Memorial Day Weekend Turkey Hatch...We have a hatch!! Pics Heavy

[Turkeyrangler]

Oh, forgot to mention that the oldest tom and hen throw an occasional albino poults. The man who owned them before me got three that I know of last year. Hope I get a few.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Set 20 Turkey eggs tonight at 7:00pm Central time. Incubator has turner and fan. If it was like my chick hatch last week the temps stayed between 99 and 100 almost the entire time except when we lost the furnace for a couple days.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Just added 20 EE eggs to the incubator for a total of 40 egg set to hatch Memorial Day weekend. I candled a bunch of the Turkey eggs and a lot appear to be fertile. I'll wait until at least 10 days before I pull the yolkers. I have three eggs with funky extra lumps of shell I'm trying to hatch from my old EE hen(lower right corner of pic. For some reason the aircells are disconnected as well on all three. These were not dropped or bumped around. I doubt they will develop, but I would really like to get a few chicks from her. Iguess I give them a shot and see.

Here's a pic.

 

[weimarmama]

Wow, that's an incubator full of very colorful eggs. Good luck with your EEs

 

[hennypenny99]

I didn't know turkey eggs were so speckled. I have a question since you seem to know about turkeys. I bought two turkeys and they are about 9 weeks old. The bronze one is a tom (he struts) and I bought a white one that i think is a hen because she doesnt strut. Anyways, someone told me that I would have to kill the white one. They said that she will get so big that she won't have a good quality of life and that they would never breed because the white ones have to be artificially insemenated. I don't want the boy to be alone because the two of them stick side by side. I have chickens the same age as the turkeys but the turkeys seem to know they are not chickens. I guess I will just have to wait and see. I was hoping they could breed so I could see what the mix looked like.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
I wouldn't say I know about turkeys, but I'll try to answer your question. Yes, generally the white turkeys are broad breasted whites and they do not live long. due to their weight gain their legs and or their internal organs give out. I have heard of some living a few years, but they were mainly allowed to freerange and ate very little feed. Now, about your bronze. If you bought these two from a feedstore odds are that the bronze is a broad breasted bronze and will have the same problems as the white. Their are two types of bronze, broad breasted and standard bronze. Standard bronze are heritage birds that are smaller and able to breed naturally. The broad breasted bronze are just like the whites in that the toms get too large in the breast to breed naturally, but most don't make it to breeding age because of the huge weight gain that they are bred for. Now you may have gotten lucky and received a standard bronze and maybe a white holland but that is doubtful. Those will live years longer and breed naturally. As far as sex is concerned. You will need to wait a while longer to really know the sex of either. Young female turkeys will strut from time to time. What I've heard on this forum is you really know the sex when the toms gobble and the hens lay eggs. Wish I had better news for you.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
It's like Easter every time I go to the hen house.

 

[Saltysteele]

my dad just put 22 eggs (royal palm turkey) in the incubator saturday morning.

this is our first time incubating anything, but received a lot of info from the guy he purchased the incubator from. it's a brower, built (well, at least, purchased) in 1956. it's a cabinet style, forced air with 4 trays (no turner, doing it by hand)

will be looking forward to your updates, to see where about we should be at

i may even throw in some sussex eggs next saturday (light X coro)

 

[hennypenny99]

Thanks Turkeyrangler. I think they are both broadbreasted turkeys. I bought them at "At Woods". They both eat like little pigs but they free range too. I really just wanted to have a couple of turkeys to go with my chickens because we had them growing up. Well my husband is dying to eat them for Thanksgiving and that white one is getting mean. I need to get some of the pretty smaller breeds I guess. These two are eating me out of house & home.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
Good luck with the royals. I'd love to get some, but I don't have the room right now. Throw in the sussex eggs next week and let me know how they are doing.