Please Help New To Turkeys

[love2chicken]

Hi i have 2 hens I think. I want to get a tom and bread them this spring. Do they need a nesting box like chickens. will the hens sit on the eggs or can i put them under a chicken or should i get a incubator. I have the hens in a coop/run right now they have lived in of the passed few months. I want to let them out but dont want them to fly away or get in truble with dogs or other things. If i let them out would they go back in at night like the chickens. i have heared after a year of age they dont fly as much any truth to that. if there is any other tips please let me know thanks for all the help. p.s. the are a x burbon and spanish black.

 

[lotzahenz]

Here is my limited turkey experience, so hopefully someone who knows more will add to it. My turkey hens will lay in a nest box, or on the coop floor, but they prefer to hide away behind something or in deep brush and lay the eggs right on the ground. One turkey hen hatched 14 of her own eggs by stealing away her nest like that. Honestly, she was a terrible first-time mother, she would fly up high and watch the peeps run around looking for her, panicked. She did much better her next hatch. However, my other hens have had no luck with this method, as something always gets the eggs, i would guess a Opossum or skunk. OH, a hen can/will hatch them for you, it takes 28 days.

 

[MamaHutch06]

We clip our turkeys wings and they run all day with the chickens and dogs. Theu have there own coop/run to go into at night but we have to get them in there..if you have a hard time doing this just show them a broom and they will go lol. for some weird reason they dont like brooms lol also we did not make a nesting box but our hen laid her eggs all in a corner of the coop on the floor. They are a blast.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I would never clip the wings of a free range turkey. That is the only chance they have if a predator gets after them. You can teach them to go into a coop at night but you will have to run them in every night for a while. Some will use a nexting box. I use medium dog houses for a nesting box. If you build some like a chicken box, 18X18 is a good size.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I agree. Mine lay in the nesting boxes for the chickens.

 

[MamaHutch06]

We only have ours free ranging while we are outside with them. And we only need to clip the hen, the boy never tries to fly.

 

[love2chicken]

Thanks for the info sounds like if you don't put them in at night they won't go in like the chickens do. Just don't want to fly away never to be seen again.