Broody Turkeys

[feedman77]

does that mean that turkey eggs stay fertile longer than chicken eggs? Bc they say up to 10 days for chickens and if a turkey lays every other day that would be almost a month! Lol

I assume its possible to hold eggs longer than 10 days but hatchability rates drops off. But the hen that had 17 eggs could of been all hers but had a couple nests more than one hen used.

 

[R2elk]

does that mean that turkey eggs stay fertile longer than chicken eggs? Bc they say up to 10 days for chickens and if a turkey lays every other day that would be almost a month! Lol

When my hens get laying good, they lay one egg a day, not one egg every other day. It is also common for more than one hen to lay their eggs in the same nest. Removing the eggs daily will help to keep the hens laying and decreases their broodiness. I don't know how a hen would react to a sudden increase in the number of eggs in the nest.

When I am collecting eggs to incubate, I collect them for 14 days. I keep them in a cool place, big end up, and try to turn them three times a day. I do this with chicken eggs, guinea eggs and turkey eggs. I have had good hatching success doing this.

There have been studies done for storing eggs pointy end up without turning the eggs and keeping them in a closed plastic bag. The last I read of this method was by @Sally Sunshine when she reported on a successful hatch where she had stored the eggs for a month.

Eggs left in the nest are handled differently by the hens than you would handle them. The hens move the eggs multiple times and the eggs that are already there get a light warming when the next egg is laid.

I had hens that would sit on the nest at night when there was a danger of a freeze and then leave the eggs unattended once it warmed up during the day. When the hens did finally go broody on that nest, most of the eggs hatched the same day. What hens can do and get away with won't necessarily work for us.

Good luck.

 

[KeriT]

When my hens get laying good, they lay one egg a day, not one egg every other day.  It is also common for more than one hen to lay their eggs in the same nest.  Removing the eggs daily will help to keep the hens laying and decreases their broodiness.  I don't know how a hen would react to a sudden increase in the number of eggs in the nest.

When I am collecting eggs to incubate, I collect them for 14 days.  I keep them in a cool place, big end up, and try to turn them three times a day.  I do this with chicken eggs, guinea eggs and turkey eggs.  I have had good hatching success doing this.

There have been studies done for storing eggs pointy end up without turning the eggs and keeping them in a closed plastic bag.  The last I read of this method was by @Sally Sunshine when she reported on a successful hatch where she had stored the eggs for a month.

Eggs left in the nest are handled differently by the hens than you would handle them.  The hens move the eggs multiple times and the eggs that are already there get a light warming when the next egg is laid.

I had hens that would sit on the nest at night when there was a danger of a freeze and then leave the eggs unattended once it warmed up during the day.  When the hens did finally go broody on that nest, most of the eggs hatched the same day.  What hens can do and get away with won't necessarily work for us.

Good luck.

Ok I just have the one hen and she's young still not yet a year old so I think I will just incubate them. I have kept them at room temp and turned every day so I'm hoping for the best

 

[Nivek]

Quote:
Where do you store the eggs you plan to put back under the hen? Do you keep them in an incubator so they start developing, or in the fridge so they don't develop too fast or just at room temperature in the house? I'm thinking about doing the same thing once mine start laying. I would think you'd want the early eggs to hold off on developing until all are layed. Last year, I had muscovies that I moved eggs from one hen to another that were several days apart. Once the first group hatched, momma hen left the nest with the ducklings and left the almost-ready-to-be-hatched eggs in the nest.

 

[KeriT]

Quote:
Where do you store the eggs you plan to put back under the hen? Do you keep them in an incubator so they start developing, or in the fridge so they don't develop too fast or just at room temperature in the house? I'm thinking about doing the same thing once mine start laying. I would think you'd want the early eggs to hold off on developing until all are layed. Last year, I had muscovies that I moved eggs from one hen to another that were several days apart. Once the first group hatched, momma hen left the nest with the ducklings and left the almost-ready-to-be-hatched eggs in the nest.

I keep them at room temp. They will not start developing until they go in the bater or under the hen so collecting them until there's enough ensures they will all develop together. I think I'm just going to incubate this go round bc I'm not sure she will go broody since she's so young plus I'm not sure how the weather is going to be, it's been really cold. Hope it warms up soon! I've got 2 big brooder boxes full of chicks that are going to be ready to go outside in about a week but I may have to keep them in it if it doesn't warm up soon.