Turkey nest box and when should i add one

[Tony]

Hi all,
I have a blue slate tom and hen and 2 royal palm hens. They will be a year old next month.
I`m in connecticut so its still fairly cold right now, when should I add a nest box, and what kind should it be, i looked around online but found nothing. You type in "turkey nest box" on search engines, they show you bird houses and wood duck nest boxes. does me no good. lol
Anyway, is it time to put in a nest box? as far as I`ve seen, the turkeys aren`t doing anything yet as far as mating. any nest box suggestions would be appreciated and a pic would be great too. thanks Tony

 

[cgjsmith]

On the heritage turkey forum on yahoo they suggested either a small laundry basket or a small storage container. I went to my family general store and got the containers you put in your sink to put dishes in, I don't know if they are big enough though. crystal

 

[Tony]

thank you for your suggestions Crystal.
I added an old half barrel/drum that once held water or something, its blue and made of thick heavy plastic, it`s pretty big. Hopefully they`ll use it eventually. unfortunately I have no clue when. I`m new to turkey keeping and don`t know when they`ll start laying. maybe when the weather warms up. Tony

 

[chickenannie]

I live in PA and my Red Bourbon turkey hens have been laying eggs for about a week or so. The first egg was on the ground in the middle of the driveway! Now they are laying in an old corn crib in the middle of a bunch of trash and wire and plastic and tin! I pulled all the trash out and put a nice hay nest there, and next thing you know the chickens found it and jumped in and scratched through all the hay and the turkey eggs were all covered up. Argh. Now I've got chickens laying eggs in with the turkey eggs. Today, the chickens (i'm sure of it) rolled 2 of the turkey nests over about 18 inches and started a second (?) nest next to the first. I really don't know what goes on in those little heads of there's but I'm finding it bizarre.

So the moral of the story is, the turkey hens start laying EARLY. and I'd better get to building my turkey hen house with nice nests very very soon! like yesterday.

 

[SueNH]

I've had luck with a big plastic barrel with the end cut out.
Turkeys do tend to want a little more privacy than chickens.
A quiet corner with a board leaned against the wall works too.

I have to admit that my most successful mom hatch was by a hen under a climbing rose bush next to my front steps. She hatched 13 out of 13 eggs and 12 made it adulthood.