Hatcheries are not the only source of turkeys. There are breeders all over the U.S. seek one out and buy quality birds to begin with and you'll save yourself a lot of hassle and heartbreak.
Congrats on the egg orders. I don't know if it's true of all turkey eggs but our Narragansett Eggs seem quite hardy. I've had a hen abandon a nest halfway through setting, the eggs ended up ice cold but still had a great hatch rate when I put them in the bator.
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This is what we do on our place too, especially with the geese. We have one female that thinks she owns us and the male sometimes tries something so we just got in the habit of giving hugs every time they start to hiss or come at us. It's actually what the dominant bird will do to the...