Breeding Narragansett turkeys!

[natyvidal]

Hi everyone!
I have a pair of Narragansett turkeys that should already be breeding. I think they are but I am not sure of the accommodations I’ve provided for them. I live in Dade city Florida.

We built a 10’ x 20’ cage with perches and reserved one corner for her nest. I let them free range, so last year she decided her best place to lay her eggs was on the neighbor yard in between the saplings and bushes. After a lot of work I convinced her the safest place was in that corner, but by then it was late in the season and her last clutch did not hatch.

I’ve also heard and read that the toms job is only to fertilize her and he should be kept separate from her? They don’t have any othe purpose than pompously show off their feathers and pace around in the same area? How do I do that if I need to close the door to their home to protect them from predators.

Should I let him out every day, or move him to a different place so hen feels it’s safe to lay her eggs?

Once, the Tom has mounted her does he still has to be around for every egg laid or the sperm will fertilize the eggs for the first clutch?
And the hen only need him to mount her for each clutch?

I am including some pictures. Of their home, the corner where she laid eggs last year and perches etc. Their home is inside an enclosed area where we have the chicken coop an enclosed run connected to the coop for the chickens and then the big enclosed area. All my animals also free range whenever possible. I have big oak trees that form an umbrella over the area and they feel pretty safe there.

I will welcome all breeding info and examples of how other members are keeping their turkeys.

If it’s true that the hen only needs to be mounted once per clutch I have another area I can keep him separate from the hen and only reunite them whenever the hen hatches her poults! And I remove the poults to the brooder. Thank you.

PD: Or maybe I should enclose the area in the corner even more so that she feels more isolated and protected from the Tom by only allowing a small entrance to one side for her to enter and exit? I can do that out of concrete blocks. Like two lanes high. Secured with sticks. Their home is big enough that it might work. Last picture shows what I mean.
Thank you again.

 

[R2elk]

Hi everyone!
I have a pair of Narragansett turkeys that should already be breeding. I think they are but I am not sure of the accommodations I’ve provided for them. I live in Dade city Florida.

We built a 10’ x 20’ cage with perches and reserved one corner for her nest. I let them free range, so last year she decided her best place to lay her eggs was on the neighbor yard in between the saplings and bushes. After a lot of work I convinced her the safest place was in that corner, but by then it was late in the season and her last clutch did not hatch.

I’ve also heard and read that the toms job is only to fertilize her and he should be kept separate from her? They don’t have any othe purpose than pompously show off their feathers and pace around in the same area. How do I do that if I need to close the door to their home to protect them from predators.

Should I let him out every day, or move him to a different place so hen feels it’s safe to lay her eggs?

Once, the Tom has mounted her does he still has to be around for every egg laid or the sperm will fertilize the eggs for the first clutch?
And the hen only need him to mount her for each clutch?

I am including some pictures. Of their home, the corner where she laid eggs last year and perches etc. Their home is inside an enclosed area where we have the chicken coop an enclosed run for the chickens and then the bid enclosed area. All my animals also free range whenever possible. I have big oak trees that form an umbrella over the area and they feel pretty safe there.

I will welcome all breeding info and examples of how other members are keeping their turkeys.

If it’s true that the hen only needs to be mounted once per clutch I have another area I can keep him separate from the hen and only reunite them whenever the hen hatches her poults! And I remove the poults to the brooder. Thank you.

PD: Or maybe I should enclose the area in the corner even more so that she feels more isolated and protected from the Tom by only allowing a small entrance to one side for her to enter and exit? I can do that out of concrete blocks. Like two lanes high. Secured with sticks. Their home is big enough that it might work.

The easiest method for you to prevent the tom from having access to the nest site is to fence around it while leaving an entrance that she can pass through and making it small enough that the tom cannot fit through. When she is off of the nest, she can handle the tom. It is when she is sitting on the nest that the tom can become a danger to her.

Once she has been properly fertilized, she should be able to lay fertile eggs for up to 6 weeks. After she has gone broody and hatched her eggs, she will need to be bred again before being able to lay more fertile eggs.

I recommend having more than one hen. I try to keep at least 4 to 5 hens for one tom. It makes life easier for both the tom and the hens. All of the hens don't tend to go broody at the same time which usually leaves a couple to keep the tom entertained.