Broody turkey on unfertilized eggs

[TheHeresAmber]

Ok so if you look in my post history you'll see that a few months ago I had a random turkey hen show up and integrate herself into my flock of chickens. She's getting really tame and we've named her Freida .

Anyway, Freida is very happy and comfortable with us and lives a very privileged life. But a bit over a week ago she started sitting on some eggs and has become really broody and grumpy.

That would be fine, except we don't have a male turkey, and she's showing no signs of getting off the nest. We've tried taking her eggs away but she just keeps laying more.

When my chickens do this, I'll just go buy a day old chicken and stick it under the hen and everything is fine. But this is my first experience with turkeys, and am not sure if this would work for Freida. Is it doable? She doesn't seem to go into that trance at nighttime like chickens do, and I don't even know if she'd take a baby chicken.

Any help and advice would be much appreciated

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Block her nest to break her. Setting is hard on a turkey hens legs. I put something like a log on the hens nest site to break them. A turkey hen will go broody multiple times a season, so be prepared for it to happen again.

 

[sarcasm]

There's a good chance the turkey would adopt a baby chick, I've actually had a better adoption rate with my turkeys than my chickens (your mileage may vary). Since they don't sleep as hard as the chickens (and bite harder if they're so inclined), I usually have someone or something distract the turkey mom at night, and slip the babies in from the back so it's even less likely that she sees them.