Poultry Questions (calling ALL turkeys, and geese people)

[Farmfresh]

Seems to me you might have more problems with the wild birds flying IN to the pen where all of the food is.

Most toms that I have seen are pretty big and don't fly much. Personally I usually eat all of my birds before they are full fledged adults though.

 

[BarredBuff]

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[Farmfresh]

They might be more inclined to roost in the coop, but the genetics would still make them susceptible to blackhead.

I have never had ANY problems with the disease, but I did not have turkeys for years due to the fear of it. I personally feel a free ranged bird has less chance for infection from ANY diseases.

 

[pinkfox]

1: check out porters heritage turkeys, some beautiful verieities there
i know the palms tend to be "flyers", and the bourbon reds are small enough to get some height too but most of the larger heritidge breeds dont typically show much interest in "escape" as long as theyve got good food lol.

ive heard of people keeping turkey and chicken in seperate coops but allowing to freerange togather without a problem, but i do know turkey toms tend to be very amourous and will try to ride anything they deem worthy, killing many a poor hen just form there sheer size alone.
beyond that im still elarning about turkey (i want some sweetgrass from porters )

in terms of geese, i LOVE pilgrims, i was raised around pilgrims, now, i will say no geese that have paired up will be "frinedly" during breedng season, but of all the breeds ive been around pilgrims are the sweetest and while they will protect the nest they are not as "agressive" as many other breeds.

they do breed true (assuming a pure pair) and are auto sexing making resel alot easier too...
around here they are hard to find and so when they are available they are sold out quickly and for a deacent price.

you might also want to look into the americans (buff, lavenders ect) and cotton patch geese, very sweet, good personalitiles, great foragers, good parents...but not as agressive as many of the other breeds...
if your looking for something that will get you a cash return, look into the sebastols too!

however these gentler geese tend not to be the best MEAT birds so if your looking for geese for meat, id look into the Toulouse...

either way for a first time gooser, stay away from the chinese, my experence has been these guys are the most agressive of the geese breeds...
many people have and love their chinese geese, but i dont personally think they're a good choice for first timers.

if i had to choose between geese and turkey, well it would depend on what your lookig for...
meat...turkey 100%
turkeys are funny to watch and can be quite sweet...but geese have these personalities (and minds) that often take them from 'i got geese for meat" to "i love my geese too much to butcher them"
if your looking for little lawnmowers with fun personalities, id go with one of the smaller goose breeds, pilgrim, american, cottonpatch or sebbies.