tom duties :)

[fire pirate]

Silly question but how many ladies can a tom successfully handle? And how big of nest boxes are ideal?

 

[turkeyguy123]

Silly question but how many ladies can a tom successfully handle? And how big of nest boxes are ideal?

I have four hens and one Tom with nearly 100% fertility. I use milk crates for nesting boxes.

 

[Calebs Farm]

I have the same ratio 4 hens to 1 tom in Rio Grande's but spent $60 in material for boxes and they wont touch them. "crazy wild turkeys" so an old christmas tree in the corner works for us. 100% hatch rate this month.

 

[Celie]

You really need only 1 tom for many hens, Some turkey raisers of heritage turkeys(not AI) only kept 1 hen for every 50 hens, back in the 1930's with great success, but I would suggest you keep 2, because anything can happen, and with only one tom, you are out of luck getting any poults, until you can hatch out another tom, which takes 9 months! I always keep an extra male, of every livestock, I have, just in case.

 

[fire pirate]

Thanks for your advice sounds good to me!

 

[fire pirate]

I currently have 8 hens and 1 tom

 

[debbyvenus]

I have read the turkey nest box should be about 16"wide x 18"deep x 24" high. They are looking for somewhere quiet to lay their eggs. You can even use a bottom drawer of a chest of drawers. I bought the book titled "Not Just For Christmas" by Janice Houghton-Wallace. It is pretty good. All about raising turkeys. It seems hard to find good books for raising heritage turkeys.

 

[refamat]

I had turned a plastic 55 gallon drum into a feeder and saw one of my turkey hens trying to use it like the chickens do for a nest box (it has a hay rack inside that has become one of the nest boxes). So, I took another drum and cut a 20 rounded corner square opening and it appears I have at least 2 turkey hens and one Buff orp laying in it. One Red Bourbon and one Narragansett are the hens laying for sure in it. The other RB hen was laying in the goat house but may now be laying in the drum nest box. These food grade drums can often be found on craigslist for $10 or less and one 3/8 " lag bolt will secure it to a tree or structure, add some hay or straw and drain holes and you to can be drumming up some turkeys.

 

[fire pirate]

I have the same ratio 4 hens to 1 tom in Rio Grande's but spent $60 in material for boxes and they wont touch them. "crazy wild turkeys" so an old christmas tree in the corner works for us. 100% hatch rate this month.

the christmas tree idea worked lije a charm