Moving Turkey Eggs?

[NickGT]

I have a question, one of my Royal Palm hens have started laying an egg. She layed it in an open area in the coop instead of the nesting box. Every time I go to move it to the box she moves it back to the original spot. What should I do? I’m afraid the egg could get crushed by the other turkeys since it’s in an open area. I would prefer she incubates them instead of me using an incubator.

 

[nchls school]

Try putting a nest box where the egg was laid. Here is what I do with my midget whites. When I find a nest in an unsafe area I take a low plastic tub, put her nest in it, replace the turkey egg with a dummy egg(sometimes I have to use light bulbs as dummy eggs because predators take the good dummy eggs), and leave the nest where it is. I replace the eggs with dummy eggs as they are laid. When the hen goes broody I move her and the nest to a secure area. Then give the eggs back. In your case you could daily slowly move the nest a short ways until the nest is where you want it.

 

[NickGT]

Thanks I will definitely try that.

Try putting a nest box where the egg was laid. Here is what I do with my midget whites. When I find a nest in an unsafe area I take a low plastic tub, put her nest in it, replace the turkey egg with a dummy egg(sometimes I have to use light bulbs as dummy eggs because predators take the good dummy eggs), and leave the nest where it is. I replace the eggs with dummy eggs as they are laid. When the hen goes broody I move her and the nest to a secure area. Then give the eggs back. In your case you could daily slowly move the nest a short ways until the nest is where you want it.

try that

Try putting a nest box where the egg was laid. Here is what I do with my midget whites. When I find a nest in an unsafe area I take a low plastic tub, put her nest in it, replace the turkey egg with a dummy egg(sometimes I have to use light bulbs as dummy eggs because predators take the good dummy eggs), and leave the nest where it is. I replace the eggs with dummy eggs as they are laid. When the hen goes broody I move her and the nest to a secure area. Then give the eggs back. In your case you could daily slowly move the nest a short ways until the nest is where you want it.

fin

 

[R2elk]

I have a question, one of my Royal Palm hens have started laying an egg. She layed it in an open area in the coop instead of the nesting box. Every time I go to move it to the box she moves it back to the original spot. What should I do? I’m afraid the egg could get crushed by the other turkeys since it’s in an open area. I would prefer she incubates them instead of me using an incubator.

Turkeys don't like their nests being messed with. If you keep taking the eggs away, she will stop laying there. Just because you think your nest box is a desirable place for the hen to lay eggs does not mean that she will think that it is a desirable nest site.

The simplest way to make a desirable nest site for a turkey hen is to lean a pallet or wide board against a wall and seed it with a fake egg.

 

[nchls school]

This hen not only laid her eggs in a unsafe place it was also December. I did as I described in my first post. We moved her outside nest to the whirlpool tub in the bathroom. 26 days later every egg hatched.

We did this three times with three different hens; all had very good hatches.

Now, am I sure this would work with Royal Palms----Of course not!

 

[R2elk]

View attachment 1683987

This hen not only laid her eggs in a unsafe place it was also December. I did as I described in my first post. We moved her outside nest to the whirlpool tub in the bathroom. 26 days later every egg hatched.

We did this three times with three different hens; all had very good hatches.

Now, am I sure this would work with Royal Palms----Of course not!

Personally, I will never move a turkey nest into the house. If you had moved that into an enclosed pen, it would also have worked because you didn't give the hen the opportunity to go anywhere else.

I have only moved a turkey nest one time. It worked because the poults were already hatching. She was moved to an enclosed pen with her remaining eggs and the already hatched poults. She was so concerned about the poults that she did not seem to notice that she was being messed with. Of course she abandoned the remaining eggs the next day.

 

[nchls school]

To each his own I guess; what mattered to me was a good hatch. The couple times I left the nest alone something happened that ruined the clutch. After that the hens were moved in the house during winter or a cage outside during above freezing weather. every hen accepted the move including our bronze hen.