Well, Louise the Bourbon Red is at it again. She hatched out 8 back on April 4 (5 are still living), then today I noticed she was missing again. I found one egg last week when I hit it with the mower, and my dog showed up with one yesterday, so I knew she was laying. Then today I noticed she was missing when I went to feed everyone, so I got to looking around my yard where I found the other egg. The weeds are pretty tall and overgrown, so I wasn't surprised I didn't find her. I worried though, because my midget white turkey Charo went and sat on a nest over a month ago and hasn't come home since.
Lo and behold, right at dusk, Louise shows back up. She's fussing at her brood and chasing them off, making it clear she's done mothering them. I followed her back to another area of our property, and sure enough, she's got 5 eggs in a nest behind our old goat shed. I fixed her up some shelter over her spot and made it more secluded for her, and she seems happy about that. I'm not sure how many more eggs she will lay, but I suspect with her sitting, not more than one or two.
Given that two clutches a year isn't that unusual for a turkey hen, I wonder about what will happen after these eggs hatch. Theoretically, if she raises a brood every 8 weeks, she could have one more this summer, possibly two.
The big question: Has anyone ever had a turkey hen raise more than two broods a year, on her own, unassisted?
Lo and behold, right at dusk, Louise shows back up. She's fussing at her brood and chasing them off, making it clear she's done mothering them. I followed her back to another area of our property, and sure enough, she's got 5 eggs in a nest behind our old goat shed. I fixed her up some shelter over her spot and made it more secluded for her, and she seems happy about that. I'm not sure how many more eggs she will lay, but I suspect with her sitting, not more than one or two.
Given that two clutches a year isn't that unusual for a turkey hen, I wonder about what will happen after these eggs hatch. Theoretically, if she raises a brood every 8 weeks, she could have one more this summer, possibly two.
The big question: Has anyone ever had a turkey hen raise more than two broods a year, on her own, unassisted?
Last edited:
