She did it!

[Pampered Hen]

A while back I with posted with questions about my broody hen and her eggs. About 5 weeks ago she hatched 5 healthy poults. She turned out to be a super first time mommy. She was hand raised by me and has a pretty strong bond with me allowing me (and only me to approach the brood). Feeding chores and garden outings are such a joy. The chickens and the Tom respect the youngsters and at times the whole bunch runs around the yard. I get to sit back and enjoy my birds.

 

[purelypoultry]

Thant's wonderful!!

 

[terrilhb]

Oh they are adorable. I want turkeys.

 

[AdrieeC]

Lovely hen and pults! Congratulations to you all.

 

[ShadyHoller]

That's awesome. Likewise, our first time momma is being a very devoted guardian. Our tom was acting weird while the momma bird was broody, so we locked him up in solitary confinement. The poults are now 3 weeks old, and yesterday we reunited the Tom with the rest of the birds. He is completely unconcerned about the little peepers darting all around... although he does seem a little let down by the fact that his old girlfriend is much more interested in her babies and not really interested in him at all anymore. He strutted and strutted and strutted and... finally gave up and sat down for a while, moping and half-heartedly pecking at the ground.

 

[Pampered Hen]

Same here! My tom began acting a tad aggressive towards his broody partner and flushed her off the nest a couple times. I decided to relocate him to the chickens and let the broody have the turkey coop to herself. Mama bird and her poults still live separated from the tom and chickens, but they all get to range the yard together. The poults have been accepted by all adult birds and it has been a wonderful experience so far.
I learned that mama would rather spend the night outside than go sleep in the coop. So, every night, before she decides to lay low for the night I have to herd the little family back into the coop. I wonder if that is typical for turkeys?