A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[OneMountainAcres]

We heard or first gobble yesterday I was so excited! Thankfully, we saw who did it but it was the one that we've assumed was a Tom since he was about 2 weeks old lol.

 

[duluthralphie]

I know who is a Tom way before the gobble, my little guys are all strutting and have mock battles and snood pulling contests. The smaller they are when the strut, the more I laugh.

 

[feistychick]

We haven't had any strutting, I kept hoping for some sign of hen or tom..... All of a sudden we have gobbling and some lovely tail feather displays. We had been thinking it was a hen up til now, but I think we finally got some clues . It's so nice to finally have an idea what we have, the suspense has been killing me!

 

[duluthralphie]

I have older toms here, so maybe mine display earlier because they are imitating their Dads..

 

[holm25]

I have older toms here, so maybe mine display earlier because they are imitating their Dads..

My little ones didn't start strutting til they could see their "daddy" and strut with him.

 

[feistychick]

Mine must have been having an identity crisis then....lone turkey in a yard of chickens .

 

[duluthralphie]

Mine must have been having an identity crisis then....lone turkey in a yard of chickens .

It could be worse, lone turkey with a gang of Guineas in the yard.

 

[duluthralphie]

Good morning...

It is the day I take my hands into my life!

I have to move my "brooding turkey hen" today. She has been setting on the nest for nearly 3 months. She is the worlds worst incubator. She originally took over eggs another hen vacated. I was in Florida at the time and my DW cannot tell my hens apart. (weird huh?) I removed those eggs after none of them hatched and replaced them. She sat on the new eggs for 30 some days and none hatched.. by this time she was getting skinny and I was worried about her health, but she refused to stop incubating. So I gave her a dozen chicken eggs. They should have hatched Sunday.

I checked on her Sunday, she was okay but PO'd I was looking at her. Yesterday, I lifted her off her nest to get a good look at her. BIG MISTAKE!

She was not happy with this move, after a few minutes of stomping around and letting me know she was upset. she attacked. She puffed up and jumped at me like a wolverine in heat! Hitting me in the chest, twice. Did you know their claws and wings hurt like H-e double hockey sticks! Her eggs were broken and there were maggots crawling through some of them. they had partially developed chicks in them. I noticed she is a tad "slow". She moves all the eggs into a circle around her so she can sit on a nice comfy nest and not those hard lumpy eggs..

Today I am moving her to a barren pen on hard cement until she gives up the incubating idea. If you do not hear from me again, you know she beat me to death.

 

[chickadoodles]

Good morning...

It is the day I take my hands into my life!

I have to move my "brooding turkey hen" today. She has been setting on the nest for nearly 3 months. She is the worlds worst incubator. She originally took over eggs another hen vacated. I was in Florida at the time and my DW cannot tell my hens apart. (weird huh?) I removed those eggs after none of them hatched and replaced them. She sat on the new eggs for 30 some days and none hatched.. by this time she was getting skinny and I was worried about her health, but she refused to stop incubating. So I gave her a dozen chicken eggs. They should have hatched Sunday.

I checked on her Sunday, she was okay but PO'd I was looking at her. Yesterday, I lifted her off her nest to get a good look at her. BIG MISTAKE!

She was not happy with this move, after a few minutes of stomping around and letting me know she was upset. she attacked. She puffed up and jumped at me like a wolverine in heat! Hitting me in the chest, twice. Did you know their claws and wings hurt like H-e double hockey sticks! Her eggs were broken and there were maggots crawling through some of them. they had partially developed chicks in them. I noticed she is a tad "slow". She moves all the eggs into a circle around her so she can sit on a nice comfy nest and not those hard lumpy eggs..

Today I am moving her to a barren pen on hard cement until she gives up the incubating idea. If you do not hear from me again, you know she beat me to death.

Take precautions Ralph!

That is so weird but it is exactly what my hens did the pushed the eggs out from under them and smashed them getting in and out of the nest and no chicks for nearly 3 months here also! I threw both of my girls out of the nest and took all their eggs and screamed and yelled that I had enough of their mess and that was the end of it so far. But they have not started laying again yet either. lol

 

[duluthralphie]

Take precautions Ralph!

That is so weird but it is exactly what my hens did the pushed the eggs out from under them and smashed them getting in and out of the nest and no chicks for nearly 3 months here also! I threw both of my girls out of the nest and took all their eggs and screamed and yelled that I had enough of their mess and that was the end of it so far. But they have not started laying again yet either. lol

That is my worry, if they start laying again, they would not have a full nest until the end of August and I would end up with late September babies again. They do not fare well up here!