Are you smarter than a turkey hen?

[Happy Camper]

i actually said today that I HATE being outsmarted by a bird with a brain the size of a marble... what does that say about me????? I dont think she is laying, but not positive about it. she has never in four years tried me even make a nest but usually by now she is laying, dropping them from the roost or just as she walks along... but nothing so far so I thought maybe she was laying and actually made a real nest, but I have never seen any sign that she is..

Whaaatttt??? She drops them from the roost???? OMG...

That hen is just in denial!!!! Would you try penning her just to see what she does??? That's be fun to say the least!

 

[newduckie]

We have been having the geese going to the road again so everyone is going to stay in the chicken house for a few days and not free range, so I will get to see if she is laying or not. Our chicken house is a big old milk barn with three rooms so there is alot of room and they are not a bit crowded.

 

[frank53061]

I trained my Turkeys and Chickens for the most part to stay around the House by doing the following.
At first we were constantly chasing them back from were ever they wondered off to.
This was a hassle and we were not getting any were.
First I tried going to the back door of the house and calling out here chick Chick Chick and then throwing out some Biscuits that worked some of the time but some would still not come back to the property.
So I and my daughter got 2 five to six foot sticks and would heard them back yelling at them what do you think you are doing get back to the house and would tap them across there Butts as we went back home.
Now when they get to close to the road we yell out the front door Get Back her and there little heads pop up from what there doing and run back into the back yard and when they do this we throw them a Biscuit as a reward.

The Turkeys were trained the same way but we just have to open the back door and they come a running.
The old saying spear the Rod and spoil the Fowl and a Biscuit works as well

 

[Happy Camper]

UPDATE on my smarty pants ... she finally sat today on 15 eggs! It took her a while so I am guessing some will not hatch. I am new at this so I don't know. A question... should I candle and discard or let my hen deal w that? A d by the way, does she deal with it?

I trained my Turkeys and Chickens for the most part to stay around the House by doing the following.
At first we were constantly chasing them back from were ever they wondered off to.
This was a hassle and we were not getting any were.
First I tried going to the back door of the house and calling out here chick Chick Chick and then throwing out some Biscuits that worked some of the time but some would still not come back to the property.
So I and my daughter got 2 five to six foot sticks and would heard them back yelling at them what do you think you are doing get back to the house and would tap them across there Butts as we went back home.
Now when they get to close to the road we yell out the front door Get Back her and there little heads pop up from what there doing and run back into the back yard and when they do this we throw them a Biscuit as a reward.


The Turkeys were trained the same way but we just have to open the back door and they come a running.
The old saying spear the Rod and spoil the Fowl and a Biscuit works as well

 

[chicks and hens2]

Exactly what my girls do. Funny when they first started laying they made a nest behind the feed can, laid in it and sat on it for weeks, taking turns (with infertile eggs of course). We changed nothing but they quit using the nest and lay where ever they want whenever they want. We picked up the eggs and hatched out two batches in our incubator (a cheap one we bought on sale) successfully. Now we have more babies than we know what to do with.

Mine lays her eggs in the nest now but I think all three are now laying because I'm getting 2-3 eggs /day now. I didn't know if I should separate them or not but I did. One hen lays a more creamy colored egg with bigger brownish spots on it and one other one lays lighter eggs with smaller spots and then there are a couple in between. I was hoping that by separating the eggs yesterday that perhaps 2 of the hens will set the eggs. One nest now has about 9 eggs in it and the other has about 12 in it I believe. ANY thoughts??