A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[DwayneNLiz]

Hi guys, Phil, out in the Philippines here, new to turkeys. My Royal Palm male is pictured! I have a very pressing question, as a newbie.. Is it best to collect the eggs from the lady, to keep them safe until she is ready to hatch them? I have been told the Tom will potentially break eggs so it is best to store them away from him and her, until such a time as the female is ready to hatch her brood. Is this recommended? Just to be clear, I am not really interested at this time in incubating and hatching the eggs myself. If I am to collect them, what is the best way to store them, and what signs are there that the female is ready to be removed from her mate and reunited with her eggs to start the hatching process?

Hi Phil! and welcome to the thread!!
if she is ready to set she will store her eggs and make a nest and become 'broody' she will give you evil looks, possibly peck at you when you try to take the eggs and not move from her nest -if she is ready to hatch some out

the reason to separate the tom from the hen is that he may still try to mate her while she is setting and therefore accidentally break the eggs

so yes, remove eggs daily, store fat end up until you are ready to consume OR if you want to set them- fat end up in a cool (~50*) area, turning a couple times daily so the yolk doesnt get stuck to the side, and set when ready BUT don't store for more than 10 days, viability drops greatly once day 10 hits

Good Luck!!

 

[R2elk]

Hi guys, Phil, out in the Philippines here, new to turkeys. My Royal Palm male is pictured! I have a very pressing question, as a newbie.. Is it best to collect the eggs from the lady, to keep them safe until she is ready to hatch them? I have been told the Tom will potentially break eggs so it is best to store them away from him and her, until such a time as the female is ready to hatch her brood. Is this recommended? Just to be clear, I am not really interested at this time in incubating and hatching the eggs myself. If I am to collect them, what is the best way to store them, and what signs are there that the female is ready to be removed from her mate and reunited with her eggs to start the hatching process?

Please post a photo of your tom including one from the side. While I do believe he has some shared Royal Palm genetics, I do not think he is pure Royal Palm but it is hard to really tell anything from such a small image.

If I plan on letting the hen go broody and hatch eggs, I let her have the eggs as she lays them. Hens turn the eggs and slightly heat the eggs every time they get on the nest and in most cases do a better job of preserving the eggs for incubation than we do. The increasing numbers of eggs in the nest also tend to increase the odds of her going broody.

I would put a fence around the nest area with an opening that the hen can fit through but is small enough to keep the tom away from the nest. Perhaps even put a "roof" over it to provide shade and protection from the weather.

 

[duluthralphie]

Again, I am forced to agree with R2Elk over Liz.....

There is no reason to touch an egg you are allowing a hen to hatch.

I would consider locking the Tom up away from the hen and eggs. He is no longer needed. The eggs will be fertile as lon gas they have mated for a couple months.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

nobody has to agree with me, i only said store them because he said he wasnt ready yet

i am fine with being wrong too, lol

 

[duluthralphie]

Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

For the record, I am never wrong........However the WWD is wrong a lot.

 

[R2elk]

Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

For the record, I am never wrong........

 

[sfgwife]

Buster brown became aquainted with a “nice” stick today... it was round.... and he went round..... then he decided he understood what bein an ass meant. The.end. Now to see if we shall wash, rinse and repeat.... cause we will be spendin quite a bit of time up there now.... goats have begun to reside in the domicile now.

 

[PhilPalm]

 

[PhilPalm]

There they are, I doubt they are pure breed, if anyone has any ideas about their actual heritage it would be interesting to know. I will put netting around the nesting area to prevent the tom from entering, that is a genius idea, thanks @R2elk. After that you recommend just letting nature take its course? Should I return the eggs I have removed from the nesting area, once it is sealed off from the tom? And should I be lucky enough to have some poults from the nest, do I continue to let the mom take care of them, or do they do better with intervention at that time?

 

[memphis]

Welcome PhilPalm! Handsome turkeys. I would let moma raise her babies.

Boy am I hounded out! There was an entry of over 900 coonhounds at the Classic. Took my pup just for socialization. After living with my Aussies, I swear he breathed a sigh of joy upon seeing those of like kind! He entered the huge/noisey show building like the Duke of Paducka. Tail up & wagging. All hounds arrived via a pickup truck and dog box. Figured he'd be embarrassed arriving in a van...but he soon got over it! I learned a ton talking to judges & breeders. The Coonhound Breed Standard is frustratingly vague. I will say...900 something coon hounds can raise a heck of a racket! I stayed for the benched show, but not the nite hunt. Rained moved into our area last night. Getting 3-4 inches through this evening. Going to be a long night for the hunters!

Sorry...back to turkeys...no eggs from my slackers yet! Last year they started laying in December....