Planning ahead, what setup is best for nesting Narragansetts?

[PattySh]

I have several narragansetts born this spring/summer that I hope will hatch poults next spring. I have 2 males and 2 females(plus 2 narragansettX females that look bronze), can they all be in the same enclosure to breed or will the males fight? What type of "nest" to the hens require and how many eggs do they usually hatch safely. What is the incubation period for turkeys?

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

They will more than likely nest on the ground, so maybe piles of hay here & there. The hen will lay an egg every other day, & will collect 10-14 before she sits on them to hatch. The eggs take 29 days, more or less, to hatch. Happy hatching!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We made 18 inch square nest boxes in our chicken houses and they lay in them.

Steve

 

[OmaBird]

I have used medium size dog carriers for my turkeys. I like plastic for easy cleanning. I line them up and anchor them down so they don't flip over. I put a 6 inch X 1 wood board in front to keep the shavings from comming out. I have also used wooden ones that I put a large pastic dish pan inside to make it easy to clean. I think wood gets nasty fast if a turkey breaks a egg.

The ALBC breeding manual says.

Turkey hens tend to want to nest in groups so there is an advantage to building next boxes in close proximity to each other in a battery configuration as pictured here. http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/MasterBreeder/turkeys_combined.pdf Page 25. The dimension of each box is approximately 24 inches wide, 24 inches deep, and 24 inches tall. There is a lip in front of the boxes that is 6-8 inches tall so that the bedding stays in place and eggs don’t roll out of the box. The boxes are kept at ground level and are lined with clean bedding that may consist of dry straw or pine shavings. There should be one next box for every 4-5 hens.

 

[PattySh]

Thanks for the advice. Steve, are your next boxes elevated? I already have elevated boxes that are 20x20 or so, 4 of them in the coop. My turkeys are happily sharing a new coop with the chickens. Wondering if they will try to lay in same nest boxes are the chickens?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
Some of the boxes are elevated some are at floor level. You might want to think about some smaller nest boxes for your chickens. The turkey hens tend to step on the chicken eggs and break them. We put smaller 10 x 10 boxes with a short roosting board in the front so the turkey hens can't get in them, those are all elevated since the turkey hens will try to still get in them if they can.

Steve

 

[PattySh]

Good idea, I think we need to modify the coop a bit before spring hits.