Tricking Mama Turkey

[Prince77]

I have a chocolate hen turkey that has been laying for about a month now and she’s been making a nest with her eggs covering and sitting on them. I intend on getting more poults here in May from the same person I got her. If I sneak the poults in to her nest will she know they aren’t hers? She hasn’t left the farm to mate. But I’m wondering if she would take them under her wing like her own babies. Picture of her now

 

[R2elk]

I have a chocolate hen turkey that has been laying for about a month now and she’s been making a nest with her eggs covering and sitting on them. I intend on getting more poults here in May from the same person I got her. If I sneak the poults in to her nest will she know they aren’t hers? She hasn’t left the farm to mate. But I’m wondering if she would take them under her wing like her own babies. Picture of her now

Turkeys are not chickens. Do not try to sneak poults under a turkey.

If I want a hen to adopt poults, I place the poults in a pen. I let the hen in with the poults and I stay right there observing the hen's behavior.

If the hen coos at the poults and tries to call them to her, I let her have them. The poults may fear her and she may herd them into a corner but she will keep pleading with them.

If the hen starts pecking at them, I remove her from the pen immediately.

If the hen accepts the poults, I leave them in the pen for a couple of weeks before I allow her to take the poults into the general population.

Not all turkey hens are good mothers but some are exceptional mothers.

 

[Molpet]

Some will take them. Most turkeys are better to show them the poults and if they coo at the poults they probably will take them. If they hiss at the poults, not at you for holding the poult, they will probably kill them.
Some wait until the poults are a couple weeks old.
First time turkey hens seem to lose the poults in my poultry yard. I had one that had 2 poults and managed to leave one behind. I found it cold and looked dead. But I have had good luck sticking them in my shirt warming them up.