First time broody turkey, advice needed

[R2elk]

Well, they are separated so no visitors llowed . And they are not getting up once a day.

I have two broody hens on side by side nests. I have not seen either hen get off of the nest and they have been on these nests since the 13th. I guarantee you that even though I have not seen them get off of the nests, they have gotten off of the nests. They can go a fair amount of time without eating but they cannot go days without drinking. They are alert and healthy therefore they are getting off of the nests.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Well, they are separated so no visitors allowed . And they are not getting up once a day.

Visitors are also mice and bugs, not just other birds.

 

[Maiahr]

@R2elk interesting color. I don't think we have brown turkeys here. We only have the black/grey ones and the pure white (broiler) ones. Here is one of mine..

 

[R2elk]

@R2elk interesting color. I don't think we have brown turkeys here. We only have the black/grey ones and the pure white (broiler) ones. Here is one of mine..

Mine are Sweetgrass. It looks likes yours is a Bronze.

 

[78753]

They need to be left alone. Unless you have a camera monitoring her, you have no way of knowing that she did not leave the nest. They will get off of the nest on their own to eat, drink and poop.

She does not need to go for a walk. She does not need to leave the coop. All she needs to do is eat, drink and poop. Do not put the food and water close to the nest. It can attract unwanted visitors.

It is natural for turkeys to abandon a nest that has been messed with. When they do abandon a nest, they start a new nest in a "better" place. Better in the mind of a turkey means better hidden.

My turkey decided the safest nesting place was inside our house (we had her inside at nights due to a recent injury to keep her warm...she lost most of her feathers --and then some--in a "friendly" dog attack- the dogs thought she was a great play toy. ) So, used to the indoor nest we had for her already, she begged to come back into the house every afternoon for 12 days to lay eggs. She is now sitting on them, and she does NOT get up to go outside...at all for several days- then we force her to go out, and she spends about 15 minutes eating, drinking, and poooping (think dog-pile of poop). She'll accept food from us when she's on the nest, or water, but won't get off it voluntarily at all. Unfortunately half way through we realized her eggs couldn't be fertile because our Tom isn't...he's ALSO laying eggs! So I believe the idea that they will sit practically forever. I suspect they can hear the babies when they start to peep in the eggs and that's what tells them when to get ready to be done. But that's not going to happen here, so I've been pulling an egg a day out from under her. Just breaks my heart either way! She's working so hard on a hopeless case. If I can convince hubby we may go get some poults for her. We did that to a duck (who was determinedly sitting on chicken eggs) At night, we took all the eggs from under her, and put the babies (ducklings) beside her (she was snapping at everything) and by the next morning she was proud as punch of her new babies.

 

[R2elk]

My turkey decided the safest nesting place was inside our house (we had her inside at nights due to a recent injury to keep her warm...she lost most of her feathers --and then some--in a "friendly" dog attack- the dogs thought she was a great play toy. ) So, used to the indoor nest we had for her already, she begged to come back into the house every afternoon for 12 days to lay eggs. She is now sitting on them, and she does NOT get up to go outside...at all for several days- then we force her to go out, and she spends about 15 minutes eating, drinking, and poooping (think dog-pile of poop). She'll accept food from us when she's on the nest, or water, but won't get off it voluntarily at all. Unfortunately half way through we realized her eggs couldn't be fertile because our Tom isn't...he's ALSO laying eggs! So I believe the idea that they will sit practically forever. I suspect they can hear the babies when they start to peep in the eggs and that's what tells them when to get ready to be done. But that's not going to happen here, so I've been pulling an egg a day out from under her. Just breaks my heart either way! She's working so hard on a hopeless case. If I can convince hubby we may go get some poults for her. We did that to a duck (who was determinedly sitting on chicken eggs) At night, we took all the eggs from under her, and put the babies (ducklings) beside her (she was snapping at everything) and by the next morning she was proud as punch of her new babies.

I do not recommend putting poults under a hen at night. When I give a hen poults, I place them in a pen and then let the hen in with them. I usually do it with 2 week old poults rather than day old poults. I stay in the pen with them and let the hen in. If she is going to adopt them, she will carefully gather them into a group while "cooing" to them. If that is the behavior I see, I leave the hen in with the poults.

If she is not going to adopt the poults, she will start pecking at them. If that is the behavior I see, I immediately remove the hen.

 

[Maiahr]

@78753 can you buy fertile turkey eggs and put them under the broody turkey, just like I did?
@R2elk putting just hatched chicks under a broody hen at night is a common practice here. The idea is the chicks take the smell of the hen while sleeping under her during the night. When all wake up in the morning the broody hen thinks the chicks are her own as they smell like her, and she accepts them. With my broody Silky I take the chicks out of the incubator and put them straight under her, never had issues.
Both my broody turkeys are not getting up for days as well. Today I took one of them outside, she drank water for 10 minutes and went back in the nest... She didn't eat and this is her 4th day without food. The other eats and drinks only when I take her out of the nest too. She always stays outside for 15min and then goes back in the nest.

 

[R2elk]

@78753 can you buy fertile turkey eggs and put them under the broody turkey, just like I did?
@R2elk putting just hatched chicks under a broody hen at night is a common practice here. The idea is the chicks take the smell of the hen while sleeping under her during the night. When all wake up in the morning the broody hen thinks the chicks are her own as they smell like her, and she accepts them. With my broody Silky I take the chicks out of the incubator and put them straight under her, never had issues.
Both my broody turkeys are not getting up for days as well. Today I took one of them outside, she drank water for 10 minutes and went back in the nest... She didn't eat and this is her 4th day without food. The other eats and drinks only when I take her out of the nest too. She always stays outside for 15min and then goes back in the nest.

It may be a common practice there but if you wake up the next morning to dead poults you only have yourself to blame. Not every turkey reacts the same to every situation.

It is a common practice here when dealing with chickens. Turkeys aren't chickens.

 

[Maiahr]

Oh, we do it with chicken, apologies I was not clear. I have never done it with turkey as mine are broody for the first time. I have not heard anybody else around here doing it with turkey.

 

[Maiahr]

Ok, hatching day for my first time broody turkey is tomorrow. One of the poults in the incubator already hatched and walking in the incubator (I had put eggs in the incubator the same day when I put eggs under the turkey). When I came back from work today the turkey was out of the nest having her dust bath. I checked the nest and one of the eggs had a nail size hole and the baby moving inside. I was concerned it will shrink-wrap as mama was outside of the coop and put the egg in the incubator. Mama is back in the nest now, but the weather is too cold to move The egg back in the nest.