Turkey Talk for 2014

[Sydney Acres]

First turkey poults ;D it is only day 26!!

Momhunter, are all the eggs in this picture turkey eggs, or are the brown ones from chickens?

I have seen 3 out of my 5 turkey hens breeding but have not yet seen any turkey eggs, assuming that all turkey eggs look like the lighter eggs on the right -- light tinted background with speckles, and a sharply pointed end for such a wide central area. However, I did see an egg that looked like the one on the left a few days ago -- brown background with lots of speckled, with the pointy end more rounded and a relatively narrower central area compared to the lighter turkey eggs. I keep my turkeys in the same area as one Speckled Sussex hen, one Buckeye hen, and one Barnevelder hen. Everyone is 8 months old. The SS and the Buckeye have been laying very well for over a month now, but the Barnevelder has not (that I've found -- they free range). So when I found that brown speckled egg I assumed it was the first egg from the Barnevelder hen, since one of my other Barnevelders lays eggs that exact color. It had several blood streaks on it, which seemed appropriate since it was huge for a first egg, between a large and an extra large sized chicken egg. It would certainly be a more appropriate size for the first egg of a turkey than a chicken.

So, do some turkeys have brown speckled eggs like that, or are they all the light tinted speckled eggs? I have two Spanish Blacks, one Bronze, one RP, and one Blue Slate hen.

 

[R2elk]

Momhunter, are all the eggs in this picture turkey eggs, or are the brown ones from chickens?

I have seen 3 out of my 5 turkey hens breeding but have not yet seen any turkey eggs, assuming that all turkey eggs look like the lighter eggs on the right -- light tinted background with speckles, and a sharply pointed end for such a wide central area. However, I did see an egg that looked like the one on the left a few days ago -- brown background with lots of speckled, with the pointy end more rounded and a relatively narrower central area compared to the lighter turkey eggs. I keep my turkeys in the same area as one Speckled Sussex hen, one Buckeye hen, and one Barnevelder hen. Everyone is 8 months old. The SS and the Buckeye have been laying very well for over a month now, but the Barnevelder has not (that I've found -- they free range). So when I found that brown speckled egg I assumed it was the first egg from the Barnevelder hen, since one of my other Barnevelders lays eggs that exact color. It had several blood streaks on it, which seemed appropriate since it was huge for a first egg, between a large and an extra large sized chicken egg. It would certainly be a more appropriate size for the first egg of a turkey than a chicken.

So, do some turkeys have brown speckled eggs like that, or are they all the light tinted speckled eggs? I have two Spanish Blacks, one Bronze, one RP, and one Blue Slate hen.

Congratulations, sounds like you got your first turkey egg. It looks to me like the eggs on the right in the photo are being washed out by the light source. The egg you describe certainly sounds like a turkey egg. Yes turkey eggs can come in varying shades with some lighter and some darker. The common traits are the speckles, the shape and the size.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

Everytime I holler for my boys somewhere out on the farm, they gobble "Here we are!"

No . . .I'm looking for my HUMAN boys!

Quote: Also, if you try to crack open a turkey eggs-- it is nearly impossible, almost as difficult as cracking a duck egg.

Annoying at breakfast time when I am in a hurry.

 

[SilkieSensation]

Could the dark egg in this pic be from 1 of my young palm hens? The 2 big eggs are from my slate hens & I have caught 1 of the palm girls laying a very light colored egg between the size of these with very pale speckles. I just started getting these but assumed it was 1 of my EE pullets finally starting to lay & ended up with an odd color. I get 2-3 turkey eggs per day (the lighter color) but have 4 hens. Could this egg belong to the 4th hen? (The egg is speckled but hard to see in this pic.)

 

[SilkieSensation]

This pic shows the speckles better.

 

[JWEBB]

THis is more exciting than Christmas!!

it REALLY IS! I'm just giddy thinking about lockdown this weekend OH MY GOD

tickled to see everyone with eggs and chicks coming on! so cool

 

[sonderah]

We built the turkey pen today!!! Now I can definitely keep them! Whooohooo!! Like I said, he didn't want to cover it, but I told him how we could do it so cheap, and I think I talked him into it!

 

[chicken pickin]

We built the turkey pen today!!! Now I can definitely keep them! Whooohooo!! Like I said, he didn't want to cover it, but I told him how we could do it so cheap, and I think I talked him into it!

That is so exciting. Im so glad you guys were able to get a pen up so you could keep your turkeys.

 

[WillowJ]

We built the turkey pen today!!! Now I can definitely keep them! Whooohooo!! Like I said, he didn't want to cover it, but I told him how we could do it so cheap, and I think I talked him into it!

I'm so happy for you!

 

[Momhunter]

Arielle -- the pic is all turkey eggs from the same hen. The shade difference is only because I was shinning a flashlight on them to take a pic through the hatcher door.

Is it normal to only get a 50% hatch rate from the first eggs out of a young hen? All six had movement and looked good when put in the hatcher. I culled 2 of the original 8 for no development. These were the first 8 eggs from my young royal palm pair.