A few questions about raising turkeys to sell?

[GarrettW]

When the mating season starts next spring I plan on separating at breeder pairs of 1 tom and 2 to 3 hens.
My first question, is how long can a fertile egg sit before it starts to lose its fertility?
My second question, is if I have 2 or 3 hens that all hatch poults will the hens treat each other poults nicely?

 

[Molpet]

14 days old turkey eggs hatch well.
Toms need more hens than that.
Hens may try to steal each other poults the first couple of weeks. Sometimes the hens fight , sometimes they get along
I have a group of 4 and two groups of 2 hens raising the poults together. The poults have sleep overs with other hens. Not a problem unless a younger one is with ones that are roosting.
Sometimes a hen dumps her brood with another hen and starts another nest.

 

[R2elk]

When the mating season starts next spring I plan on separating at breeder pairs of 1 tom and 2 to 3 hens.

I try to keep a minimum of 4 to 5 hens per tom.

My first question, is how long can a fertile egg sit before it starts to lose its fertility?

It depends on the method of storage and whether it is the hen keeping the eggs or if you are doing the storage.

Conventional methods call for storing the eggs big side up in cartons in cool temperatures and mid range humidity while turning the eggs 3 times daily by alternating which end of the carton is elevated. Using this method, the recommended number of days for storing is 7 to 10 days.

An alternate method is by storing the eggs pointy side up in a carton in similar conditions with the carton inside a plastic bag. This method does not benefit from turning the eggs. This method has been shown to get 80% hatch rate after having been stored for 4 weeks.

If the hen is the one building the clutch, temperatures below 27°F are said to be killers but if the nest is on the ground, there is a warmth factor that the ground yields. I just had a hen hatch 11 poults and some of the eggs were unattended during the night when the temperature got down to 26°F. There are two eggs left in the nest, one of which was just recently added by a different hen. I have not yet candled the other egg to determine if it is viable.

My second question, is if I have 2 or 3 hens that all hatch poults will the hens treat each other poults nicely?

Every turkey is its own individual. Some hens can coparent well. Some hens will kill any poults that are not theirs. Some hens will try to steal poults from other hens. You won't know what kind of hens you have until you are actually in the situation.

 

[GarrettW]

Every turkey is its own individual. Some hens can coparent well. Some hens will kill any poults that are not theirs. Some hens will try to steal poults from other hens. You won't know what kind of hens you have until you are actually in the situation.

Do toms need to be separated from the hens whenever they have poults?
Do hens need to be able to fully raise a few poults to have them continue to hatch poults?

 

[R2elk]

Toms should not be allowed to have access to the hen's nests.

I do not recommend having a hen with newly hatched poults in the general population until the poults are at least two weeks old.

Every tom needs to be watched when around poults. Some can seem like doting father right up until they are not. No one knows what can set them off but they can go from taking great care of poults to instantly killing them. Not all will turn but it makes you sick when one does and you realize that you could have prevented it.

Hens that are allowed to raise their own or adopted poults may be done laying eggs for the year. They do not need to be allowed to raise poults in order for them to go broody in the future.

The most profitable method of selling turkeys is by selling them as day old poults. I take poults from the hens once the poults are dry. I put them in a brooder instead of letting the hens keep them. I just swiped 11 poults today that were hatched yesterday.

It is much easier to show and sell poults from a brooder than it is with them hidden under a hen that will attempt to draw blood from the person taking the poults.

The other reason is that there is just so much that can go wrong with poults in the general population during their early life.

 

[NY Coturnix]

R2elk,

Thanks for the great advise. I have a quick question for you. When you sell poults do you sell 1 at a time or do you require a min order? Also do you sell at day old or do you give them a week or so to get started. Sorry to steal the thread but this is good stuff for us beginners.

Thanks

 

[R2elk]

R2elk,

Thanks for the great advise. I have a quick question for you. When you sell poults do you sell 1 at a time or do you require a min order? Also do you sell at day old or do you give them a week or so to get started. Sorry to steal the thread but this is good stuff for us beginners.

Thanks

I would love to sell at a day old but this is a sparsely populated area so my poult sales are usually older than that. I do not recommend that anyone have just one turkey but I do not require a minimum. Some people really do need just one more poult to go with what they already have. Most of my sales are for at least 3 poults.

Of course this is all for local pick up only. If one is planning on shipping poults, they need to be one day old and there has to be a minimum to provide sufficient warmth for their journey.

Always be sure to check your local and state laws. Some states require minimums even if you are just a backyard breeder.