A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[Huntmaster]

My pens are predator proof, but they are always trying to find or create a way in. All my laying hens are always contained in those pens not only to keep those predators OUT but to keep those sneaky hens IN Only had a coon one time get in through top netting in one pen but am always trapping and checking perimeters of pens every so often.

 

[kfelton0002]

The light sweetgrass hen I have that is recovering from her injuries is healing well. However her eggs are very inconsistent in size and some are abnormally small. In the past few weeks she has laid a soft shelled egg, a double yolked egg, a no-yolked egg, some normal turkey sized eggs, and thw last eggs were a couple of chicken sized eggs. Has she possibly been damaged internally, or is the stress of her injuries causing the varying egg sizes? She eats and drinks well. She has the scabbing on her back and she still limps slightly but otherwise she is bright and alert, and appears to be doing well. Thoughts on her?

I don't plan in using her as a breeder, I will likely turn her out to free range permanently when she is fully healed. My Narragansett tom, Ruger, and his hen, Sassy are free ranging so she will join them. He is a perfect gentleman and doesn't overly pursue or pressure the hen to breed. She does her own thing and finds him when she is ready. Lol

 

[Huntmaster]

How long has she been injured? And how long has she been laying?

 

[kfelton0002]

My pens are predator proof, but they are always trying to find or create a way in. All my laying hens are always contained in those pens not only to keep those predators OUT but to keep those sneaky hens IN Only had a coon one time get in through top netting in one pen but am always trapping and checking perimeters of pens every so often.

Varmints are sneaky and I know all too well how persistent coons are. We've had to trap and shoot a good number in the past. The majority of my chickens are free ranged so egg collecting is like an Easter egg hunt. Lol. I'm sure a varmint picks off some here and there when they wander off too far but there are so many that I don't really notice. I rarely lose birds in the pens I keep my breeders. The presence of the dogs is enough to keep most predators away.

 

[kfelton0002]

How long has she been injured? And how long has she been laying?

She was injured I think back in December or early Janurary. She was laying regularly when she was running in the got lot before she was injured. Then stopped for a couple weeks while she was recovering. Then she has laid pretty regularly since. Her eggs were all normal before she was injured and uniform and consistent in size. She has never been under or around supplemental lighting.

 

[Bantambird]

Oh no! I hope you catch the egg thieves!! The only egg thieves I have are my own egg-sucking dogs. They keep predators at bay but they take their tax. They sniff out the eggs, and the hens can't hide them from them. I only have one hen in their lot right now because of the egg suckers. The other day I got to an egg before the dogs did and put it in the feed bucket on top of an old holding pen that's about 4 feet off the ground. The old Pyrenees, Waylon saw where I put it. Unwilling to accept defeat, he climbed up on a cinderblock beside the pen, nosed the feed bucket over, and claimed his ill gotten gain.

Yeah, I can't keep Zeus from the eggs. The only way to protect the eggs is to provide a nesting space that is too narrow for a dog to fit into, and then hope the birds are smart enough to use it. For the chickens that isn't a big deal, but for turkeys? Not so much. I did try elevating some makeshift nesting spaces just out of dog reach, but the turkeys haven't liked them as much as I would like them to. I end up patrolling the hay barn and the yard very often during hatching season to attempt finding the eggs before he does.

 

[kfelton0002]

I'm thinking more around the beginning of January is when she got injured.

 

[Bantambird]

For the chickens, they are encouraged to nest in their chicken house, where there is a chicken door. Zeus can't fit, but I have seen him try. He can fit his head, but not his shoulders, through the coop door. He has figured out how to break into the run , so I need to address that soon. He is a food and egg thief, but he doesn't hurt the birds.

 

[R2elk]

Yeah, I can't keep Zeus from the eggs. The only way to protect the eggs is to provide a nesting space that is too narrow for a dog to fit into, and then hope the birds are smart enough to use it. For the chickens that isn't a big deal, but for turkeys? Not so much. I did try elevating some makeshift nesting spaces just out of dog reach, but the turkeys haven't liked them as much as I would like them to. I end up patrolling the hay barn and the yard very often during hatching season to attempt finding the eggs before he does.

I had an egg sucking dog until the goose cured her. She reached under the goose to grab an egg. Goose got her by the side of her upper lip and twisted it and holding tight. Dog dragged the goose for 30' before the goose let go.

 

[kfelton0002]

Yeah, I can't keep Zeus from the eggs. The only way to protect the eggs is to provide a nesting space that is too narrow for a dog to fit into, and then hope the birds are smart enough to use it. For the chickens that isn't a big deal, but for turkeys? Not so much. I did try elevating some makeshift nesting spaces just out of dog reach, but the turkeys haven't liked them as much as I would like them to. I end up patrolling the hay barn and the yard very often during hatching season to attempt finding the eggs before he does.

Yes it's so aggravating! But Waylon is old and set in his ways, and a stubborn Pyrenees to boot. However, he has taught the pups to eat eggs. So the goat lot where the dogs are will be a bachelor area only for extra toms. I'm not risking turkey eggs. Lol

The Narragansett hen has created herself a nest about 12 feet from the fence offering the dogs just a glimpse of her eggs. Lol. They have been trying to dig out to get them. I should have named the pups Shovel and Digger. Luckily our soil is very rocky and made of a lot of sandstone so they don't get far before I'm patching holes with rocks.