New to this turkey thing

[ivan3]

My turkeys have never eaten their own eggs, not once, until I crack them for them, so this is what I do, I also do it with my duck eggs and dirty chicken eggs, not saying you should do it, but this is my experience, and I don't have trouble with it, of course my birds are allowed to forage and do natural things, so they aren't bored or have a need to develop habits that are from improper confinement. It's not natural for birds to crack open and eat their own egg, but if one gets cracked it's fair game

Our broodies will occasionally eat a "suspect" egg and, the following morning, will squirt out a yellowish white liquid that, on the sand of the run, looks like some modern art masterpiece. More often the broodies break a "bad" egg just enough to carry it away from the nest (to a distance of 20-30yds). How they identify a "bad' egg? By a process not well understood Slate hen caught dropping bad egg far from nest (seem almost depressed about it - reason I caught the shot was that she seemed to be "slouching" as she walked around house and I first thought "injury"/"predator"). Royal jenny taking a malformed egg, away from nest:

 

[Hardemans]

Question for those of you who breed turkeys. When do the hens start laying? And if I bought some poults in early August would i get eggs in this spring?

Thanks

 

[ivan3]

Question for those of you who breed turkeys.  When do the hens start laying?  And if I bought some poults in early August would i get eggs in this spring?

Thanks

Ours have run the gamut (6-10 months).

 

[heahaa]

Question for those of you who breed turkeys.  When do the hens start laying?  And if I bought some poults in early August would i get eggs in this spring?

Thanks

 

[heahaa]

I got turkeys last July and they started laying in March. I had 1 who even hatched 8.