Broody Turkey?

[MillersFarm]

Howdy~ So i'm still a bit in shock but just a few minutes ago I was out collecting eggs and what-not. I've got a working station in my barn with an 8' x 5' desk. Under it is a small area full of hay where my turkeys like to lay, When I went to look I saw my little mixed turkey hen (Assuming it's a bourbon x slate) laying on the nest. Normally i'd reach under her and check for eggs and she wouldn't mind, But when I went to reach under her she completely puffed up and lunged at my hand as if it where a fox or something! She really did a number on my hand She wouldn't get off the nest or stop making 'hissing' sounds at me.. She is a new layer and just started laying a couple of weeks ago. although she's almost 11 months old. Is this her being protective or is this her going broody? This is her taken a few days ago.

 

[R2elk]

Howdy~ So i'm still a bit in shock but just a few minutes ago I was out collecting eggs and what-not. I've got a working station in my barn with an 8' x 5' desk. Under it is a small area full of hay where my turkeys like to lay, When I went to look I saw my little mixed turkey hen (Assuming it's a bourbon x slate) laying on the nest. Normally i'd reach under her and check for eggs and she wouldn't mind, But when I went to reach under her she completely puffed up and lunged at my hand as if it where a fox or something! She really did a number on my hand She wouldn't get off the nest or stop making 'hissing' sounds at me.. She is a new layer and just started laying a couple of weeks ago. although she's almost 11 months old. Is this her being protective or is this her going broody? This is her taken a few days ago.
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She may indeed be going broody but it is also possible that she was just protecting her nest from you. I highly recommend wearing gloves if you feel the need to reach under her again. I find her behavior to be just like the behavior I get from my hens when on a nest. Stealing newly hatched poults is a different experience since my hens will leave their nest and attack me at those times. I try to keep my back to the attacking hen and usually get a good flogging out of it.

I don't think your hen is a Rusty Slate which is what you would get from a Bourbon Red x Blue Slate breeding. She looks more like a Red Slate which could come from a Bronze x Barred Slate mating.

 

[MillersFarm]

Thank you for the reply, I've definitely learned my lesson with the whole glove thing.. Just wasn't expecting her to attack was all since she's normally pretty calm and nice. But yeah.. Thick gloves next time, How does a broody turkey normally act? Because i've actually got about a dozen turkey eggs incubating that are due April the 19th, I don't want to put them under her unless I know for sure she's broody.. Oh and thanks for clearing it up with the mix~ She sure is pretty, Or at least to me she is, I had 2 more hens that looked like her, Just way more brown with some slate on their chest and tails.. Those were taken by a fox though unfortunately.

 

[R2elk]

Thank you for the reply, I've definitely learned my lesson with the whole glove thing.. Just wasn't expecting her to attack was all since she's normally pretty calm and nice. But yeah.. Thick gloves next time, How does a broody turkey normally act? Because i've actually got about a dozen turkey eggs incubating that are due April the 19th, I don't want to put them under her unless I know for sure she's broody.. Oh and thanks for clearing it up with the mix~ She sure is pretty, Or at least to me she is, I had 2 more hens that looked like her, Just way more brown with some slate on their chest and tails.. Those were taken by a fox though unfortunately.

A broody turkey typically only leaves the nest once a day. As long as I am not trying to reach under them, my broody turkeys sit quietly or hiss and watch for suspicious moves on my part. Normally when they have a hatchling or are about to hatch an egg, they will start talking (cooing) to the poult/s when I approach. This lets me know when I should check for little ones.

 

[JonathanL23]

Yep sounds like shes in the nesting mood and is protecting her nest. Mine do the same thing.