Help! My Turkey laid eggs!

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ponseigo

ponseigo

Hatching
Mar 26, 2016
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Hello we are new to the whole turkey/chicken thing. We have a narragansett turkey and a royal palm tom. Our female has made a nest on our property and laid about 9-12 eggs. We have a few questions: first how do we know if the eggs are fertile? Should we move them? She has been staying out there at night and I am worried she will be attacked (we have 11 acres) by other wildlife. She does not sit on them all day, it seems she goes back to the nest in the early evening, well before sunset and maybe sometimes during the day since we cannot watch her 24/7. If the eggs are not fertile I don't want to risk her being out there all night. Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Do you have anyplace to lock her up?

If you do I would move the nest and her into it.

If you move the nest it's possible she will find a more secure place to nest.

For fertility without busting an egg or putting in an incubator for about 10 days to check for development. Only way I know of.

If tom and and hen had access to each other they are probably fertile.

During laying season now. My hens are locked up in 10x10 dog pens. I've lost to many to natural nesting and predator attacks.
 
If she's sitting at night and not during the day the eggs are probably no good, you can candle a few, I use a toilet paper tube put over the end of a flashlight, and put the egg on the other end, I go somewhere dark and see what's going on, blood vessels or darkness means development. I personally would discard the eggs and make the hen return to her pen, I'm assuming she has one. Something will eventually find her. Hatching poults naturally with a hen can be challenging or accidental.
 
Do you have a pen where you can keep her? If you do, fix a nest box for her and move the eggs. Show her where the new nest is located and leave her in the pen for a few days. She may take a liking to the new nest and use it. If you let her out in the woods,a predator may take her while she sleeps in her nest.
 

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