First turkey eggs

[micah wotring]

Do you keep your chickens and turkeys together? I would like to keep mine together but when they were all free ranging in the yard one day the Tom started running down my chicken hens. He is much bigger then they are.

Okay, first of all LOOK INTO BLACKHEAD! It's a disease that doesn't affect chickens but can be deadly to turkeys. Chickens are often carriers. I've had no problems with blackhead so I do keep them together but figure out if it is common in your area.
I've found that the turkeys are mean to the chickens only when their space is limited. I now keep one in a coop and the other in a chicken tractor and free range them together with no problems. It's also been my experience that the turkey hens are SUPER mean but that my tom is really easy going. Again, just my experience...

 

[crealbilly]

I've gotten 5 so-far! I'm starting to save for incubation now...

I'm letting my turkey hens do it natural, they are much better at incubation than I am. Plus I rather not try and play mother hen after they hatch

 

[micah wotring]

Quote: Good idea! I'm not because I've had bad luck getting anything to go broody around here. Plus I don't want them to stop laying...
Both ways have plenty of pros and cons

 

[crealbilly]

Okay, first of all LOOK INTO BLACKHEAD! It's a disease that doesn't affect chickens but can be deadly to turkeys. Chickens are often carriers. I've had no problems with blackhead so I do keep them together but figure out if it is common in your area.
I've found that the turkeys are mean to the chickens only when their space is limited. I now keep one in a coop and the other in a chicken tractor and free range them together with no problems. It's also been my experience that the turkey hens are SUPER mean but that my tom is really easy going. Again, just my experience...

Have a look here for what I did to bring a sick Tom back to healthy --->https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1106962/65-day-old-br-sex (start reading about post 27)

 

[micah wotring]

Have a look here for what I did to bring a sick Tom back to healthy --->https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1106962/65-day-old-br-sex (start reading about post 27)

Interesting...I'm glad that worked, I might have to try it if I have issues someday.

 

[crealbilly]

Interesting...I'm glad that worked, I might have to try it if I have issues someday.

I'll start up a monthly schedule of sprinkling over top of their feed again once spring starts and I'll continue until fall.

 

[crealbilly]

Got another sneak peek at the clutches today. I figured out the hens will come off the nest for a few mins when I offer them a little cracked corn - even when it snowed

Estimated hatch time is next weekend March 28.

 

[Gorman Farm]

I am going to incubate once I have enough, I have 6 eggs so far.

 

[micah wotring]

I am going to incubate once I have enough, I have 6 eggs so far.

Me too! I've got 4 so far.

 

[crealbilly]

This morning I found two empty egg shells about 20' from where the hens are sitting. Also one of hens abandoned 6 eggs and moved the rest of the eggs to a new location about two feet away that she is now sitting on. I'm not sure why this occurred but I have to trust my hens know what they are doing.

I can speculate that the two empty egg shells are the result of two chicks that hatched and the 6 abandoned eggs are duds. But this is only a guess on my behalf...

Do I have new chicks? I don't know... I didn't see or hear any but the hens are still sitting tight on their clutches so it's a high probability that I may have missed any new chicks. My experience is turkey chicks don't make much noise, unlike chicken chicks that cheep like crazy.