Help!! Why does my turkey hen scratch her eggs out of the nest?

[dorthal]

I have a young Red Bronze turkey hen that has started laying. I live in North Alabama and we have had below freezing temperatures while she is laying. What she does is lay an egg in the nest, which she scratches all the hay out of. Then, when she lays another egg, she will remove the egg she layed before. So, I have started taking her eggs when she lays. Does it have anything to do with the temperatures? I thought I would take her eggs until the weather warms, hoping she will continue laying. Except for the ones that had been the nest for 2 days, I am incubating. I know the eggs should be fertile.

Her nest is a large covered container that I cut a hole in the front for her to go inside to lay. Does not appear to be a problem with that, she does exactly that.

Any thoughts on this situation will be much appreciated. Have you ever had this happen?

Thanks in advance, everyone.

 

[onthespot]

Mine have not started laying yet, but if they were doing that, I would make the nest something they can't knock the eggs out of, like a barrel cut in half or something deeper. Bed with shavings instead of straw. She can't dig all that out, and it will cushion/insulate the egg better. Disclaimer, I have yet to see a home grown turkey egg and live where it is warm.

 

[chickenannie]

The only time my hens have kicked an egg out of the nest is when it was a fake egg I put in there to get them to lay (they are smarter than you think!).

 

[chicks4kids]

Maybe she doesn't like the hay...I noticed mine gets her feet caught in the hay--I wonder if maybe that's what yours is going through as well. I put aspen shavings/chips in her bed and she doesn't mine those at all.

 

[pdpatch]

The last two Red Bourbons hens we have had don't like hay, they prefer more natural vegetation. Try some dry leaves with long grass.

Tom

 

[Srijal]

I have a young Red Bronze turkey hen that has started laying. I live in North Alabama and we have had below freezing temperatures while she is laying. What she does is lay an egg in the nest, which she scratches all the hay out of. Then, when she lays another egg, she will remove the egg she layed before. So, I have started taking her eggs when she lays. Does it have anything to do with the temperatures? I thought I would take her eggs until the weather warms, hoping she will continue laying. Except for the ones that had been the nest for 2 days, I am incubating. I know the eggs should be fertile.

Her nest is a large covered container that I cut a hole in the front for her to go inside to lay. Does not appear to be a problem with that, she does exactly that.

Any thoughts on this situation will be much appreciated. Have you ever had this happen?

Thanks in advance, everyone.

I also have red bronze turkey and I have exactly the same problem you are facing. She scratches all the hay out of it and in the process she breaks some of her eggs too.

 

[R2elk]

I also have red bronze turkey and I have exactly the same problem you are facing. She scratches all the hay out of it and in the process she breaks some of her eggs too.

This thread is from 2010. The person you replied to has not been on BYC since 2015.