Broody Turkey

[Jrose]

Okay, okay. Normally patience is my rule of thumb, but I'M TOO EAGER.

I've got two turkey hens, no toms, with my chickens. One turkey hen has been laying daily for about a month straight. The last three days she hasn't laid an egg.
The first day she didn't lay she was in the nest box for at least 5 hours, but no egg. "Strange, I hope she's alright" says I.
Yesterday I don't know how long she was in there, but I checked the girls after dark and she was still in the nesting box! "Funny place for her to sleep" says I.
Today she was out for breakfast time, I haven't been home to monitor them, but I checked for eggs this afternoon and she's back in that same box, stalk still, quiet, and I'm presuming no egg. "Maybe she's broody!" says I.

I've been praying one or more of my girls goes broody. I'd like them to do some natural hatches and raise chicks. Is this turkey flirting with broodiness? How can I encourage it/avoid disrupting it? I'm assuming a turkey hen will raise healthy chicken chicks? She's a fabulous bird with very strong instincts (heritage variety).

 

[Jrose]

Ooo, she stayed in the box all day and is still there now. Silent and focused

Broody indeed!

I've read some folks' experiences with frist-time broodies, where the birds only sit for a few days then lose interest. When would it be safe to put eggs under her?

Also, she's in the 'favorite' lay box in the coop. I've got 25 other birds coming and going. Can I move her to her own pen and own small coop to brood, or will this break her of feeling broody? What's the best option?

 

[Jrose]

OKay, I'm going to try and move her tonight. I set her on a clutch of chicken eggs Thursday evening before thinking this through.
She's in the "best" lay box and today I've got chickens laying eggs ON HER BACK because they want that nest box so bad!

I have no clue how many more eggs she may have accumulated this way- or how many may have been broken.

She's in a 10" deep wooden drawer in a repurposed desk. She fits completely down inside the drawer, it's pretty big. I thought to go out tonight and cover her over, remove the whole drawer from the desk, and transplant it into a broody pen and small coop. I'll lock her in the isolation coop (2x3x3) for a few days to make sure she keeps the eggs. Any other suggestions?