raising polts

[julieschickens]

why would you want to take the babies away from the hen and take them to a brooder? would it not be much easier to let her raise them? i am confused on this. i was hoping my br hen will hatch out and raise the eggs herself. they are in an enclosed area that is under roof. i was just planning on adding feed and waterers for the babies when they hatch and let her do the rest?? is this a mistake? thanks for any input.

 

[DawnSuiter]

I'm no expert, but if your hen hatched the eggs and they are in a safe place (hen & poults), there doesn't seem to be any good reason to take the poults away.

 

[julieschickens]

thanks. that is sort of what i was thinking. sounds a lot easier and more natural i would think. i appreciate your input and welcome any others.

 

[DawnSuiter]

if you have concerns, just keep an eye out... be ready if she loses interest in them or they don't seem to be thriving, only then would I take over. They will surely be much better off if their mom-hen raises them... are these a wild type or heritage?

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

If you let the hen hatch out her own you will usually get a poor hatch rate. As far as letting her take care of them that would be fine. She will take good care of them, but a lot can happen out on their adventures in a day, so it tends to be a safer bet to raise and hatch the poults our selves. Just make sure it is only the hen and the poults in the area as she will be aggressive around her poults and toms and other hens sometimes will kill the young poults. GOOD LUCK

 

[julieschickens]

thanks for all your help. and to answer dawn they are bourbon reds and royal palms and they are seperated in 2 different pens. but, there are 3 hens and one tom in the bourbon red pen so i am not sure what to do??

 

[lilchick]

I either take the eggs away and incubate them or allow them to hatch out and take the babies and raise in a brooder. Turkey mommas are like guineas and take the babies every were to eat thru the wet weeds and all over.
I think first few days the babies are fragile and for several weeks they need a warm brooder and all the food they can consume.. I use marbles in the waterer and it attracts the to drink.
Also putting a chick or 2 with them helps them start eating. They tend to peck each others beaks and can get them sore so watch out for that. goofy birds but you gotta love them when they get big enough and you can take them outside. I had a pen with 4 turkeys in last summer and carried them in each night in a dog crate and kept them in basement. Wasn't long before they got too heavy to do that

My toms probably weigh over 20 lbs. now.
good luck with yours...

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
An incubator has a hard time beating mother nature. We have had turkey hens hatch Muscovy ducks, Geese, and quite a few poults with very high hatch rates. For our breeders they are all hen raised and not incubated because they are stronger from foraging and even though it might sound cold or harsh only the strongest make to be our breeders. Over the years we have raised our hatch rate, sickness is pretty much zero, increased size of the birds. It's all part of a selective breeding program, we will let the hens sit quite a few eggs on the years we renew our breeding stock and only keep the best of the best. If you notice the pics on our web site they are all young breeders, no "over the hill breeders". Why? After about 3 years the hens hatchability and the toms fertility drops quite a bit.

Steve in NC

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

An incubator has a hard time beating mother nature. We have had turkey hens hatch Muscovy ducks, Geese, and quite a few poults with very high hatch rates. For our breeders they are all hen raised and not incubated because they are stronger from foraging and even though it might sound cold or harsh only the strongest make to be our breeders. Over the years we have raised our hatch rate, sickness is pretty much zero, increased size of the birds.

Here is a study done on Turkeys that hatch out their own poults and the hatching rates and mortality rate of the poults.

"Hatching success" is often defined as the proportion of eggs (fertile or non-fertile) that hatch in successful nests (i.e., nests in which at least 1 egg hatches). This has ranged from 80 to 92% in a number of studies and was 84% in western Massachusetts.

"Nesting rate" means the number of females in the breeding population which exhibit incubation behavior. This has averaged from 87 to 100% (for adults) in various studies and was 92% in western Massachusetts (adults, 100%; juveniles, 81%). "Renesting rate" is the number of turkeys which lost their first nests or broods which nested again that same year. This has averaged 32 to 67% for adults in eastern and central North America, and 57% in western Massachusetts.

"Hen success" is a more complex concept. It includes first-nest success, renesting rate, and renest success. Basically, it is the proportion of hens that are successful (i.e., hatch at least 1 live poult) in at least 1 nesting attempt. This has averaged 35 to 80% for adults throughout the eastern wild turkey's range. In western Massachusetts, this averaged 68%.

Turkey poults are "precocial", like grouse chicks and ducklings. That is, their eyes are open, they have a warm downy plumage, and they are capable of responding to the hen and following her about within about 1 day after hatching. Immediately after hatching, the poults undergo a very rapid form of learning and social development called "imprinting" which fixates them on the hen, so they respond to her and her calls. Imprinting must occur with 24 hours post-hatching and is irreversible. This learning is essential for survival and normal social development. However, turkeys are not born with a mental image of their kind. They can and will imprint on the first animal that provides parental care, including chickens or humans. In those cases, the imprinted young will behave "normally" but will direct their behaviors to the foster parent.

Finally, we need to consider "poult mortality". This is normally defined as the proportion of poults dying within 14 days of hatching. This is the period of time when the greatest amount of mortality occurs. In several studies, this has averaged from 56 to 73% (that is, that percentage of the brood which dies within the 2-week period). In Massachusetts, poult mortality was 62%. For a 4-week period (i.e., 4 weeks post-hatch) poult mortality in several studies averaged 53 to 76%. This was not calculated in the Massachusetts study.​

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
Here is a study done on Turkeys that hatch out their own poults and the hatching rates and mortality rate of the poults.

"Hatching success" is often defined as the proportion of eggs (fertile or non-fertile) that hatch in successful nests (i.e., nests in which at least 1 egg hatches). This has ranged from 80 to 92% in a number of studies and was 84% in western Massachusetts.

"Nesting rate" means the number of females in the breeding population which exhibit incubation behavior. This has averaged from 87 to 100% (for adults) in various studies and was 92% in western Massachusetts (adults, 100%; juveniles, 81%). "Renesting rate" is the number of turkeys which lost their first nests or broods which nested again that same year. This has averaged 32 to 67% for adults in eastern and central North America, and 57% in western Massachusetts.

"Hen success" is a more complex concept. It includes first-nest success, renesting rate, and renest success. Basically, it is the proportion of hens that are successful (i.e., hatch at least 1 live poult) in at least 1 nesting attempt. This has averaged 35 to 80% for adults throughout the eastern wild turkey's range. In western Massachusetts, this averaged 68%.

Turkey poults are "precocial", like grouse chicks and ducklings. That is, their eyes are open, they have a warm downy plumage, and they are capable of responding to the hen and following her about within about 1 day after hatching. Immediately after hatching, the poults undergo a very rapid form of learning and social development called "imprinting" which fixates them on the hen, so they respond to her and her calls. Imprinting must occur with 24 hours post-hatching and is irreversible. This learning is essential for survival and normal social development. However, turkeys are not born with a mental image of their kind. They can and will imprint on the first animal that provides parental care, including chickens or humans. In those cases, the imprinted young will behave "normally" but will direct their behaviors to the foster parent.

Finally, we need to consider "poult mortality". This is normally defined as the proportion of poults dying within 14 days of hatching. This is the period of time when the greatest amount of mortality occurs. In several studies, this has averaged from 56 to 73% (that is, that percentage of the brood which dies within the 2-week period). In Massachusetts, poult mortality was 62%. For a 4-week period (i.e., 4 weeks post-hatch) poult mortality in several studies averaged 53 to 76%. This was not calculated in the Massachusetts study.
​

Once again you never state from personal experience you always go back doing a cut and paste from somplace else? You can search out many studies on the net and find the once that suports your point. We speak from personal experience and out methods that work very well.