Turkeys For 2013

[frank53061]

These 2 hatched the poults. And I went back to check to make sure that there weren't any more babies and lo and behold I missed one. So there was a total of 5 poults.

Introducing the parents. Lol.

Talk about the ODD Couple

 

[frank53061]

Holland Whites, Frank, They are Holland Whites, the largest of the Heritage breeds! LOL

Cilie

Picky Picky Picky Holland whites Belgian Whites same neck of the world what is there a language problem

Are the Turkeys going to be offended

I,ll get it wright one of these days I may have to right it on a post-it to remember what country so as not to offend the Turkeys

maybe name tags Hi my name is Tom I,m from Holland.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Sally8, sorry to hear about the poults that you lost. Don't be hard on yourself. We all will lose some.

What is it you would do different? You may want to post it because it may help the next person when they incubate and hatch out. We are all here to learn from one another and perhaps we can learn from your experience.

I had a customer that emailed me this weekend about her poor hatching and poor survival rate from turkey eggs that she purchased from me. While asking her questions and hearing the answers, confirmed her failure to research about hatching turkey eggs and caring for newly hatched poults. I offered to teach/share my knowledge with her and her response was that she was too busy to have a detailed discussion at length about incubating, hatching and caring for poults. I was shocked at her response! In so many words, I hinted to the fact that I had excellent hatch and survival rates with my own eggs and pictures to prove it, so I wasn't sure why she didn't have the same success. Well, it is obvious why she didn't.

At no time in my life will I be too busy to learn from others like this lady. Especially when it comes to what I love and that is animals.

So please do not hesitate to share your experiences and that goes for everyone, including me. Our experiences may help the next person.

 

[desertmarcy]

Thank you. She is still trying to set the wreckage so I don't know if I should ... do something? This is our first year with turkeys. If she is broody like a chicken don't have I have to break her of that first... or will the lack of eggs be enough?? Thank you all for answering the newbie questions.

It depends on the hen. There are some really determined broodies who will sit on nothing for months on end. I had a Mottled Black last year that kept sitting on nothing. I also have a friend who lost a hen this year because of excessive broodiness. She sat for 3 months, my friend did not try to stop her. I guess the hen got too weak and she ultimately became ill and died even though she took her to the vet and treated her with various medications. So no, lack of eggs may not be enough!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Celie, the neighbor is a family friend of 40 years, so they like me. Lol. I will have to go over there to let her know that she has tenants AGAIN this year. lol. Now I have to go over there 3 times a day to check for babies since I have NO IDEA when Thelma and Louise went broody.

 

[kuntrygirl]

r4eboxer, in the past, the light colored poults turned out to be hens but the poults that were hatched a couple months ago looks like one of the light colored poults may be a tom. I wasn't expecting that. Not sure that I want more of those light colored bourbons.

 

[kuntrygirl]

My bourbon hen might be going broody... She is starting to linger and makes soft content purrs and trills while laying her eggs... She hasn't started sitting yet but is being aggressive towards other hens who try entering the nest box...

Sending broody vibes your way.

 

[Celie]

Holland Whites, Frank, They are Holland Whites, the largest of the Heritage breeds! LOL

Cilie

Picky Picky Picky Holland whites Belgian Whites same neck of the world what is there a language problem

Are the Turkeys going to be offended

I,ll get it wright one of these days I may have to right it on a post-it to remember what country so as not to offend the Turkeys

maybe name tags Hi my name is Tom I,m from Holland.

Watch out when the eggs hatch, Fred, for the emails, my girls will be sending to your poults, informing them about you!!! LOL What, your name isn't FRED? Well they both start with an "F" and you're not wearing a name tag.

Sally8, sorry to hear about the poults that you lost. Don't be hard on yourself. We all will lose some.

What is it you would do different? You may want to post it because it may help the next person when they incubate and hatch out. We are all here to learn from one another and perhaps we can learn from your experience.

I had a customer that emailed me this weekend about her poor hatching and poor survival rate from turkey eggs that she purchased from me. While asking her questions and hearing the answers, confirmed her failure to research about hatching turkey eggs and caring for newly hatched poults. I offered to teach/share my knowledge with her and her response was that she was too busy to have a detailed discussion at length about incubating, hatching and caring for poults. I was shocked at her response! In so many words, I hinted to the fact that I had excellent hatch and survival rates with my own eggs and pictures to prove it, so I wasn't sure why she didn't have the same success. Well, it is obvious why she didn't.

At no time in my life will I be too busy to learn from others like this lady. Especially when it comes to what I love and that is animals.

So please do not hesitate to share your experiences and that goes for everyone, including me. Our experiences may help the next person.

You know if anything goes wrong with a customer's hatch, they will always gripe, like it's your fault, because they want you to think they got defective eggs or something, so you will offer them a refund! There is one in every crowd, and sometimes too many in every crowd. My Momma used to say "God sure must like stupid people, because He made a lot of them!" It's not a sin to be ignorant, but it is to me downright, STUPID AND WANT TO STAY that way! I thank God for all the people on this thread who want to learn and those of you who are willing to share your knowledge with those of us that need to learn! Common Sense isn't very common anymore, but rude is still downright rude!

It depends on the hen. There are some really determined broodies who will sit on nothing for months on end. I had a Mottled Black last year that kept sitting on nothing. I also have a friend who lost a hen this year because of excessive broodiness. She sat for 3 months, my friend did not try to stop her. I guess the hen got too weak and she ultimately became ill and died even though she took her to the vet and treated her with various medications. So no, lack of eggs may not be enough!

To try to cure broodiness, I always move the hen and not allow her a nest for a few days. It might take several moves, but so far it has worked. A change of scenery and some treats and toys to amuse her could also be helpful. I have also stolen eggs from them and replaced them, at night, with peeping eggs! Just try everything you can think of and hope for the best!

r4eboxer, in the past, the light colored poults turned out to be hens but the poults that were hatched a couple months ago looks like one of the light colored poults may be a tom. I wasn't expecting that. Not sure that I want more of those light colored bourbons.

Maybe you have come up with a new breed! You can name them KuntryGirl Turkeys! LOL

Sending broody vibes your way.

Sounds like she's broody already, the way she sounds!

 

[Celie]

Was it this thread, that someone asked if anyone was serving Turkey for Easter dinner? Silly wrabbit, turkey is for Thanksgiving, Rabbit is for Easter dinner. Anyway, that's what we're having! I did process a Holland White turkey hen last week, that weighted 22 pounds after processing, not counting, neck, liver, etc. and she was not fatty at all, had a very large breast, like the Thanksgiving Toms, I posted pictures of. I hear different opinions of which Heritage turkeys are the biggest. Some state it is the Standard Bronze, some say it is the Holland White. Well, Has anyone out there processed a Standard Bronze that weighted over 35# processed for a tom and over 22# processed for a hen? I would really like to know? I have been corrected by several people who are suppose to know more than me that Holland Whites come in second to the Standard Bronze in weight and size! Inquiring minds want to know, so please post process weights you have experienced, if you have raised either!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Celie, I sent her a long email documenting our conversation on yesterday yet AGAIN offering my help and still no phone call from her.

As someone mentioned about sending a care sheet, I think I will now type information and give it to customers who buy eggs to incubate. I hate to see the baby birds suffer because of someone's ignorance.

I was going to invite her to join BYC but if she doesn't have time to have a conversation with me about caring for poults, the I know that she won't have time to register and log on to BYC to read, study and learn.