Found a turkey nest today . . .

[chickenwhisperer]

Well, my buddies neighbor did.
We were splitting logs up in Auburn, and the neighbors were out weedwackin.
They happened on a nest with 7 eggs, 1 of which the wacker got, but I have the other 6.
They were cold and who knows how long they been there . . .
The egg that the weedwacker got looked just like a fresh egg, no signs incubation had started.
The nest was in thigh-high grasses and weeds, about 50ft from the house.

I believe where Im at the wild turkeys are rio grandes.
I am gonna set them tonight at midnight, and hope for the best.
Im kinda excited, but I dont wanna get my hopes up.
The eggs are clean and the broken one looked fresh, so I got that going for me.

My bator has 5 BA eggs that are peeping, and should pip tomoro or so . . .
There are also 56 coturnix quail eggs on the main turner, in the same bator.
Im gonna rig up some kinda rack to attach a turkey-egg-holder to the turner as well.

Does anybody know when the turkeys around Auburn/Sacramento started laying their eggs?
Is it possible these might maybe hatch?

Thankyou!

Edit-
Now that I think about it, there was a lone female I saw wandering on the road on my way in this morning.
Usually when I see turkeys there, itsa group or a lone tom.
I also remember thinking this lone female looked kinda panicked/distressed.
Maybe it was her nest and she was nearby watching it till she had a good setting.
They were already weedwacking the yard when I drove past.
Maybe, just maybe, these eggs are fresh and good.

 

[babsbag]

In the Redding area I have been told that they lay from early spring to early summer. We usually see a hen with her new kids in early summer. Last year there were 8 chicks she brought to our yard, plus her 3 from the year before were still with her, AND 4 other hens of various sizes. I think they usually have about 10 eggs, and lay one per day before they start the incubation so you might be right on target.

We are still waiting this year. We have only seen 2 hens so far, and no Toms. But it is hunting season right now so maybe they know that. Last year there were 4 young toms that used to sit on our gate. Pretty funny looking.

We enjoy feeding them and having them around, for the most part. But as I get more of our property planted with flowers and such the more annoyed I get with their digging and dust baths. They can kick some pretty good size rocks around. They also drink from my birdbath, which is about 2.5 feet tall. They are BIG birds. We throw food out for them and they scratch a trail for us around our shed and down to our pond. Kinda our personal fire break makers.

Keeps the snakes away as well.

Good luck with the eggs. What will you do with them if they hatch? Are you legally allowed to do this? Not that I care, I would do the same.

Just curious.

 

[babsbag]

I just saw your edit. I feel kinda sorry for momma. I know it is no one fault, but still a little sad. Although there are alot of people that would be GLAD to get rid of the turkeys, I'm not one of them.

 

[Friend2Fowl]

Quote:
Don't feel sorry for her, it is early enough in the season that she will most likely start a new nest somewhere else

Nothing lost.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

I love the turkeys being around also, I think its great to have them.
They are a welcome guest on my buddies property.

I also feel bad for that hen, if what I just interpreted as remembering seeing is what I think . . .
But, if it had to happen, it happened at the right place and time, the neighbors saw me drive in and know Im the chicken guy.
They came runnin over about a 1/2 mile to me, cause we had the splitter running and couldnt here or see them yellin.

What will I do with them IF they hatch . . . ?
Can you say "Thanksgiving"?
Always wanted to eat a wild turkey for a thanksgiving feast!
EDIT- Now I dont have to kill a truely wild 1 and affect the flocks in any way.

The eggs were found on private property, and when they hatch will be domesticated and be considered livestock if I keep them penned . . . right?
I can buy rio grande turkeys, so why cant I hatch a found nest?
Hopefully, FnG aint monitoring this site . . .

Those neighbors have a ton of wackin to do, I told them to look for more and to look for valley quail nests too.
The way I look at it, the eggs would surely die if I didnt intervene . . .

 

[chickenwhisperer]

Quote:
But hopefully MY gain!!!

 

[Friend2Fowl]

Just think of it like this: If that hen were not a wild turkey, you would have no problems taking eggs from her nest, right? So what makes it so different that she was wild and looked frantic, she probably was stressed about her nest, but she'll get over it and move on

My son and I are going to walk back to the river (about a mile into the woods), and I'm hoping we run across a turkey nest or two. Probably won't, but you never know

 

[chickenwhisperer]

Oh believe me, Friend, I have no qualms about having these eggs.
Of course the hen will make another nest, and its prolly for the best.
She obviously did not choose the most ideal location this time around.

Im just trying to figure out if these eggs could be really old . . .
Its been raining and they were in tall green grass.
Dont wild turkeys have a "season" for laying, right?
Theres no way these things are like 2 or even 1 month old, right?


I do have a couple questions tho . . .
I have not set them yet.

They have been "set" for storage in a carton since I got them about 12 pmISH today. They were cold so I left them in the back of my truck out of the sun/in the shade. Should I let them set for storage in my house here till they are room temp?

1 of them had gotten a bit of egg from the broken one, it is dried. I wiped it with a rough dry terry cloth towel, but it didnt really all come off. Should I wash that 1?

The eggs were also just laying in the nest on their sides, even upside down . . . however, like I said they been stored right for about 10hrs now . . . mostly outside all day/evening.


Man, I really want to hatch these eggs now, the more I contemplate it.
I think IF they hatch, I get to raise/eat 1 and we let the others free range the property but they will be more inclined to be around us and let us feed them.
Heck, we might even build them a pen!(we already have a buncha poults of blue slate/royal palm and 2 BBBs . . .
Lotsa outs here

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I suggest you check your game laws. Just because the eggs were found on private property doesn't me you have the right to remove them from the nest. Momma could have returned after ya'll left the area. They do it all the time.

You get caught raising wild turkeys without the proper permits................................

 

[Bantimna]