Our First Hatch!

[thaiturkey]

My wife woke me from my sleep at 6.00am this morning to tell me that we had three new babies. I recovered from the shock realising that she was talking about the turkeys. By the afternoon we had five. The are duck yellow in colour and some have dark feathers on their backs. This generation is intended for the market one way or another but I think that we have fallen in love with them already. It's, so far, 5 from a total of 22 eggs.

This is another first that has thrown our plans out of the window. We intended to move them to straw, a lamp, water and food under mosquito netting in our outhouse. My first thought this morning was to move the very protective mother with them this evening but she is still sitting on 7 eggs.

In the next nesting box, a cardboard box compared with her plastic basket, are two hens and another 12 eggs. None of those 12 seems to have hatched yet and we wonder whether the box has been too warm.

The babies seem happy enough under mother but our main concern is the darned mosquitoes. We don't want to cause too much fuss while there are still eggs to hatch.

We decided to leave them all as they were tonight and move them tomorrow. The current plan is to move mother and chicks to the outhouse in the morning. One of the pair of hens would then be encouraged to take over the remaining eggs in her basket. If she refuses, they will be put into the box with the two hens and 12 eggs.

If anyone sees a problem with the current plan, I would be grateful for advice, please.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Congrats Thai. Your plan sounds like a good one to me.

Steve

 

[thaiturkey]

Thanks Steve.

I've woken in the middle of the night with this on my mind.

My wife will leave in the early hours on a business trip so I shall have to face the pecking and swearing alone. We had another storm yesterday afternoon and that has cooled the air. I shall make the move when the air warms up mid morning and hope that it works.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

You said you were going to keep them closed up in the house at first right? Which you should so the hen won't try to go back to her old nest. I don't think the time of day will really matter.

Steve

 

[thaiturkey]

They have been left with the hen in the coop over night. All of the other turkeys are there too. The plan was to move the chicks, hopefully with the hen, to the outhouse today. That would separate them from the other turkeys and we could cover them, their bedding, feed and water with mosquito netting. The temperature would stay more even in there than in the coop too.

There will be some unhatched eggs left in the nest. There are three brooding hens in all and the other two share a nest. If the hen with chicks is moved out of the coop then I need to either persuade one of the other broodies to take her place or put the remaining eggs in the other nest.

The chicks will have to stay covered for three weeks, that is two weeks after their anti mosquito injections.

Of course, it might look different in a few hours when daylight comes. The eggs in the second nest should be hatching if the incubation temperature in a the cardboard box with two sitting hens wasn't too high. Whatever, the case, the chicks can't be left in the coop when they need to get from under mother's wing and feed.

Oh the trials of being a father!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Oh the trials of being a father!

LOL

That is true..... I remember way way back when my son ate a penny. worry worry, trip to the doctor, worry some more. The doc says if you need the money watch him the next couple days it will pass. After a few more kids they were out in the yard eating dirt and dog food...... ya what ever they'll be fine.

Poultry are the same way...... and you can eat them if they don't measure up.

Steve​

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Quote:
Poultry are the same way...... and you can eat them if they don't measure up.

Steve

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
LOL

That is true..... I remember way way back when my son ate a penny. worry worry, trip to the doctor, worry some more. The doc says if you need the money watch him the next couple days it will pass. After a few more kids they were out in the yard eating dirt and dog food...... ya what ever they'll be fine.

Poultry are the same way...... and you can eat them if they don't measure up.

Steve

There's a coincidence! My son claimed to have swallowed some pennies and I rushed off to the hospital with him strapped in his child seat choking. We were new to the area and I knew only the general direction of the hospital. I passed every car on the road at one hell of a speed but decided to pull over when I saw a police patrol parked up. I explained and asked the way. The officer gave us a blue light escort to A&E! Smoke was coming from my brakes by the time we arrived. After two x rays that showed nothing I gave my son a 'you better had after all that' look. Sure enough he hit the jackpot a few days later.

As you say, you stop worrying.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
Poultry are the same way...... and you can eat them if they don't measure up.

Steve

OK OK and not get locked up, how's that?

LOL

 

[thaiturkey]

The rearrangement has been completed with hardly any attempts to peck and only a modicum of fowl language. Mother and babies are in the outhouse with food, water and netting. There's no heat source at the moment because mother seems to be doing a good job on her own. Another broody has volunteered to take over the vacant nest and its remaining 7 eggs. A nice smooth operation and no need for the Bandaid!

There's just one question at the moment if someone could help, please. I'm hoping that mother will show the chicks the food and water and how to feed. Or do I have to get under the netting with them and show them myself?