Nest Sharing

[Struttn1]

I am assuming I will have little RP's in a week or two. No idea who's eggs are who's.

 

[ziggywiggy]

I had two turkeys set the same nest last year and when the eggs started hatching the hens started fighting and killed almost everything. I would remove one hen. The hen will raise the poults but, there is a lot that can go wrong. Preditors are the biggest problem for me. Just saying, you might want to consider brooding the poults yourself.

 

[Struttn1]

I've had many hens share nests before with no problems after the hatch. if I was interested in brooding them I would have incubated them but I am taking a year off from incubating and brooding. The hens are going to earn their keep this year.

 

[ziggywiggy]

Quote:
I prefer letting the hens raise the poults myself-a lot less mess, but they are in a pen where nothing can get in.

 

[ziggywiggy]

Now you've got me thinking. I wonder if something else happened? I know the eggs started peeping and several hours later I checked the nest and there were bodies everywhere. I just assumed it was the hens fighting. Have you ever had that happen? This is my third year with Turkeys, so I am kind of a novice and definetly will explore other possibilities. I also noticed ants after I removed what was left to salvage. Could ants possibly be the culprit?

 

[turkey guru]

I use a permanent marker, if I have a hen setting and other hens can get to the nest I mark her eggs and check it every day! hens like to lay to eggs ,real or fake, I love to use wooden apple boxes, line bottom with plastic and then dry soil,as soon a hen lays a clutch, I will move her box and all at night to the side and lean a sheet of plywood over her, poof, dark area for her!!! she just might set 28 days!!!! I have 3 hens that will open a can of whip--- on you every day you come to collect eggs has been going on for years these girls are pit bulls and have had them go for the face! talk about mothering instinct they are mothers alright, there survival instinct is strong tom!!!!!!!!

 

[turkey guru]

a hen wiil spend so much time trying to protect her poults she will actually stomp them to death! when you have a busy coop, she wiil try to move them away from everybody else! they are so fragile the first 3 days! out of 12, I saved 2, made me sick, now days I pull them , tank them for a week then she can have them back!!!! its amazing how many things can go wrong, when a guy is just trying to hatch a few poults!!!!!!!!! tom!!!!!!

 

[ziggywiggy]

Quote:
Thanks Tom. I knew I was right. I know those hens were fighting. The chick in my picture is a one eyed chick I salvaged from the battle. Have a great day. And yes, you can return poults after a while. I never tried a week though.

 

[Struttn1]

Quote:
If you had left a tom or two in the pen with the hens and the poults that is what killed the poults

 

[ivan3]

Nice girls (hope the hatch goes well!). Our Royal and Slate always nested together. Seemed to make them a bit less `hissy' with the meddling humans. Each hen could take longer breaks (dirt bathing/foraging) than either nesting alone.

Last summer, after the Royal tom was removed from the King Bird throne by our Slate Tom, he moped for a couple of days and then joined the Slate hen on her nest. He was very conscientious so much so, it seems, that the hen quit the nest and moved to another location and started laying again. The tom remained on the nest for 20 days. He turned the eggs, he fussed about, he never did offer any challenge when we'd go in to clean the shed' he'd just beg for grapes.
When he did give up this strange affection he flew straight up to the top of the chimney (had never done this before), and otherwise acted the crazy/happy turkey (running/skirring in cirles and yelping).

The Wild Eastern hens, here, `creche', and we've observed four hens together with with over 15 poults (hard to count through the brush) - maybe as young as a month to 2.5months (best guess).