Killed in the line of duty by a fat turkey and the lessons learned.

I went out to do an egg check around 300pm had 3 hens on the nest boxes including a real pretty golden EE hen, I collected the eggs (30 of em) and let the last 3 layers rest. Of course the gold one would mangle your hand if ya tried to lift up her skirt, so I let her be as she was screaching at me as soon as I opened the coop door. at 4 I went back out out and a turkey was on the nest where the gold EE was, and the turkey got up and in the nest box was my prettiest hen squashed with a turkey egg on top of her and her own blue egg was squashed out of her and broken. I aquired 2 BCM Roos just to breed with my EE's to produce olive eggers so this makes me a little sad as I only had 4 EE's. I am buying materials tomorrow to make the open nest boxes enclosed and turkey proof, as it has been rainy here the eggs have been getting muddy and icky anyways.

I used to promote mixing chickens and turkeys, I will not do so anymore they may get along but accidents happen.

Closed nest boxes make for cleaner eggs and not squashed chickens by 35 pound turkeys.

Poor girl she was so sweet when she was not on a box, and one of the girls who would run up to ya and just start "gossiping" to ya, ya know that chatter they do to ya, she could do that for hours if ya let her. It is both a predator, egglaying and behavior story so I am writing it here, hope I got it in the right place.

 

Quote:Mine are Broad Breasted Bronzes, we took the two toms for Tday and Xmas. They have their squables, pecking order stuff, but nothing outright violent. The only agression I witnessed was two T hens locked beak in beak like they were trying to swallow each others heads, so I got the agressor like I do my RIR Roo made her squat to the ground and put her beak in the dirt until she limped up, and all was well. Not all the T hens are high on the pecking order of the chickens, the two largest are and one of those who sat on the EE, and the 3 largest will be sent to freezer camp, and we have decided to do wild or heritage breeds come spring. My little runt hen who is named Llittle Sexy who squats for any man cat or human will be repreived, she is just a little bit bigger than a rir roo and weighs mabey 12 pounds and she is 8 months old, she will be kept with the chickens, (she seems to relate to them more.) and a turkey pen will be created this fall and winter for them.