Turkeys for hatching eggs?

[Vermont Poultry]

Can you use a turkey to hatch a chickens eggs. I have been looking at many different chicken breeds for raising chicks, but then I came across a video of a man from Thailand using a turkey to hatch his chicken eggs. I was wondering if I could get a turkey to hatch a large clutch, but how good of a mother are turkeys? Will they show them how to survive? Or should I stick with using chickens to hatch eggs (I don't really like incubators but I could always do that). And if anyone has suggestions on good chicken mother breeds that would be awesome too.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I use my chickens to hatch my turkey eggs and any chicken eggs. I haven't had any luck with Turkey hens being good hatchers. I have bantam cochins, and silkies are another reliably broody breed.

 

[FarmerMac]

I have turkeys that had hatched their own eggs but seem dumber than chickens when it comes to teach the babies to eat. The chickens call the babies and show them food. I have not seen that with my turkeys. I have had chickens hatch turkey eggs and raise the poult with success, with the turkey hens I loose some of the babies every time they hatch.

 

[mfr4550]

I’ve just had a Midget White turkey hatch out 3 chicken poults.

She was a very determined mama. She had flown over my fence & disappeared for 2 months- only occasionally showing up in the evenings for a quick bite of food. I could never catch her & couldn’t find where her nest was. She was emaciated & ragged at the end of those 2 months. One night I was able to follow her back to her nest. There was one rotten egg that she was sitting on & didn’t want to give up.
I carried her home, locked her into a small pen with food & water & slipped a few chicken eggs under her. I anticipated that the move would make her give up on hatching eggs. It did not. She sat on those chicken eggs for another 21 days.
She has been a pretty good first time mom. She doesn’t peck & cluck at food to encourage the chicks to come eat like a chicken will but she does walk her chicks around to areas where they can find food. The chicks are now about 3 weeks old and thriving

 

[mfr4550]

I have turkeys that had hatched their own eggs but seem dumber than chickens when it comes to teach the babies to eat. The chickens call the babies and show them food. I have not seen that with my turkeys. I have had chickens hatch turkey eggs and raise the poult with success, with the turkey hens I loose some of the babies every time they hatch.

 

[mfr4550]

I know your post is a couple of years old but was glad to find it. I have a turkey that is doing wonderfuly with chicken poults & was wondering if I could slip some day old turkey poults under a broody chicken since my only turkey hen is now raising chickens, lol. Have you ever tried slipping store bought babies under a hen?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I know your post is a couple of years old but was glad to find it. I have a turkey that is doing wonderfuly with chicken poults & was wondering if I could slip some day old turkey poults under a broody chicken since my only turkey hen is now raising chickens, lol. Have you ever tried slipping store bought babies under a hen?

I personally advise against having chickens raise turkeys as the turkeys will bond with the chickens and will interact with them like they are the same species. I have had toms kill a rooster they were raised with and toms will try to mate chickens if raised together. Turkey hen fights can last days, a chicken wouldn't last. I prefer to let the species know they are different.