A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[aliciaplus3]

We have a half BB her name is spudley. She got a new boyfriend yesterday (he is a rusty slate, I think? Lol) and we are hoping to hatch some babies from them in aug.... we will see what we get.

here she is.... I think she is adorable

 

[memphis]

Alicia....Spudley is a cutie. Love the pic of hour DD with all the turkeys!

 

[duluthralphie]

In my area, it works best keeping humidity between 20-30% for incubation at 100° and 65% for hatching (unless they decide to start hatching before I move them to lockdown). That's how I get my best results. Otherwise, they tend to drown before hatching.

I have no idea what works best anymore. Nothing seems to work.

 

[rjohns39]

@R2elk I'm having a sr moment... What besides protein, niacin, and meth are elevated in turkey starter? There's a fourth ingredient, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is.

 

[R2elk]

@R2elk I'm having a sr moment... What besides protein, niacin, and meth are elevated in turkey starter? There's a fourth ingredient, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is.

The main are protein, lysine, methionine and niacin. I know that vitamin D is added but not whether it is higher than in normal feeds.

 

[Flashpoint]

Best suggestion I can offer is keep experimenting and listen to what the folks here suggest. With my bator and environment, turkeys do best with 99.8* and 40% humidity until lock down. At lock down I push up the humidity to 65%. I have a brinsea 380 with humidity pump. I also use the cool down cycle 1 hour per day.

Hatching is an art.... and every different environment calls for different specs, also whether the eggs are shipped makes a difference. I do pretty well hatching from my flock, so eggs laid at my elevation in my climate, but I get eggs from somewhere else and things change. I have had best luck by tracking the air cells, in other words listen to the eggs... View attachment 1829485 full disclosure this is not my image but one I found online, but if you are candling and tracing the air cells then you can see how they are growing. Air cell is growing too slow? Raise the humidy. Too fast? Lower it. The biggest variable people dont agree on is humidity and I think it is because it changes, from place to place and depending on what you are hatching. I can not do a completely dry hatch because I live in Dry Colorado at about 6000 feet above sea level. Someone who lives in a very humid place might do best with no added water. And be careful hatching is addictive! Lol

The problem with dry hatching is what are the local conditions. In an area where the ambient humidity is 60%, dry hatching does mean not adding any water. In an area where the ambient humidity is 30% or lower, dry hatching means adding enough water to get the humidity up around 30% in the incubator.

The problem is that people just throw these terms out there without having a clue about what it actually means.

And, therein, lies the problem. It has to be physically different for everyone as a basic fact - and this includes when the turkeys themselves hatch their own.

rjohns39, one day I will have a fully digital lol. Perhaps my brain won't fry as hard.

aliciaplus3, I would agree on air cell placement - except mine didn't have any to start with and they have only been in the incubator for 3 days.

R2elk - and due to our conversation the other day, I placed these eggs in the incubator with no water - as the ambient humidity here is between 30-40% when the sun is shining - over 90% anytime it rains - which tends to be daily.

Currently, the humidity inside of the incubator is 30% (this hour) and it has not exceeded that. Temp is at 99.5F or 37.5C - and I have two thermometers in there besides the digital one on the incubator itself. "Right now", they all show the same temp.

Should I set them for 99.8 or leave as is?

I figured when the eggs had been in for 7-10 days, I would candle to see what was going on and if the air cells had started to develop.

Since I lost 8 midget white eggs in this last hatch, I really need the six I have now to give me something - besides a dead poult. If not, I will have been better served to have bought live poults from someone or from somewhere.

The only reason I haven't is that I have yet to find anyone who raises this breed of turkey in my local area or within my end of the state. That's not to say they aren't around - but if they are, they don't advertise.

Hatcheries tend to want a high price for poults - but then have the minimum set out of my monetary range, giving me way more turkeys than I need. I want 3-6 but would have gladly settled for 10.

That may be a moot point now. Maybe my sister will still buy me live ones if this hatch goes bottoms up. lol

 

[R2elk]

Should I set them for 99.8 or leave as is?

I would leave it as is. While that may work best for @rjohns39 with his current set up, it does not mean that everyone should switch to that. It also does not mean that if he switches to a different set up that his optimum will not change.

I figured when the eggs had been in for 7-10 days, I would candle to see what was going on and if the air cells had started to develop.

Since turkey eggs are 28 days I would wait until day 14 to candle. If you want to candle sooner, it won't hurt anything.

The only reason I haven't is that I have yet to find anyone who raises this breed of turkey in my local area or within my end of the state. That's not to say they aren't around - but if they are, they don't advertise.

Hatcheries tend to want a high price for poults - but then have the minimum set out of my monetary range, giving me way more turkeys than I need. I want 3-6 but would have gladly settled for 10.

It is my experience, the bigger the eggs are, the worse they handle shipping. It has also been my experience that buying live chicks, poults, etc. ends up being cheaper in the long run no matter how expensive it seem at first.

Local feed stores (not chain feed stores) can be a wealth of information about who is raising what. Prior to its closing, I often got calls from people looking for the poultry I was raising at the time due to referrals from that local feed store.

Posting a wanted ad on craigslist can also turn up results.

I have never had an issue with the minimums set by hatcheries. They are there for the health and safety of the poultry being shipped. When ordering the minimum from a hatchery, I have either made arrangements ahead of time to split the order with a neighbor or I have posted an ad and sold the extras as soon as they have arrived.

As far as Midget Whites go, I believe it is @duluthralphie that has pointed out that they don't actually exist anymore. I believe that the claims are that those being sold now have been recreated and not necessarily to the original standard.

 

[sfgwife]

@R2elk I'm having a sr moment... What besides protein, niacin, and meth are elevated in turkey starter? There's a fourth ingredient, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is.

Ooo does this mean that you found someone to mix your feed? Or supply it?

 

[memphis]

I've temporarily suspended Lapper Training. They are both loosing bits of fuzz and growing in more big girl feathers. Lapper training may be uncomfortable with pins.
Got tired of my coonhound hanging out on the other side of their fence drooling at them. So I sprayed him with the hose. Nozzle was on jet. Got him square in the chest. He did a back somersault. Surprised him! Now he's staying at least 20 feet away. Big baby!

 

[R2elk]

I've temporarily suspended Lapper Training. They are both loosing bits of fuzz and growing in more big girl feathers. Lapper training may be uncomfortable with pins.
Got tired of my coonhound hanging out on the other side of their fence drooling at them. So I sprayed him with the hose. Nozzle was on jet. Got him square in the chest. He did a back somersault. Surprised him! Now he's staying at least 20 feet away. Big baby!

I am sure that he would love to taste them.