Illinois...

[Molpet]

Turkey eggs:

The good news is that the turkey eggs keep coming..... Bad news - no usable ones in a while.

I found 2 turkey eggs on Friday, but the silly turkey keeps laying her eggs on a high shelf about 7 feet up. One of the eggs got lodged in the nook of support piece. It was whole but probably there for days & was frozen/split due to the temps. The other egg was only a shell. It probably fell & cracked open when it crashed down. The chickens ate it. That's what I found again on Sat afternoon as well as this morning. I hope it doesn't turn my flock into egg eaters

Anyone have an idea on how to make a turkey lay somewhere else? I really don't know why she insists on laying eggs up there.

I give my hens any broken eggs..they do clean up any that get broken in the nest too.. so far they just eat the ones already broken... I have from 2016 an ISA that lays unassembled eggs a couple times a week.

I would put a 3 sided box up there and see if she would lay in it. Last year the hen started laying in the chickens nest box. She then moved to the floor. I would leave a fake egg and take hers. She seemed to know it was a fake egg and kept hopping the fence acting like she was looking for a new spot. I left her egg, marked, and then she stayed laying in the same spot.

 

[BReeder!]

Turkey eggs:

The good news is that the turkey eggs keep coming..... Bad news - no usable ones in a while.

I found 2 turkey eggs on Friday, but the silly turkey keeps laying her eggs on a high shelf about 7 feet up. One of the eggs got lodged in the nook of support piece. It was whole but probably there for days & was frozen/split due to the temps. The other egg was only a shell. It probably fell & cracked open when it crashed down. The chickens ate it. That's what I found again on Sat afternoon as well as this morning. I hope it doesn't turn my flock into egg eaters.

Anyone have an idea on how to make a turkey lay somewhere else? I really don't know why she insists on laying eggs up there.

I hope you can still give me some to test out in the incubator.

 

[Faraday40]

I hope you can still give me some to test out in the incubator.

I think I have 3, so it's still worth it ..... but I would have given you 7 if the turkey hen didn't lay them in places where they fall to their death.

I'm surprised by the number of eggs - almost daily now, so perhaps the other is laying as well.

 

[Molpet]

I think I have 3, so it's still worth it ..... but I would have given you 7 if the turkey hen didn't lay them in places where they fall to their death.

I'm surprised by the number of eggs - almost daily now, so perhaps the other is laying as well.

none of mine are laying.. I can track them through the snow and so far no hidden nests
are any of chickendreams laying?

 

[cavemanrich]

One thing I found helpful in my coop was placing a shelf directly under the roosting area. Some sort of daily poop collection - like sand for sifting or a simple re-purposed feed bag used as a tarp - helped keep the coop clean and allowed the chickens to use the floor space under the roosts.

A plan I hopefully can achieve this summer is a NEW COOP. Slightly larger, but mostly made with my desired features. I want poop shelves under roosts. They would be trays containing a scoop-able medium like sand. Kitty litter scoop to sift out gumdrops easily. I have PDZ on hand, so most likely would use that instead of sand.

 

[Faraday40]

My Dec 2nd chicks are now a little over 6 weeks old.

Blue Orp (Poor girl is hitting the awkward stage very hard!) By the feathering & feet color, I'm beginning to wonder if her Daddy was Mr Wonderful. The other option is a lav orp cockerel - but his feet are solid slate gray like Jewel (the biological mama).


"White" continues to be my fav serama. She's sweet & calmer than the other. I have no idea what to call her mixed color of buff, white, cream, & gray.


"Chipmunk" is feisty but endearing. She still has the red wattles (tight, not dropped), but I see no other male signs, so I'm pretty sure she's female. She reminds me of her biological mama - Noodle.


Some additional "family" pics. The size differences always make me giggle.

 

[BReeder!]

A plan I hopefully can achieve this summer is a NEW COOP. Slightly larger, but mostly made with my desired features. I want poop shelves under roosts. They would be trays containing a scoop-able medium like sand. Kitty litter scoop to sift out gumdrops easily. I have PDZ on hand, so most likely would use that instead of sand.

I created a thread called "Show me your poop boards!". The a few posts in it already that are interesting. Take a look.

 

[BReeder!]

I have been posting quail egg updates in a quail hatch along forum mostly. Check out this video though. My babies are alert and responding to my whistling!

 

[Faraday40]

I have been posting quail egg updates in a quail hatch along forum mostly. Check out this video though. My babies are alert and responding to my whistling!

Cool! Won't be long now. Quail are a little different hatching than chickens. With chicken eggs, you'll see an external pip & it can take up to 24 hrs before it hatches. It's a long, patient process. With quail, there's not much to see & then "pop" - You've got quail. Also, a clutch of chicken eggs takes about 48 hrs to hatch from 1st chick to last. Quail all seem to hatch at once within a couple hours of each other. The hatch only lasts a few hours, not days. That's why people say quail hatch like popcorn.

BTW- The turkey laid her egg on the roost this morning. (Only 3 ft off the ground, so the egg didn't crack from the drop.) I think tomorrow or Thurs eve would be a good day to pick up some eggs, so the 1st one won't be too old.

 

[BReeder!]

Cool! Won't be long now. Quail are a little different hatching than chickens. With chicken eggs, you'll see an external pip & it can take up to 24 hrs before it hatches. It's a long, patient process. With quail, there's not much to see & then "pop" - You've got quail. Also, a clutch of chicken eggs takes about 48 hrs to hatch from 1st chick to last. Quail all seem to hatch at once within a couple hours of each other. The hatch only lasts a few hours, not days. That's why people say quail hatch like popcorn.

BTW- The turkey laid her egg on the roost this morning. (Only 3 ft off the ground, so the egg didn't crack from the drop.) I think tomorrow or Thurs eve would be a good day to pick up some eggs, so the 1st one won't be too old.

I just messaged about the turkey eggs actually. Ironic that I read this after I message messaged you. I would prefer tomorrow since I expect to have quail chicks Thursday to rush home to.