I'm in a bind. MHP and brooding turkeys

[Farmgal Val]

Our Bourbon turkey couple laid an egg every 2-3 days. I was out of town so husband set up the incubator.
Only problem is the egg laying was so spaced out every time my husband got 4 eggs he put them into the incubator without dating them, which I usually do on the shell in pencil.

So, yesterday the first baby hatched. I am back home now and set up my MHP (mother hen pad) but with all these turkey babies needing to brood in my near future...What should be a good average temperature under the pad? Since I'm facing so many different hatch dates now.

I've never brooded turkeys, only chicks but I'm not sure the best temperature under the mother hen going from the hot incubator.

 

[BReeder!]

Our Bourbon turkey couple laid an egg every 2-3 days. I was out of town so husband set up the incubator.
Only problem is the egg laying was so spaced out every time my husband got 4 eggs he put them into the incubator without dating them, which I usually do on the shell in pencil.

So, yesterday the first baby hatched. I am back home now and set up my MHP (mother hen pad) but with all these turkey babies needing to brood in my near future...What should be a good average temperature under the pad? Since I'm facing so many different hatch dates now.

I've never brooded turkeys, only chicks but I'm not sure the best temperature under the mother hen going from the hot incubator.

The MHP is less about temp under it and more about creating a warm place for them to come and go. The issue you'll face is likely the height difference in poults that are a week or so apart. You'll need to raise the MHP to fit the tallest poults. I would stuff some feathers in under there to create some insulation for smaller chicks that need just a little extra warmth.

 

[Molpet]

My first time I had BBB poults, CX, and heritage chicks. I had the front of the cave higher than the back, ...with room to escape in the back, in case of entrapment. Had in the basement in a water trough.
Worked out fine.

 

[Farmgal Val]

Our Bourbon turkey couple laid an egg every 2-3 days. I was out of town so husband set up the incubator.
Only problem is the egg laying was so spaced out every time my husband got 4 eggs he put them into the incubator without dating them, which I usually do on the shell in pencil.

So, yesterday the first baby hatched. I am back home now and set up my MHP (mother hen pad) but with all these turkey babies needing to brood in my near future...What should be a good average temperature under the pad? Since I'm facing so many different hatch dates now.

I've never brooded turkeys, only chicks but I'm not sure the best temperature under the mother hen going from the hot incubator.

Thank you. I don't have feathers but my pad isn't curved into a cave but is built flat with a cover drape to retain the heat and I can raise the front or lower the back.
It worked ok for chicks as the smaller ones stayed more back and closer to the low end.

It looks like the low back side of the pad is running about 74 degrees. Since this is a single baby for now going from hatcher temps of 99.5 will 74 make it sick? I'm trying to avoid turning the pad to medium setting if I don't really need to. Thanks!

 

[Molpet]

Thank you. I don't have feathers but my pad isn't curved into a cave but is built flat with a cover drape to retain the heat and I can raise the front or lower the back.
It worked ok for chicks as the smaller ones stayed more back and closer to the low end.

It looks like the low back side of the pad is running about 74 degrees. Since this is a single baby for now going from hatcher temps of 99.5 will 74 make it sick? I'm trying to avoid turning the pad to medium setting if I don't really need to. Thanks!

I started at high when they were first out of the incubator and medium when they acted hot

 

[R2elk]

Thank you. I don't have feathers but my pad isn't curved into a cave but is built flat with a cover drape to retain the heat and I can raise the front or lower the back.
It worked ok for chicks as the smaller ones stayed more back and closer to the low end.

It looks like the low back side of the pad is running about 74 degrees. Since this is a single baby for now going from hatcher temps of 99.5 will 74 make it sick? I'm trying to avoid turning the pad to medium setting if I don't really need to. Thanks!

I don't use an MHP. I start day old turkey poults at 90°F measured at the bedding level. My brooder is 4'x4' allowing it to have cooler zones where the food and water are.

 

[Farmgal Val]

Thanks! I'll turn it up.

 

[Farmgal Val]

I started at high when they were first out of the incubator and medium when they acted hot

thank you!