First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[JessicaThistle]

My darn silkie goes broody without an egg. I don't think she is big enough to sit on 8 eggs though. That would be a funny sight. Interesting idea regarding the broody turkey.

 

[1zooman12]

Hi Jessica,
Most silkies can sit on ten or twelve of their own eggs and of course fewer of the larger eggs. And yes, I had many silkies who would go broody without any eggs at all, but this is on their own metabolic whim and is not predictable. I'm talking about having control over the process, at least with respect to getting them to go broody on cue. Indeed some will try to hatch a golf ball or a round stone, again not predictable in a given period of time. See the difference?
Stay well and thanks for the great feedback,
Neal

 

[CoHomestead]

Thanks for the encouragement! I gave them their last meal around 630 and said goodnight. I normally go back out once more, but tonight I won't be. So weird to think the next time I see them I'll be taking them to the cone

. I'm excited to see how they finish. They've been on dry feed the last little bit since the ff was freezing too fast, and they have been eating and drinking like crazy! A couple are smaller than the others, but overall they look pretty consistent. I'm definitely going to do a soap water dunk before the scalding pot to see if I can reduce the smell. And, I'll watch out for the fountain of poo lol. I'm still making/stockpiling ice bricks in the freezer, but other than that I'd say we're ready. I'll probably go back through and reread the thread before bed though lol.

The second batch of chicks are 3 weeks old today, and I'm debating putting them in with the 8 week old layers tomorrow night after the biggies are gone. They are just slightly smaller than the layer chicks, and should be the same size if not bigger in a week or two. I want the layers to get used to the cx chicks asap since they'll have to be together at some point. Plus, I'm hoping they can replace some of the body heat that the biggies are providing lol. Should I wait a bit before introducing the littles to the layers?

 

[duluthralphie]

While on the turkey topic, I have it from several unconnected sources that a turkey hen makes a terrific broody mom for large chicken egg incubation with a zeal approaching the grand champion, the silkie herself. I admit that I have never witnessed it but my sources are keen about it. It does occur to me that once becoming broody a turkey could handle a great many chicken eggs. What I do not know is if the turkey is as easy to make broody as a silkie and once going do they stay the course? With the silkie there is a threshold effect that varies from mom to mom. Some go into gear after sitting on 8 medium sized chicken eggs while others require 9 or 10. In any event the number, whatever it is, the optimal number is rather specific for each silkie. It would be great if the turkey is the same way. Of course there are different sized turkey breeds each of which could handle a set number, if indeed that is the case. The larger the breed the greater the theoretical threshold number would be. While I have owned turkeys I never set about trying to determine if indeed there is a threshold. It makes sense however. Maybe some of you more experienced turkey breeders can answer the question. The net benefit would be that a large turkey could likely handle a much larger set number. If I can lay (pardon the expression) hands on a large breed of turkey hen or two I would be compelled to test this thesis and report to you folks. What a boon two or three hens would be for those desirous of incubating a large number of eggs. In the case of the silkie, for those who don't know, it is the total pressure on the breast nerve ends that sets them off. I have done that many times quite successfully. I have even had silkies that would go broody in as little as 24 to 30 hours once given quiet privacy and a nest with the egg threshold for that particular bird. The trick is to band the birds and record the number of eggs that seems to set each of them to broodiness. This principal likely works for those breeds of chicken which have a propensity to broodiness. Again I cannot say for sure but it certainly makes sense. It is situations like this that makes our group mutually beneficial. So what say you folks who have repeatable experience in this realm with turkeys and various chicken breeds other than silkies?
Sincerely submitted,
Neal, the Zooman

Hey Neal, I have a total of one summer thirty years ago and continuous ownership since march on turkeys.

My first experience 30 years ago caught me unprepared. I have written about it before, so just a quick summary for you. I bought 3 turkeys when I first moved to northern Minnesota from the cities. I named them Thanksgiving, Xmas and Easter for their respective day of honor. The first bird died in about 2 days, ruining Easter.
I placed the other two turkeys outside tipping their box on the side so they could gets some sun. The kids and I were marveling at our turkeys when a whirlwind caught the box and lifted it about 10 feet into the air. The whirlwind stopped and the box beaned Xmas....

Thanksgiving made it until thanksgiving day, BUT he was extremely tough to eat, I did not know about resting them after slaughter then.......

Fast forward to last March. I saw an ad on Craigslist for 3 slate blue turkeys. A woman in the cities had them and the neighbors were making her get rid of the Tom. Toms are extremely noisy. I love the sounds, but city people do not seem to care for it.

I got about 100 eggs from the 2 hens. I managed to ruin 80 of them in the incubator. I have since learned a better method for me. The one turkey was broody all the time. Even while she was laying eggs. They were yearlings and I do not think they understood the commitment needed to hatch eggs. The two hens would fight over the nest. I had made a few nests but they both decided to like the same one.

I thought I could solve the nest squabbles by getting the one turkey (Myrtle) some babies. I bought her 4 chicks (chicken type). She was thrilled. BUT so was Ethel. Ethel stole the chicks. I bought Myrtle 4 more chicks. Ethel stole them also. I gave up on Myrtle having chicks. They did however both sit on the nest with the chicks and their new eggs. They together did a good job of raising the chicks.

