Sitting hen(s) question

[egg-stra special chic]

I am new to the posting thing...I have been reading post for about a year now...I have a question about my turkey hens...The eggs should hatch within the next 2-4 days. I went to check on them this afternoon and I have 2 eggs outside the box busted open and the babies are dead...does anyone have an answer for this. I have 3 hens and they are all in the same box with around 32 eggs. Someone please help!!! Thanks in advanace.

 

[Kennyog]

My quess is that one of the hens stepped on them.Are they cramped,or do they have lots of space?

 

[ziggywiggy]

If you have an incubator, I would start pulling eggs. I've never had luck letting more than one hen set the same nest . Other people have but not me. Seems when they start hatching it turns into a war zone with dead bodies everywhere. Also, make sure the Tom is not in with them if you do decide to let the hens hatch.
I'd pull half the eggs put them in an incubator and leave the rest with one hen. At the very least I'd take a few eggs, that way you'll end up with something.

 

[egg-stra special chic]

Thanks for the replies. The tom is already out of the coop. I didnt intend for them all to set in one box it just turned out that way. They do have some space but not enough I dont think. I am going back to check on them now and will post my findings. Anymore suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[egg-stra special chic]

Nothing was any different when I checked earlier. The 3 hens are still all in the nesting box. The best I can tell they are not even leaving the nest to eat or drink.Could that be a sign that the eggs are ready to hatch out. Still in hopes I will get some babies from the eggs. Im a lil scared to go to the box they hiss just when Im outside the coop. Does anyone know just how safe it will be for me to try and pull some eggs to incubate. This is my first year with turkey eggs. Thanks

 

[OmaBird]

I can take eggs from my hens at anytime. I have never even got pecked. They will hiss but that is all show. Now some of my chickens are evil.

 

[stuckinthecity]

Good Luck! Someone told me to grab the hens neck, but wih 3 hens...you'll be pecked by the other two. I have no experience with turkeys or broody turkeys for that matter. I'd wait and see if they hatch out the babies, and when they leave the nest with the 1st babies, if they do...then grab the rest of the eggs and put them in the incubator.

 

[ziggywiggy]

If you can, do it at night. Shine a light in their eyes to distract them. One of my hens will peck me and sometimes she misses and hits an egg. I don't have any patience so I always take eggs and candle them and bother her and I think shes getting fed up with me. That's why she pecks me.

 

[Kekko]

I am by no means an expert on turkeys. In fact this is the first year that I have let turkeys set on their own eggs. However I have two hens setting on the same nest. I calculated the best I could that they were due to hatch on the 22nd. When I checked on them on the 21st I could hear peeping so I lifted one hens back side and found two chicks alive and two others that looked like they had been stomped on. I took them all out and put the live ones in a box with a heat lamp. I have been checking every 8 hours or so and so far have pulled 7 chicks out alive. I think this is going to be a long process since I know that one hen started setting and the other then started laying eggs in her nest. Therefore I’m not sure just how long the rest of the eggs will take to hatch if at all. All together there are about 30 eggs in the nest that looked good when I candled them at three weeks. The problem I have seen with this is broken eggs and stomped chicks. That is why I decided that I could not leave them in the nest plus I didn’t want the hens to think they were done because some eggs hatched as it may be another week for the rest of them. I would have pulled all the eggs and put them in the incubator but my timing is bad and I have my bater full of turkey eggs already. So far the survivors are doing great. As for the pecking, so far I have not worried about it. One hen leaves the nest when I go to check it and the other although she’s not happy about it has not been violent “Yet”! The hen that leaves the nest returns before I’m out the door of the pen. I guess only time will tell how this will all work out. BTW they are Royal Palms!

 

[egg-stra special chic]

Thanks for the reply. I have not yet taken any of my eggs from the nest. Was going to this afternoon and saw one of the hens raised up off the eggs and turning them. Made me think I shouldnt mess with them??? Although, when I went down this afternoon to check there was another 2 eggs out of the nest and rolled down to the front of the coop (in the exact same place as the 2 I found Sunday, about 6 feet from the nesting box). They both had babies in them, one of the babies was completely out of the egg and the other one was just mashed. It looks like the shell had been removed from the egg though. In the egg that the baby was out of I could see yolk still inside the egg. I thought I had caculated that they should hatch on Thursday of this week but like you said I think maybe the other 2 hens had laid eggs after I started calculating???? This is just a tough call as to what to do, and another thing not gonna lie Im a little scared of the hens. Will have to do something soon though. Thanks again for all the replies. Im new to BYC other than reading post to get help with issues. Just joined this month. Everyone has been so nice.