Turkeys For 2013

[Alex Farmer]

This is my first year with turkeys and my bourbon red just started laying eggs today. Is it best to let her sit on them or to incubate them? Im new at this and any input would be more then appresiated!!!!

 

[ButchGood]

This is my first year with turkeys and my bourbon red just started laying eggs today. Is it best to let her sit on them or to incubate them? Im new at this and any input would be more then appresiated!!!!

Your ahead of me Alex. I've always raised Broad Breasted Turkeys. 12 to 18 weeks and they get processed. I'd like to keep some around for awhile so I'm trying to acquire some Bourbon Red eggs for incubation. I would like to have a breeding trio. Ideally I want my hen to take care of all the chick stuff Just like my chickens do. If you have a good hen, I'd say let her do all the work.

 

[Alex Farmer]

Ok im new at this. i just went to check my turkeys and my hen had layed her first egg. she has been sitting on it most of the day but i went out there jst now and she wasnt sitting on it but my gold laced wyanotte rooster was sitting on it..? i thought that was kind of strange. so i put the rooster in a seperat pen. was thatthe right move? any thoughts on what was up with that? ( i might just have a retarted rooster)

 

[Alex Farmer]

Your ahead of me Alex. I've always raised Broad Breasted Turkeys. 12 to 18 weeks and they get processed. I'd like to keep some around for awhile so I'm trying to acquire some Bourbon Red eggs for incubation. I would like to have a breeding trio. Ideally I want my hen to take care of all the chick stuff Just like my chickens do. If you have a good hen, I'd say let her do all the work.

thanks! that was what im thinking. im going to back off and let her do her thing

 

[erinszoo]

This is my first year with turkeys and my bourbon red just started laying eggs today. Is it best to let her sit on them or to incubate them? Im new at this and any input would be more then appresiated!!!!

We tried letting our girls sit on them but they ended up crushing them eventually. Not a pretty sight. So now we pick them up and incubate if we need more babies. Others have more luck with letting their hens sit on them so they might have other advice.

 

[erinszoo]

Quote:
She's doing great today. She's been standing up more and her foot is nice and pink and flexing properly. I'll try to take pics tomorrow as we are working on it and post them as a tutorial if my computer will play. She's also been cleaning herself and eating and drinking well ... and she complained loudly that I vacuumed the floor. Lol. We'll be keeping her in until she can fully stand on the foot again. Now she's just putting it down to steady herself and more or less hopping but we have her in a box where she doesn't have to move much. Still have no idea how she broke it but she's the girl we named Pogo, if that gives you any idea of how much she jumps around and has since birth. She jumped out of the incubator when I first opened it after she hatched, luckily I caught her or she would have ended up on the floor three feet down.

 

[erinszoo]

Ok im new at this. i just went to check my turkeys and my hen had layed her first egg. she has been sitting on it most of the day but i went out there jst now and she wasnt sitting on it but my gold laced wyanotte rooster was sitting on it..? i thought that was kind of strange. so i put the rooster in a seperat pen. was thatthe right move? any thoughts on what was up with that? ( i might just have a retarted rooster)

We had a banty roo that sat on eggs for a broody hen one time. It was comical but he was determined that if the hen wasn't on the eggs he was going to be. He's never tried it again though. Our turkeys and chickens shared a nest for awhile too. We just left them alone at it as long as they weren't destroying the others eggs.

 

[r4eboxer]

I have to say I am exhausted, my little egg and chick business has taken off this week and it is a lot of work. It's more work than taking care of the birds

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have to say I am exhausted, my little egg and chick business has taken off this week and it is a lot of work. It's more work than taking care of the birds

 

x2

Can we start a support group. I have had a terrible week as well. I'm so tired. This is not fun anymore.

Too bad that you don't live close, I would suggest that we meet somewhere and pig out on ice cream and cake as a reward for all of our hard work this week.

 

[r4eboxer]

x2

Can we start a support group. I have had a terrible week as well. I'm so tired. This is not fun anymore.

Too bad that you don't live close, I would suggest that we meet somewhere and pig out on ice cream and cake as a reward for all of our hard work this week.

Here is your cake, but you can't eat it too.....

I have to say though that stealing the goose eggs is the scariest part