turkeys and laying - a few questions :)

[spish]

at what age do turkeys lay?
does a tom giving loving to a hen mean they are already laying or he's just darn horny?
what does a turkey egg look like?
like with chickens do younger poults lay first smaller eggs, then bigger as they grow up?
do turkeys lay like chickens (every 24 hoursish) or are they more seasonal layers?
where are turkeys likely to lay?


a bit of info on my turkeys...3 hens (from august 2010 so 8 months old) 1 tom (from july 2010) all from the Belgian Ronquieres breed.
For the past 2 weeks the tom has been busy with the ladies (and my gosh the ladies make a noise! is that normal???) but ive yet to find anything resembling what i think would be turkey eggs. ive been getting some extra large chicken eggs ....could these actually be turkey eggs?(although id imagine turkey eggs to be even bigger?) they are being laid in the chicken house...so far theres been 5 smooth, all one colour large eggs, and one with brown 'freckles'.

i just thought my turkeys should be laying by now

 

[PrairieFarmer]

I have White Hollands and they lay about duck size (but kinda skinnier) white eggs with brown freckles. I remember being surprised when I first saw their eggs as I somehow thought they would be bigger (like goose size). I remember the first few seemed to not have any freckles, or very few. So I suspect you might have eggs!

 

[ColbyNTX]

They usually lay the spring after they were hatched. They are about the size of a large chicken egg at first but get bigger over time. Turkeys can lay every 24 hours but about everyother day is normal. I don't know your weather there but they are old enough to lay now. If they freerange, they could be laying right now. They are great at hiding nests and each hen lays at different times in silence. I know about what time of day some of my hens lay and you will have to figure it out. I have hens that lay in the morning, some mid day and some at sunset. You royal palms will lay about 90 egg per season if you pick them up everyday.

 

[Thomasturkey]

I got some tiny first eggs this year. Here is some pictures to compare the color and size difference.

 

[bargain]

Egg size of our different breeds differs ....Also beginner eggs of all are smaller. In the south , our heat has not been constant, it's been cold and then warm and then cold again, etc.

All our turkey breeds - white holland, black tipped bronze, pencilled red palm, jersey buff have been laying well.
Our royal palms are slacking on laying.....I suspect it's because they laid sooo late last year ---- laying until the end of September with a later start as well - late April. To see our birds please see us on BYC BST other poultry.