How to get poults from Mama turkey

[MSBS05]

We have Chocolate turkeys, 3 females and 2 males. We had one that built a nest in the back of their pen. We didn't expect the eggs to hatch, since it was winter and she was just reaching 1 year old. We left her alone back there and to my surprise this morning I heard cheeping when I went in to feed them. I want to bring them inside to a new brooder we built, but she is rather protective and got ruffled when I just tried to peek. Any advice on how to get her away from the poults so we can move them to a warmer, cleaner area to be raised? Appreciate any advice, since we have never hatched turkeys before.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

We have Chocolate turkeys, 3 females and 2 males. We had one that built a nest in the back of their pen. We didn't expect the eggs to hatch, since it was winter and she was just reaching 1 year old. We left her alone back there and to my surprise this morning I heard cheeping when I went in to feed them. I want to bring them inside to a new brooder we built, but she is rather protective and got ruffled when I just tried to peek. Any advice on how to get her away from the poults so we can move them to a warmer, cleaner area to be raised? Appreciate any advice, since we have never hatched turkeys before.

Her behavior is that of a good mom - she is demonstrating an ability to raise these poults just fine on her own (and has also demonstrated very well her ability by successfully hatching them) - leave her to it. They don't need a warmer/cleaner place.

 

[ivan3]

Long sleeved shirt gloves and safety glasses. Take a card board box with a towel covering the inside bottom of box and another towel to cover the top of box. Slowly pick up each poult and place in box (turn back towel on on corner and slip each in). Hen may or may not strike. When you've got them all in box and complety covered with towel, keep box level (don't tip back and forth) on way back to brooder. If you decide to leave them with mama, make sure water is close enough to hen that she can get to it even though she's hunkered down, same with food (poults will follow hen's lead). Put up barrier so poults can't wander away. Don't know your location so don't know if this is a viable option (very cold? round the clock ?- no way to place heat lamp, safely in area with hen and poults - hen can keep them warm, but any that stray could freeze).

 

[MSBS05]

Thanks so much for the advice. We are in Southern TN. Today and tomorrow will be 60, but then cold comes back putting us close to freezing. Typical March weather. We put straw bales around the mama so she could move around but poults could not get too far from her. When she went to eat this morning we counted nine babies. We had to run to feed & seed to get food for the babies, since our adults are on a layer pellet. I guess mama can just eat their food for a while. I like the fence in your picture. I would like to do something like that when we set up for our 2 other hens. Again, thanks so much for the advice. Its sort of scary when you are new to this stuff and you get a surprise!