set up for breeding/nesting

[KatyTheChickenLady]

thanks steve that really answers a lot of my questions & dog fish covered a few I forgot to ask as well.

so dogfish I guess you and I are going to go through this together, let's keep in contact. It's warmer where you are so you will probably be one step ahead of me.
Mine are to be "mutts" as well, however that's on purpose. I have had a lot of fun working on three of my own "breeds" of chickens and am looking forward to doing the same with the turkeys one day. there is this guy named porter who breeds turkeys, you should check out his web site; he breeds a lot of hertage lines but also has his own color creations, most of what he has to say is WAY over my head but his info on the color genes is really interesting and his pics are spectacular.

My tom was sold to me as a Black Spanish X Blue Slate . . . he looks like a Rio Grande, and according to the breeder "could be", I will need to post a pic and get some experts to have a say. I have one Bourban Red hen, one Sweet Grass hen, and one Blue Slate X Black Spanish hen.

It would be cool to see pics of yours so we can compare chicks down the road.

 

[Dogfish]

Absolutely Katy. I think we raise a lot of the same things, broilers, egg birds, turkeys. I also have a few pheasants and valley quail that I am raising to train bird dogs with.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

lol, My daugher works for Leo Mittag at No-Mar Kennels. I learned to train under Delmar Smith.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Pen them before they even start laying so they think its their permanent home, and after she gets used to it shell find a spot most comfortable wherever she is, and lay. My hen chose to lay by where the cows bedded!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

thank you, that's exactly what I am going to do I have three extra runs that are 10X20 I think they will be perfect for turkey brooders.

that raises one more question; what do I do with the tom? in order to insure fertility do I switch him from pen to pen daily, weekly? does he go in with the girls once they are setting?
thanks!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

I would just rotate the tom every couple days. With turkey mating it's hens choice so when you put the tom in they may or may not mate right away, by leaving him in for a few days you will have fertile eggs. Once the hens start sitting keep the tom out.

Dogfish, the hens won't notice the eggs are from another hen and a clutch is about 20 eggs.

Steve

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

thanks! its 30 degrees here today, how soon would you think I should start penning them, I don't want to before necessary.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

I would wait until they started laying.

Steve

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

hmmm, I don't know how I could tell here if they are sneaking off and doing it in the weeds.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

The old fashioned vent check will tell you.

Steve