A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[memphis]

Seven! Wow! How many broods does she hatch a year?

Speaking of blue birds, Daisy spent an hour in a dust bath then hopped in the pool. What a mess! But she's as happy as a turkey can be. Doing the happy chirp!

 

[R2elk]

Seven! Wow! How many broods does she hatch a year?

Speaking of blue birds, Daisy spent an hour in a dust bath then hopped in the pool. What a mess! But she's as happy as a turkey can be. Doing the happy chirp!

I only let her hatch one brood a year. Just like a normal good mother hen she turns into a complete witch toward all of the other poultry when she has little ones. Pecking order flies out the window when a hen has little ones.

I suspect there may actually be 8 since I only saw one unhatched egg and the last time I checked the nest she had a total of 9 eggs.

 

[gevshiba]

Andy actually likes to be held,,,,It is possible he was spoiled as a chick.

Wish I knew which cockerels I'll be keeping. I'd get them harnesses and strap them to me. I could carry them everywhere with breaks for petting and treats.

 

[memphis]

The avian vet called me today about using Daisy as a demo bird. Plans to show vets & vet techs how to properly restrain a bird, including holding the head & getting the beak open. Look down her throat. So they don't shoot meds into her lungs. Check a vent. Check for being egg bound. How to set wings & legs. How to tube. Pretty basic things. Asked if I could give her treats so her crop is full. He said he's got lots of slides but would like folks to get their hands on a bird & feel around. Nothing invasive. All in an attempt to get local vets to see fowl for basic issues. He expects about 10-15 folks. Explained Daisy is pretty laid back. And a lapper. Explained to him how we classify temperament. He thought that was pretty cool. So we are going! I may learn something!

 

[feistychick]

Memphis - it will be really interesting to see what Daisy thinks of all the attention, they should feed her treats in between checking things out . When is this happening?

R2Elk - The babies are adorable and the pictures were awesome! Something very hard to resist about baby birds.... Your hen is an impressive mom.

Ralph - Waiting for a Lizzie update (and hopefully pictures), they pick the darndest places to hide their eggs!

Well Coco is still broody, and Big Bird appears to be thinking about it. No eggs from her for a couple of days and found her stuffed in a chicken nest box a few times yesterday and today. Darn birds. Removed them both and sent them outside to play.... We'll see if it works.

Sad to say, but my excitement for the weekend is that my new mower should be arriving any minute. Is it a sign of old age when that becomes a highlight of the weekend??

 

[Finnie]

Finnie...buy Carl a Butterball. I doubt they will be big enough to eat at Thanksgiving. ..or at least that's what I tell him!

Lol, DH's name is Mike, not Carl. I guess "Carl's Diner" is a reference to a difficult section of a dirt bike race. (I asked him.)

I was thinking that if there is enough time left before Thanksgiving, I will keep Cupcake and let Mike eat the replacement bird instead, which hasn't hatched yet. Speaking of which, the turkey egg in the incubator didn't hatch. Fingers crossed for next week's hatch. I've been having really bad luck with my hatches lately.

 

[Finnie]

I wonder if the year can have anything to do with it, when I candled the other day I was disappointed in what I saw, thinking I should see more development than I did and my turkey hatch rates have been in the cellar.


I wonder if the hens protein intake has something to do with it. I buy a 28% Game bird breeder flock feed for them, it is crumbles. They do not like it. they eat the chickens layer feed instead, it is a mash. I cannot find a Game bird breeder mash around here. I think I will talk to the mill the next time I am there.

I was having good hatch rates in April when I started, but lately they have been dismal. 2 chicks out of 18 eggs last week, and 5 chicks out of 19 eggs this week. And no turkeys. In the last month, only one has even made it to lockdown, and then died. I was wondering the same thing about feed. I have one feeder with 18% chick feed and one with 24% starter feed. But I don't think the turkeys are taking advantage of the right feed.

Eta: I forgot to mention that when my hatches are dismal, it's usually eggs from the same hen over and over, and other hens' eggs hatch at a better rate. So there may be something to it being their diet, or maybe their genetics. Otherwise I would have to blame incubator, or something I'm doing wrong.

 

[Finnie]

Quote:

Ha Ha! Funny boy!

Actually I bet a two day old turkey would find a way to starve to death on Thanksgiving...

 

[Finnie]

Gevshiba: snakes are bad this year. I have dispatched several.

Finnie: your poults are cute impressing daddy. Foe your hen that lays under the pen I would let her build up that nest with eggs and see if she sets. They won't miss one or 2 eggs added or taken away just don't move them all. But each hen has a magic number in their mind before they set.

Ralphie: not sure about hens laying back in pen. If i open the gates for my hens that are laying they head for pasture or fencerow. Like the open sky I guess. I'm on the other side of the coin I have hens I can't get to not being broody. I put 4 guinea eggs that should hatch tomorrow under her to hope she breaks. She's looking terrible.

Memphis: it's hot in. Mo. So expect terrible heat if you make it st. Genevieve. Glad your girls like the pool.


Last year I couldn't get a royal palm to hatch and survive. But had excellent hatches of bourbon reds. This year is the opposite. Wanted to expand bourbon flock. Think I'm down to 8 poults. Have 8 palms I saved back but have hatched close to 60 palms. Have only hatched 20 bourbons.

All late deaths in incubation or live a week or so and die. Had a 2 week old fine last night dead this morning showed no signs of being ill.

Sorry about your two week old, R2Elk. That's sad.

The chickens are kicking around Muffin's eggs under the coop. It is their dirt bath, after all. Today Muffin laid her egg in the grass between the pen and the house. Not a place she can sit, but I left it there just the same.

 

[Finnie]

The avian vet called me today about using Daisy as a demo bird. Plans to show vets & vet techs how to properly restrain a bird, including holding the head & getting the beak open. Look down her throat. So they don't shoot meds into her lungs. Check a vent. Check for being egg bound. How to set wings & legs. How to tube. Pretty basic things. Asked if I could give her treats so her crop is full. He said he's got lots of slides but would like folks to get their hands on a bird & feel around. Nothing invasive. All in an attempt to get local vets to see fowl for basic issues. He expects about 10-15 folks. Explained Daisy is pretty laid back. And a lapper. Explained to him how we classify temperament. He thought that was pretty cool. So we are going! I may learn something!

This is really cool. So nice that you and Daisy can be part of something like that. And also great for local vets to learn about birds. I know poultry is different than cage birds, but if they can learn about poultry, then maybe they will be better when they see the pet birds. Usually a regular vet is useless for taking a cage bird to.