First turkey egg or not??

[TopRooster]

Thanks and your turkeys look very nice

 

[mandelyn]

I'm anxiously awaiting my first eggs from my Bourbon Red hens. I caught some mating behavior, yesterday I had to separate the Toms, and I've caught the hens checking out the chicken eggs and talking about it among themselves. They're moving to breeding pens soon, hopefully before laying begins.

 

[TopRooster]

My hen started taking interest in the boxes 3 days before laying. The day she layed the egg she spent the whole morning talking

 

[ludwing]

by R2elk, yes that is the egg i know.

i love turkey eggs,they taste

. but when it comes to brooding their careless sitters.

 

[R2elk]

by R2elk, yes that is the egg i know.

i love turkey eggs,they taste

. but when it comes to brooding their careless sitters.

That isn't my experience. My hens are dedicated sitters with an excellent hatch rate. They are also excellent mothers as long as they are not in the general population.

 

[TopRooster]

I got my second egg yesterday and I'm expecting my third tomorrow

 

[ludwing]

That isn't my experience. My hens are dedicated sitters with an excellent hatch rate. They are also excellent mothers as long as they are not in the general population.

well all i can is, HAPPY YOU!!!.
we always get 36 - 45 percent of the hatch rate. yes they are good parents.
the only reason i mentioned the word " careless\ dirty sitter" its because evry time they went broody, some eggs are rolled away,some broken, untidy nest,poop around eggs. or do you well bed your hens?

 

[R2elk]

well all i can is, HAPPY YOU!!!.
we always get 36 - 45 percent of the hatch rate. yes they are good parents.
the only reason i mentioned the word " careless\ dirty sitter" its because every time they went broody, some eggs are rolled away,some broken, untidy nest,poop around eggs. or do you well bed your hens?

Without knowing more about your situation I cannot say why you are having such poor results.

Too many toms and too few hens can cause low fertility rates. I prefer a ratio of 4 or 5 hens to 1 tom.

Your description of the nests does not fit with what I see. If the hens are contained in a small area with nowhere to get seclusion, that could explain it some. My turkey hens maintain very clean nest areas. Broken eggs can be a sign that the toms have access to the hens that are on nests or that there are too many hens trying to use the same nest. Toms will take the act of a hen setting on a nest as an invitation to breed which it is not. This can result in broken eggs and injured hens because the hen will not cooperate in the breeding attempt. Once the hens are sitting on nests the toms should not be allowed to have access to the hens. One way of dealing with this is to provide secluded nesting area that has an entry point that is large enough for hens to get through but small enough that the toms cannot get in.

Turkeys prefer to have hidden nests just like guineas do. They also do not like their nests messed with and have been known to abandon nests that have been disturbed by people.

 

[ludwing]

Without knowing more about your situation I cannot say why you are having such poor results.

Too many toms and too few hens can cause low fertility rates. I prefer a ratio of 4 or 5 hens to 1 tom.

Your description of the nests does not fit with what I see. If the hens are contained in a small area with nowhere to get seclusion, that could explain it some. My turkey hens maintain very clean nest areas. Broken eggs can be a sign that the toms have access to the hens that are on nests or that there are too many hens trying to use the same nest. Toms will take the act of a hen setting on a nest as an invitation to breed which it is not. This can result in broken eggs and injured hens because the hen will not cooperate in the breeding attempt. Once the hens are sitting on nests the toms should not be allowed to have access to the hens. One way of dealing with this is to provide secluded nesting area that has an entry point that is large enough for hens to get through but small enough that the toms cannot get in.

Turkeys prefer to have hidden nests just like guineas do. They also do not like their nests messed with and have been known to abandon nests that have been disturbed by people.

R2elk. thank you for your lovely response,it is well appricated.

we have three adult turkey hens and two toms. they freerange with guineas,chickens and ducks, when it comes to nesting they alway use a large old coop they freerange or shade during the heat days. " TOMS WILL TAKE THE ACT OF A SITTING HEN ON A NEST..." mybe i'll try to separate them on the next coming season. it might be the results of the toms taking on hen. the coop is large and the nesting hens are insight to every one in the coop,including ducks and others.

BEST OF WISHES

 

[R2elk]

R2elk. thank you for your lovely response,it is well appreciated.

we have three adult turkey hens and two toms. they freerange with guineas,chickens and ducks, when it comes to nesting they always use a large old coop they freerange or shade during the heat days. " TOMS WILL TAKE THE ACT OF A SITTING HEN ON A NEST..." maybe i'll try to separate them on the next coming season. it might be the results of the toms taking on hen. the coop is large and the nesting hens are insight to every one in the coop,including ducks and others.

BEST OF WISHES

Three hens to two toms is part of your problem. You only have enough hens to support one tom. I believe that the toms are responsible for the broken eggs problem. Once the hens go broody, the toms should not be allowed to have access to the hens. My suggestion is to build enclosed nest boxes with the entry being large enough to allow a hen to enter but small enough that the tom cannot get to the nest. Seed the nest boxes with a fake egg or two and the hens will learn to use the nest boxes. I would build the nest boxes out of used pallets which will allow a good air flow.

I highly recommend that you get down to just one tom for your three hens. That should greatly increase your fertility and hatch rate. The low fertility rate is likely due to failed mating attempts caused by one tom knocking the other tom off of the hen's back.

Good luck.