Broody hen depressed???

[Bramill56]

My hen went broody this year. Has sat on eggs all summer to no avail (no tom).I decided to buy some hatching eggs but that was a disaster. (See previous post). Now she just sits in her coop, no eggs and only gets up to eat. Do turkeys get depressed? I want to get a couple poults and see if she will adopt them and maybe feel better but I can't find any. I am in Michigan so it's kinda late to find any. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[R2elk]

My hen went broody this year. Has sat on eggs all summer to no avail (no tom).I decided to buy some hatching eggs but that was a disaster. (See previous post). Now she just sits in her coop, no eggs and only gets up to eat. Do turkeys get depressed? I want to get a couple poults and see if she will adopt them and maybe feel better but I can't find any. I am in Michigan so it's kinda late to find any. Does anyone have any ideas?

Turkeys can and do get depressed. Try to get another turkey to keep her company rather than trying to give her poults. Turkeys are very social birds and do best when they have other turkeys for companionship.

Put an ad on your local craigslist.

 

[Bramill56]

Turkeys can and do get depressed. Try to get another turkey to keep her company rather than trying to give her poults. Turkeys are very social birds and do best when they have other turkeys for companionship.

Put an ad on your local craigslist.

She has 2other hens with her but she doesn't seem to care.

 

[jmurno]

That is a tough one. Sorry to say I have no ideas. Please post if the situations changes. I would be interested to hear what the solution was.

 

[Bramill56]

Well the saga continues. Thanks to R2elk I found some poults off of craigslist. Broody showed no interest at all in the babies but is spending a little more time out and about. She rubbed her head against my leg and then returned to the coop. I will continue to keep a close eye on her and maybe try reintroduce the poults one more time and see.

 

[Huntmaster]

My hen went broody this year. Has sat on eggs all summer to no avail (no tom).I decided to buy some hatching eggs but that was a disaster. (See previous post). Now she just sits in her coop, no eggs and only gets up to eat. Do turkeys get depressed? I want to get a couple poults and see if she will adopt them and maybe feel better but I can't find any. I am in Michigan so it's kinda late to find any. Does anyone have any ideas?

Sounds like you need to break her from being broody. I sometimes have hens that don't get to hatch a brood and will not break from being broody. You have to break her from being broody there are many threads in Backyard Chickens on breaking broody hens. Much the same as breaking a chicken hen. Good luck they can be very stubborn.

 

[Bramill56]

If I brood break, won't that make her less likely to sit next spring?

 

[R2elk]

If I brood break, won't that make her less likely to sit next spring?

No, it will not have any effect on what she does next spring.

 

[Bramill56]

Still being a newbie at turkeys. How are they at free ranging? My chickens and ducks are free during the day and go to the coop at night. Will turkeys do that as well?

 

[Bramill56]

Oh an update on miss broody. She is still rejecting the adopted poults and I think she is mad at me. She wouldn't let me touch her today, just shook her tail and walked away. At least she was up and about today.