They continued to lay eggs the entire time they were being mothers. Myrtle was not with me long. She died in Mid May. I think it was of a broken heart, over her babies being kidnapped by Ethel.

Ethel started setting in eggs a couple times but would only sit at night and only for a few days. I had decided to let her hatch her own and had let her free range by now. I found a nest by a tree in front of my shed, Ethel sat on it for about 2 weeks and abandoned it. Then the eggs stopped coming. I figured it was over.

In Mid August, I noticed Ethel was not around ( I bought 8 more turkey poults in June because I fell in love with turkeys. (turkey and chicken math are related.) the other turkeys. She would be in the yard for an hour or so and disappear. I figured she had a nest somewhere that would hatch around Sept 10th. She got real shaggy looking and did not molt when JJ did. (JJ is my tom). Sept 10th was a cold rainy day. I had not seen Ethel for a couple days so I headed out to find her. I found her in the swamp with 5 babies. I could not find her nest. I brought the babies and her to a coop and she started to raise them. BUT I lost all of them to hawks and eagles once I let them outside. The oldest lived about 8 weeks.

I had not thought about using the turkey hens as incubators. I may try that this year with Ethel. The others I think will be too young and stupid to know how to set on eggs. If I do let the others set on eggs, I will watch them closely incase they abandon the eggs. I will need extra incubator space ready for them.

I really like the turkeys, they are so fun to have around and extremely social. They greet everyone that drives in the yard. They come running to the steps when I go out the door. They are so social and friendly I am a little worried about my ability to take the heads of a couple Sunday. It will be a peppermint schnapps day for sure! ( too cold for vodka here now)......

Good luck on your Turkey venture. I find them to be as special as my CX's are.

 

[duluthralphie]

Thanks for the encouragement! I gave them their last meal around 630 and said goodnight. I normally go back out once more, but tonight I won't be. So weird to think the next time I see them I'll be taking them to the cone

. I'm excited to see how they finish. They've been on dry feed the last little bit since the ff was freezing too fast, and they have been eating and drinking like crazy! A couple are smaller than the others, but overall they look pretty consistent. I'm definitely going to do a soap water dunk before the scalding pot to see if I can reduce the smell. And, I'll watch out for the fountain of poo lol. I'm still making/stockpiling ice bricks in the freezer, but other than that I'd say we're ready. I'll probably go back through and reread the thread before bed though lol.

The second batch of chicks are 3 weeks old today, and I'm debating putting them in with the 8 week old layers tomorrow night after the biggies are gone. They are just slightly smaller than the layer chicks, and should be the same size if not bigger in a week or two. I want the layers to get used to the cx chicks asap since they'll have to be together at some point. Plus, I'm hoping they can replace some of the body heat that the biggies are providing lol. Should I wait a bit before introducing the littles to the layers?

There is no need to make ice bricks.

Just call Ralphie's snow service and order a couple truck loads of snow. I will give it to you for a bargain rate, you just pay for trucking!

BTW.... 7 below this morning and I do not mean Celsius!

 

[mountain mom]

Hey Neal, I have a total of one summer thirty years ago and continuous ownership since march on turkeys.

My first experience 30 years ago caught me unprepared. I have written about it before, so just a quick summary for you. I bought 3 turkeys when I first moved to northern Minnesota from the cities. I named them Thanksgiving, Xmas and Easter for their respective day of honor. The first bird died in about 2 days, ruining Easter.
I placed the other two turkeys outside tipping their box on the side so they could gets some sun. The kids and I were marveling at our turkeys when a whirlwind caught the box and lifted it about 10 feet into the air. The whirlwind stopped and the box beaned Xmas....

Thanksgiving made it until thanksgiving day, BUT he was extremely tough to eat, I did not know about resting them after slaughter then.......

Fast forward to last March. I saw an ad on Craigslist for 3 slate blue turkeys. A woman in the cities had them and the neighbors were making her get rid of the Tom. Toms are extremely noisy. I love the sounds, but city people do not seem to care for it.

I got about 100 eggs from the 2 hens. I managed to ruin 80 of them in the incubator. I have since learned a better method for me. The one turkey was broody all the time. Even while she was laying eggs. They were yearlings and I do not think they understood the commitment needed to hatch eggs. The two hens would fight over the nest. I had made a few nests but they both decided to like the same one.

I thought I could solve the nest squabbles by getting the one turkey (Myrtle) some babies. I bought her 4 chicks (chicken type). She was thrilled. BUT so was Ethel. Ethel stole the chicks. I bought Myrtle 4 more chicks. Ethel stole them also. I gave up on Myrtle having chicks. They did however both sit on the nest with the chicks and their new eggs. They together did a good job of raising the chicks.

They continued to lay eggs the entire time they were being mothers. Myrtle was not with me long. She died in Mid May. I think it was of a broken heart, over her babies being kidnapped by Ethel.

