Those Cute Fluffy Turkeys! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Poults

Cheepers are baby quails, keets are baby guineas, and cygnets are baby swans. A male turkey is called a tom or a gobbler, and a female turkey is a hen. The wild turkey is the only poultry native to North America, and modern domesticated turkeys are descended from them. While wild turkeys can fly, domesticated turkeys cannot.

Answer: Tan with brown specks

Turkey hens will lay eggs without a mate, however, the eggs will not be fertile and they will not hatch. Most people say that there is no difference in taste between a turkey egg and a chicken egg, but most turkey eggs are used to produce more birds.

Answer: 28 days

If the eggs are being incubated, it is best to stop turning them on Day 25. When the eggs are no longer turned, a humidity sponge is added; at this time eggs require constant temperature and humidity. Natural incubation tends to produce turkeys that are stronger; however, it is likely that more babies will be lost when the hen steps on them or they get chilled.

Answer: It will be fairly quiet.

If the baby turkey is cold or ill they will cheep. You may think that the only noise an adult turkey will make is the gobble, but turkeys have sounds that are associated with contentment, movement, distress, alarm, and bringing attention to themselves.

Answer: Fryer

From one day of age until five weeks of age, baby turkeys are brooding. During the next stage of life, turkeys grow until they reach their desired market weight. A five to seven month old turkey is called a young roaster, a yearling is a year old, and any turkey fifteen months or older is called mature.

Answer: Pine shavings

Cedar shavings are never used because the oils can irritate their little legs and feet. Newspaper can get wet and slick and cause leg problems. If there are no pine shavings, then rice hulls will work. When the babies are about three weeks old, clean, fresh sand can be added to their box.

Answer: True

Baby turkeys absorb the yoke of the egg when they hatch, so they may live four or five days without food or water. "Starving out" is a common problem with turkeys. They need to be watched continuously after hatching. It is important to watch out for the ones who get pushed away or might be shy about eating.

Answer: True

A recommendation to prevent "starving out" in turkeys is to add shiny colored marbles in their food and water. It brings their attention to the food, because they have terrible eyesight for the first week or so of life. One tip to help with this problem is to hatch some chicken eggs with the turkey eggs.

They will hatch a bit earlier, and will know how to eat by the time the turkey eggs hatch. Then the baby turkeys will follow the chickens around, and learn how to eat and drink from them.

Answer: True

Because birds drink to cool themselves, cold water may kill them if they drink too much and cool off too fast. It is best that the water be lukewarm, and fresh; clean water should be available to baby turkeys at all times. If the babies begin to drink a lot of water, it may be an indication that the temperature in the brood needs to be lowered.

Answer: Litter

There are lots of names for groups of turkeys including rafter, brood, gang, herd, flock, dole, dule, mob, muster, school, flock, and crop. Turkeys are social animals. They enjoy the company of other creatures, including humans, and love having their feathers stroked. They can easily be taught to eat out of one's hand, and will come when they are called.