Incubating Turkey eggs

[greeneggsandham]

So what's the low down on incubating turkey eggs? Can they be put in an egg turner like chickens or do you have to hand turn them? I know it takes 28 days and I've read that the temp should be between 99 and 99.5, but have read a couple of different things about the humidity. What is the correct humidity for turkeys? I have 5 eggs from my Midget White pair and would like to get them in the bator in the next day or so. Thanks a bunch.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i just set some turkey eggs i got from a friend. This is my first time, too. My friend has incubated them before and said to keep everything about the same as for chicken eggs. i have looked at some charts that indicate a very high humidity. But i'm going to keep mine at around 50% until the last three days, then up it to 65-70%, just like i would with chicken eggs.

i have an egg turner, but these things are so big that i'm choosing to hand turn them.

Good luck with your hatch. i will let you know how mine goes.

 

[turkaholic]

You'll probably get several answers, all different! For myself, 99.5 at 45-50% humidity for the first 25 days, last three days at 99.0 and 65-70% humidity. You can put them in an egg turner as long as the turner can fit them. Turkey eggs can vary considerably in size, so you'll have to check.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i was hoping a turkey expert would chime in. Thanks for the input.

 

[turkaholic]

Quote:

What a condesending remark!!!! Turkey hatching isn't rocket science. After hatching turkey eggs for over 10 years, I'm as good an expert as anyone.
My hatches average over 90%. What else are you looking for?

A lot of this is trial and error. If your affraid to make any mistakes (and you will) you won't learn anything.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
This is what I'm doing with the thirty five I have in the incubator right now. We'll see how it worked come April 20th.

.....Alan.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Quote:

What a condesending remark!!!! Turkey hatching isn't rocket science. After hatching turkey eggs for over 10 years, I'm as good an expert as anyone.
My hatches average over 90%. What else are you looking for?

A lot of this is trial and error. If your affraid to make any mistakes (and you will) you won't learn anything.

Whoa, hold up there partner! You have completely misinterpreted what i said. i was calling "YOU" a turkey expert and thanking "YOU" for "YOUR" input. My goodness, you might want to take those knots out of your knickers and assuming the worst from people.

Sheesh! You try to thank someone for their input and they go postal on you.

 

[turkaholic]

Quote:

What a condesending remark!!!! Turkey hatching isn't rocket science. After hatching turkey eggs for over 10 years, I'm as good an expert as anyone.
My hatches average over 90%. What else are you looking for?

A lot of this is trial and error. If your affraid to make any mistakes (and you will) you won't learn anything.

Whoa, hold up there partner! You have completely misinterpreted what i said. i was calling "YOU" a turkey expert and thanking "YOU" for "YOUR" input. My goodness, you might want to take those knots out of your knickers and assuming the worst from people.

Sheesh! You try to thank someone for their input and they go postal on you.

Sorry for the misinterpretation, but that's how it read to me! Goes to show words cannot aways express intent, especially over the internet. Accept my apology.
I'll blame it on the weather, it's crappy as all heck here and affecting my mood.

I'll try to get those knots out!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Well now, looking again at my post, i can see where it could have been interpreted as dismissing your comment and hoping for an expert. i'm sorry, too. Wish you could have heard the bouncy and happy tone to my voice when i posted.

i saw your name was "turkaholic" and knew we hit the jackpot.

Our weather is crappy, too. We had some beautiful sunny weather and i thought we were done with winter. Now it's all overcast and rain is expected. What happened to Spring?

 

[turkaholic]

No hard feelings here!

Just glad it's all back on track. Wettest year I can remember here in the East.

Before I am accused of highjacking , here are some more tips I've learned on hatching the Thunder Chicken (turkeys, of course) that may help.

Your hatch rate will be proportional to the quality of your incubator. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. If you get serious about this, go with a good quality machine and bypass the econo models.

I wash and dissinfect the eggs. I dip all my eggs in a Tek Trol (dissinfectant brand) bath at 110 degree F for 2-3 minutes. Yes, I know , most will say don't wash the eggs, you'll remove the protective "Bloom". I don't rub or scrub, just dip and let dry naturally on a clean towel. I dissinfect the incubator with Tek Trol also. I have had excellent hatches doing this.

Don't freak out if you loose power during incubation, several hours of cooling won't kill the embryo. It may delay your hatch a day or so.

If I think of more, I'll add to them later.