My wife and I are the new parents of two Royal Palms, a Black Spanish, and a regular Bronze....all hens. All are around 9-12 mo of age according to the farmer we purchased them from. We have had them about three weeks now, and they have established their pecking order and are getting along nicely. The B. Spanish is a very vocal hen, clucking and poping all of the time. She and one of the R. Palms sit to be petted when we enter the enclosed run.....quite cute.
We currently have them in a 8x15 foot enclosed run, with a covered end and two different roost poles; one out in the open, and one under covered/three sided enclosed end of the run. All of the turks roost with no problems.
One of the hens started laying yesterday, and laid this morning as well. Does the hen that is laying need some type of nesting box or platform to lay eggs in/on? We are picking them up, but I want to get her established with regard to nesting behavior.
In the future, I will be building a new 16x16 turkey run/enclosure to house the R. Palms with an additional tom to themselves, as well as a 16x16 run/enclosure for some eastern wild turks we are picking up tomorrow. I plan on keeping the B. Spanish and Bronze together in their own 16x16 run/enclosure, and I may introduce a B. Spanish tom to them as well just to keep the ladies happy.
The plan is to breed the Easterns and release their poults when of survival age out on the farm to go forth and populate; whereas the heritage turks are simply pets and we will sell poults when the time comes.
Thanks for the help with the laying hen question.
JD & Carolyn Odell
Owners of Odell Farms
Flat Rock, Alabama
We currently have them in a 8x15 foot enclosed run, with a covered end and two different roost poles; one out in the open, and one under covered/three sided enclosed end of the run. All of the turks roost with no problems.
One of the hens started laying yesterday, and laid this morning as well. Does the hen that is laying need some type of nesting box or platform to lay eggs in/on? We are picking them up, but I want to get her established with regard to nesting behavior.
In the future, I will be building a new 16x16 turkey run/enclosure to house the R. Palms with an additional tom to themselves, as well as a 16x16 run/enclosure for some eastern wild turks we are picking up tomorrow. I plan on keeping the B. Spanish and Bronze together in their own 16x16 run/enclosure, and I may introduce a B. Spanish tom to them as well just to keep the ladies happy.
The plan is to breed the Easterns and release their poults when of survival age out on the farm to go forth and populate; whereas the heritage turks are simply pets and we will sell poults when the time comes.
Thanks for the help with the laying hen question.
JD & Carolyn Odell
Owners of Odell Farms
Flat Rock, Alabama
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