys in my experience. I live in the country so not a big deal for me.
Our coop and run are equadistant from our only neighbor’s house and we can hear them from ours so I know the neighbor can hear them, too.
They’re very social birds and will do anything in their power to get close to humans just for company, take that as you will. I love it, but in the city that may be a problem, if the noise already isn’t.
Also, they eat a lot. The hens don’t lay eggs like chickens do, either. I keep mine as pets, I love turkeys, they are so sweet and I absolutely love them, they’re simply like feathered dogs lol
SuMoto
I’ve had two batches of turkeys. One batch of 7 (4 males and three females) and another year batch of 5 (2 survived to maturity).
The batch of 7 gobbled constantly. The guys that built my shop learned to hate them and eventually enjoyed laughing at them. They gobbled at every hammer strike. Haha.
The batch of 5. Two didn’t survive the first week in the brooder. One died of hypothermia in the outdoor pen. And the last male died fighting the female (two days to butcher day). That female was mean and I have little doubt she could have killed the male.
I’d say “it depends on your neighbours”, turkeys can be butchered after 4 months if necessary.
Whatever you do, don’t get Guinea fowl. They are noisy buggers.
bluecollarpaid
Tom’s will gobble at every bang, boom, pop, pow, siren, alarm, horn, whistle and so on. Hens are much quieter but do make their own unique sounds. I would say they are similar to chicken hens on the noise meter. We love are turkeys but our neighbors are 100 ish yards away.
Paghk_the_Stupendous
Note: you don’t want to keep turkeys mixed with other birds. It’s fine to raise them together for meat (so long as you mature them past the ugly feather stage first), but long term you’re going to want to keep turkeys away from areas where other birds have been pooping, especially in the spring.
This is because other birds (especially chickens) are carriers for a protozoa that kills turkeys. They will slowly lose energy, becoming lethargic, sitting on the ground and looking sad. It is slow and it is fatal. There is no cure.
Okay. Most people say they are loud. The ones I had (royal plams) were not. However trying to keep them in my yard was the real problem. They were locked in with my chickens at night (10×12 shed). The hens would never stay in my 1 acre fenced in yard with guardian dog. Couldn’t keep them off the cars or the roof of the house. Lost a few of them to a fox during mating season of wild turkeys
BicycleOdd7489
I’ve been raising turkeys for more years than I care to count. My Tom is very mellow and still gobbles many times throughout a day -just as the rooster crows. If a crowing rooster gets on your nerves, you don’t wanna listen to a Tom turkey. My oldest hen barks at me like a small breed dog and for about the same reasons a small dog would bark at you- because she’s happy to see me, because she’s hungry, because I was trying to talk on the phone to someone, because someone pulled in the driveway. These two have been around for years. Their offspring and the db we raise each year aren’t quite as bad but I also don’t listen to them year round. We never keep more than one Tom too long.
Ingawolfie
Keep turkeys confined. Free ranging turkeys sneaking up on and attacking people may be funny on Americas Funniest Videos but it won’t be so funny when it happens to your family.
10 Comments
If you’re going to try raising Toms, they’re pretty noisy IME. Hens not so much. If you’re going to get any of the broad breasted varieties they’re also not very bright. We usually have at least 2-3 out of around 15-20 depending on the year manage to kill themselves in the dumbest ways possible. For example, it’s raining, so I’m going to sit in a new rain puddle and get hypothermia instead of going inside with the rest of the flock! 😩 We don’t free range them with the chickens anymore, but some of them are truly determined to get a Darwin award.
Yes they’re loud, but they all talk at once, so they’re louder the more there are.
I find them less annoying than barking dogs… or barking children for that matter.
Uh, better than peacocks and worse than ducks?
More irritating than hens by a little; less irritating than roosters by a lot.
Much of California has roving suburban turkeys, so it’s not like they’re the worst neighbors.
What other birds do you have? At least two of each species is recommended and if you have chickens, I wouldn’t suggest a tom, also because your neighbors might get tired quick of the gobbling. The hens can also be pretty loud and fly well, usually onto cars, roofs and over fences. You might could look into smaller turkeys like Beltsvilles or Midget Whites. I’m a fowl enabler, but you might not have a great setup for turks.
They make constant noise. Constant. If they’re not gobbling, they’re chirping. Chickens are much quieter than turkeys in my experience. I live in the country so not a big deal for me.
Our coop and run are equadistant from our only neighbor’s house and we can hear them from ours so I know the neighbor can hear them, too.
They’re very social birds and will do anything in their power to get close to humans just for company, take that as you will. I love it, but in the city that may be a problem, if the noise already isn’t.
Also, they eat a lot. The hens don’t lay eggs like chickens do, either. I keep mine as pets, I love turkeys, they are so sweet and I absolutely love them, they’re simply like feathered dogs lol
I’ve had two batches of turkeys. One batch of 7 (4 males and three females) and another year batch of 5 (2 survived to maturity).
The batch of 7 gobbled constantly. The guys that built my shop learned to hate them and eventually enjoyed laughing at them. They gobbled at every hammer strike. Haha.
The batch of 5. Two didn’t survive the first week in the brooder. One died of hypothermia in the outdoor pen. And the last male died fighting the female (two days to butcher day). That female was mean and I have little doubt she could have killed the male.
I’d say “it depends on your neighbours”, turkeys can be butchered after 4 months if necessary.
Whatever you do, don’t get Guinea fowl. They are noisy buggers.
Tom’s will gobble at every bang, boom, pop, pow, siren, alarm, horn, whistle and so on. Hens are much quieter but do make their own unique sounds. I would say they are similar to chicken hens on the noise meter. We love are turkeys but our neighbors are 100 ish yards away.
Note: you don’t want to keep turkeys mixed with other birds. It’s fine to raise them together for meat (so long as you mature them past the ugly feather stage first), but long term you’re going to want to keep turkeys away from areas where other birds have been pooping, especially in the spring.
This is because other birds (especially chickens) are carriers for a protozoa that kills turkeys. They will slowly lose energy, becoming lethargic, sitting on the ground and looking sad. It is slow and it is fatal. There is no cure.
[https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/resources-you/blackhead-disease-poultry](https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/resources-you/blackhead-disease-poultry)
RIP Tommy & Lady, you were good birds.
Okay. Most people say they are loud. The ones I had (royal plams) were not. However trying to keep them in my yard was the real problem. They were locked in with my chickens at night (10×12 shed). The hens would never stay in my 1 acre fenced in yard with guardian dog. Couldn’t keep them off the cars or the roof of the house. Lost a few of them to a fox during mating season of wild turkeys
I’ve been raising turkeys for more years than I care to count. My Tom is very mellow and still gobbles many times throughout a day -just as the rooster crows. If a crowing rooster gets on your nerves, you don’t wanna listen to a Tom turkey. My oldest hen barks at me like a small breed dog and for about the same reasons a small dog would bark at you- because she’s happy to see me, because she’s hungry, because I was trying to talk on the phone to someone, because someone pulled in the driveway. These two have been around for years. Their offspring and the db we raise each year aren’t quite as bad but I also don’t listen to them year round. We never keep more than one Tom too long.
Keep turkeys confined. Free ranging turkeys sneaking up on and attacking people may be funny on Americas Funniest Videos but it won’t be so funny when it happens to your family.