Turkey's and chickens

So I have some turkeys that I have had for about a month now. I just bought some meat chickens and wondering about putting them together in my portable chicken cage or tractor as my hubby calls it! The last time I put turkey's and chickens together they were all babies and I had trouble with the turkey's !! They for some reason had trouble with their legs and then died! I am curious if anyone else had this problem?  

I have always heard that they should not be kept together, because the turkeys carry a disease that doesn't harm them, but can kill the chickens. If I recall correctly, I even read the same warning in a poultry catalog. I don't recall if it was just young birds, or if it was all birds.

I have never raised turkeys, so I can't speak for first hand knowledge, but I hope this helps.

God bless,
Chad

**EDIT**

I did some checking, and I had it backwards, the chickens carry "blackhead disease" which kills the turkeys. This article speaks about wild turkeys, but that same holds for tame ones.
http://www.nwtf.org/conservation/bulletins/bulletin_25.pdf

Funny that I did not remember what the disease was, because it is Histomoniasis. My dad has it in his eyes, from cleaning chicken coops when he was a kid.

Chickens CAN carry blackhead.  If you have ever had it on the place before then you should not co-mingle the birds. 

That said... I often raise butcher turkeys and chickens together.  I think the all in - all out approach I take helps to prevent problems.  ALL of my turkeys are for butcher, so none hang around to carry disease.  I do my meaties in a batch, same way.  Pullets are raised for eggs and then culled their second or third year... again all in all out.  It just is easier to keep disease under control.

Thanks to the both of you! I guess I will make hubby make another chicken tractor;) he will be happy with me lol

I raise my turkeys and my meaties in my Double WIDE coop. 

 
 
I use it with an electric poultry fence usually.  It makes an easy way to pasture them.  It holds about 25 or 30 meaties short term or about 6 or 8 turkeys, which is all I grow in a good year.

I will show you a pic of mine as soon as I can get my hubby to do it! He knows how to and I do not   I will learn though

Ok my turkeys have not been with my chickens at all and I have one turkey that is wobbling when it walks and it flops on its back. If it keeps up I guess I will have to butcher it. How do you know if it is safe to eat and big enough to butcher?

Ok my turkeys have not been with my chickens at all and I have one turkey that is wobbling when it walks and it flops on its back. If it keeps up I guess I will have to butcher it. How do you know if it is safe to eat and big enough to butcher?

Isolate the bird ASAP - just to be safe.   Also clean the coop well. 

Generally speaking I don't eat a bird if it is sick.  I might cook it up for my dogs though.  Technically any size is big enough to eat, you just might not get much meat. 

If you do cull this bird take the time to REALLY look it over and inspect its internal organs.  Take pictures.  You might get a jump on a very contagious disease and be able to keep the rest of your flock safe. 

If you need help diagnosing what you find, just ask and I will do my best to help you.

It seems to be doing better today! We don't have them in a coop we have them in a movable cage outside! They eat fresh grass as I move them around!! It however has been rainy for several days.... but, they have one end that has a roof to keep them dry. It almost looks like the chickens that grow real fast and if they don't get the right stuff they need. Their bodies get to big for their legs. That is what he looks like! His legs looks ok but like I said he does seem to look better today! He isn't stumbling around as much and he is standing and eating at the same time. Which he was not doing yesterday!!!! Still watching over him though....

The turkey(not my hubby lol) is doing a lot better yet today!! I did however, discover that I had two of them fighting today!!! I'm thinking maybe the other turkey injured him!!