Ethel started setting in eggs a couple times but would only sit at night and only for a few days. I had decided to let her hatch her own and had let her free range by now. I found a nest by a tree in front of my shed, Ethel sat on it for about 2 weeks and abandoned it. Then the eggs stopped coming. I figured it was over.

In Mid August, I noticed Ethel was not around ( I bought 8 more turkey poults in June because I fell in love with turkeys. (turkey and chicken math are related.) the other turkeys. She would be in the yard for an hour or so and disappear. I figured she had a nest somewhere that would hatch around Sept 10th. She got real shaggy looking and did not molt when JJ did. (JJ is my tom). Sept 10th was a cold rainy day. I had not seen Ethel for a couple days so I headed out to find her. I found her in the swamp with 5 babies. I could not find her nest. I brought the babies and her to a coop and she started to raise them. BUT I lost all of them to hawks and eagles once I let them outside. The oldest lived about 8 weeks.

I had not thought about using the turkey hens as incubators. I may try that this year with Ethel. The others I think will be too young and stupid to know how to set on eggs. If I do let the others set on eggs, I will watch them closely incase they abandon the eggs. I will need extra incubator space ready for them.

I really like the turkeys, they are so fun to have around and extremely social. They greet everyone that drives in the yard. They come running to the steps when I go out the door. They are so social and friendly I am a little worried about my ability to take the heads of a couple Sunday. It will be a peppermint schnapps day for sure! ( too cold for vodka here now)......

Good luck on your Turkey venture. I find them to be as special as my CX's are.

I am glad, and worried for my softie heart, to hear how friendly your turkeys are! My aunt had one when we were kids and let me tell you that thing was MEAN. Tom would chase us. And at the time I was convinced he was trying to peck our eyes out and eat us. Maybe he was just saying "hello"?

 

[mountain mom]

Okay, on a butchering note:

Do you have to eviscerate the birds if you are going to quarter them up anyhow?
My husband is very skilled at butchering.

I can't find much online except that everyone does it. We will only be keeping a couple of the nuggets whole, which we will clean out, of course. Just looking to save some time and hand strength...

Good luck to you ladies butchering today!
Ralphie- I was thinking of peppermint schnapps for my beverage on Saturday too! A little something to warm the belly and dull the senses

 

[holm25]

We got our first egg!!!!

 

[duluthralphie]

Okay, on a butchering note:

Do you have to eviscerate the birds if you are going to quarter them up anyhow?
My husband is very skilled at butchering.

I can't find much online except that everyone does it. We will only be keeping a couple of the nuggets whole, which we will clean out, of course. Just looking to save some time and hand strength...

Good luck to you ladies butchering today!
Ralphie- I was thinking of peppermint schnapps for my beverage on Saturday too! A little something to warm the belly and dull the senses

Yep, you do.... Would get messy otherwise.

We got our first egg!!!!

Congrats!!!

 

[kiwicampbell]

I just wanted to add to the Turkey part of the thread. My Bourbon Red Turkey hen Wanda really wanted to be a Mama. She laid a lot of eggs but they were infertile. I do not know if the problem is her or her mate Tom. First she sat on her eggs...they never hatched. Then she laid more and they never hatched but disappeared. I discovered that was a raccoon stealing them but not attacking her. I figured that after I purchased some poults and put them under her and they lasted two days of serious mothering. I had a game camera there and discovered the raccoon problem. We have fortified the pen now and that will not happen again.

After that she was sadly back to a foraging turkey for two weeks and then she took up in the chicken coop. She selected the pink ceramic fake egg in the top right nesting box and sat on it.Only problem for her was that she did not fit in a chicken nesting box. She spent almost two weeks half in and half out of that box sitting on her pink egg. We tried to move her and her egg to the floor under the boxes....a few hours later that pink egg was back up in the top right box. My DS experimented for a while moving that pink egg to other boxes. It always was back up in that box under Wanda in a short time. To this day we have no idea how she was doing it.

I could not leave her starving herself brooding ceramic eggs for any longer. I moved her back to her pen and her large box and locked her in with her pink egg. In less than a day she resigned herself to sitting on her pink egg in her larger box. So the next night I put 12 chicken eggs under her with her pink egg since I had no fertile turkey eggs. She was a devoted brooder and hatched out 7 black copper marans. She has looked after them with a ferocity past that of any chicken I have had. They are now 14 weeks and she is still mothering them. They are now wandering along behind the copper flock as if they know that is what they are and she is trailing them and ignoring Tom (her original mate) and the new turkey birds this year (Wade and Zoe) and Jane my leftover Broad Breasted Bronze hen.

I have no idea how long she will be looking after them. Five of them are roosters and will be disappearing to freezer camp in a few weeks or so. I hope the two girls just join the copper flock.

So in my experience heritage turkey hens make excellent broody mamas.And ferocious protective mamas too. Wanda fought off a cottonmouth snake long enough for me to come investigate the drama and deal with it. Wanda could have sat on more than the thirteen she sat (I did not dare remove her pink fake) I think I could have put in another 5-6. Now my only question is if she "lets them go" eventually.