Turkey hens laying eggs in late January?

[Rcornerranch]

I have a Royal Palm and mystery mix hen that have decided to lay eggs in our garage on a shelf. The Royal Palm seems to be laying an egg every other day. We have two so far from her. The other hen is in the nest right now laying her first egg, I think. They’ve been dropping on the ground to mate with the Tom for about a week and a half, so they might be fertile. After watching the first girl pacing in the garage last week, we put a box with goat hay near the spot she kept sitting on. I swear, she was trying to lay them on a big fluorescent light we are saving to put in the basement! It’s very sweet that they let us look on a ladder and seem happy to have their nest near us. BUT I don’t think this is turkey egg season? They are going to be a year old this July. Is this “normal” for younger turkeys and what are the chances the eggs will hatch in a Missouri garage in the winter?

 

[Molpet]

@OneMountainAcres has eggs and poults. She probably can give some advice.
Mine start around St Patrick's day in northern illinois

 

[R2elk]

I have a Royal Palm and mystery mix hen that have decided to lay eggs in our garage on a shelf. The Royal Palm seems to be laying an egg every other day. We have two so far from her. The other hen is in the nest right now laying her first egg, I think. They’ve been dropping on the ground to mate with the Tom for about a week and a half, so they might be fertile. After watching the first girl pacing in the garage last week, we put a box with goat hay near the spot she kept sitting on. I swear, she was trying to lay them on a big fluorescent light we are saving to put in the basement! It’s very sweet that they let us look on a ladder and seem happy to have their nest near us. BUT I don’t think this is turkey egg season? They are going to be a year old this July. Is this “normal” for younger turkeys and what are the chances the eggs will hatch in a Missouri garage in the winter?

If your hens are getting supplemental light, it is normal for them to be laying now. Mine do not get supplemental light and will not start laying until mid March.

You are farther south than I am which also can make a difference.

 

[Rcornerranch]

I wonder if the warmth of the garage and the garage lights made them feel like it’s spring then? We turn the garage lights on when it gets dark so we can see while we collect eggs, love on the birds, do projects in the garage, fill containers to feed the ducks...It IS an extra hour of light every night, and excluding the days we work on some project or another. The turkeys are always with us wondering what we’re doing.

 

[Rcornerranch]

It’s also not a big deal if they don’t hatch. Im kind of thinking they are going to freeze the next cold night. I’m just curious. My dad ordered 15 baby turkeys that should arrive in June. It would be fun to see our turkeys hatch chicks and be mommas.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Very normal, especially if you have added light. I always have a couple girls start laying in December/ January every year... usually younger girls. Mine have not been fertile yet this year but in past years I've had Christmas and New Year's poults

 

[Rcornerranch]

Very normal, especially if you have added light. I always have a couple girls start laying in December/ January every year... usually younger girls. Mine have not been fertile yet this year but in past years I've had Christmas and New Year's poults

That’s interesting. I didn’t think the garage lights would be enough to throw off their systems. I wonder if that’s why our Tom is humping everything he can...shoes, the water buckets, sticks, sunflower seeds on the ground, steps...and he seems hornier every day. He mated with the girls a few times recently, or I’d think the eggs weren’t fertile cuz he was busy soliciting objects he fancied. Did your turkeys successfully hatch their winter poults themselves despite the cold or did you incubate them?

 

[OneMountainAcres]

That’s interesting. I didn’t think the garage lights would be enough to throw off their systems. I wonder if that’s why our Tom is humping everything he can...shoes, the water buckets, sticks, sunflower seeds on the ground, steps...and he seems hornier every day. He mated with the girls a few times recently, or I’d think the eggs weren’t fertile cuz he was busy soliciting objects he fancied. Did your turkeys successfully hatch their winter poults themselves despite the cold or did you incubate them?

All I have is 1 LED bulb that hangs in their coop and it gets them going lol. I don't trust my girls to hatch their own eggs but every egg I get, I throw in the bator. I've almost always had luck hatching them in the winter. Fertility started going down last year. I thought it was due to having too many toms fighting over the girls but this year, I only have 2 boys and Taz respects Romeo as the boss. I think the issue is that Romeo is being up there in age. He'll be 5 this year (I think?) And several of my hens are really getting up there. Pebbles, Eve, and Sweet Pea will all be 6 years old this year!

 

[Rcornerranch]

All I have is 1 LED bulb that hangs in their coop and it gets them going lol. I don't trust my girls to hatch their own eggs but every egg I get, I throw in the bator. I've almost always had luck hatching them in the winter. Fertility started going down last year. I thought it was due to having too many toms fighting over the girls but this year, I only have 2 boys and Taz respects Romeo as the boss. I think the issue is that Romeo is being up there in age. He'll be 5 this year (I think?) And several of my hens are really getting up there. Pebbles, Eve, and Sweet Pea will all be 6 years old this year!

Aw. Cute names. We have Pearl, Sadie, and Drake. That’s cool you’ve kept them in good health so long! Hope our favorites live long lives. Lost two turkeys in 2020 when they ate coins and died. At least one of our three remaining turkeys somehow lived through the pirating Coin Event because we found coins in poop on the front porch. A penny was completely eroded in half with no engraving left. Yikes. After we found the poop, our male started gobbling again.

I plan on naming a bourbon red poult Annie. Supposedly, there’s an incubator in the mail arriving who knows when. It’s been stuck in transit for three months.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Aw. Cute names. We have Pearl, Sadie, and Drake. That’s cool you’ve kept them in good health so long! Hope our favorites live long lives. Lost two turkeys in 2020 when they ate coins and died. At least one of our three remaining turkeys somehow lived through the pirating Coin Event because we found coins in poop on the front porch. A penny was completely eroded in half with no engraving left. Yikes. After we found the poop, our male started gobbling again.

I plan on naming a bourbon red poult Annie. Supposedly, there’s an incubator in the mail arriving who knows when. It’s been stuck in transit for three months.

3 months! Unbelievable how slow the mail is right now!

Every one of my turkeys is named as they pretty much all become pets lol. We have:
Romeo (mottled black)
Taz (penciled fall fire)
Eve (Bourbon red)
Cynthia (Bourbon buff)
Pebbles (bronze-ish mutt)
Sweet Pea (red bronze)
Princess & Duchess (royal palm)
Nibbles, Baby, Lil, & Molly (assorted penciled)
Bella (mottled blue)
Sky (blue slate)
Blackberry (black mutt)