**UPDATE** Flooded Turkey Coop and Possible Submerged Eggs

jd_odell

Hatching
8 Years
Jul 30, 2011
7
0
7
Flat Rock, Alabama
We received in excess of 6 inches of rain yesterday morning/yesterday. It started around 0400, and the turkeys were checked at 0830. The coop was in 2-3 inches of standing water, and one of our hens was frantically trying to pile her eggs up on her nest out of the water....but was not being successful.

We don't know if the eggs were completely submerged, as she was moving them around and attempting to sit on them as well, so if they were completely submerged, we don't know for how long. We re-established a nest well off the ground, and she immediately sat on the eggs again.

I know the poults breath through the egg shell, as the small pores in the shell allow for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. I'm hoping the air pressure inside of the eggs did not allow water through the egg shell pores. I'm also hoping the temps of the eggs did not drop to a fatal level.

The killer part is she was five days from hatching her poults...and she is a great hen. I hate to see her lose what she has worked so hard at for the last month and a half.

Anyone have any experience like this and what was the outcome?

Cheers
jd
 
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Welcome to BYC!

I really have never had that happen... is there any way to candle the eggs and check for movement? While I have never had eggs in a flood, I did have a duck that I thought abandoned her nest so I moved her to another pen (I had delayed moving her because of the nest). It was pretty late by the time I went in to pick op the eggs to dispose of them and temps were in the low 40s. Out of curiosity I decided to candle them before I pitched them and I was stunned to see movement in 4 of them. I rushed them in to the incubator (with no time to make sure the temp/humidity was right) and 3 out of 4 hatched.

Good luck, and please keep us posted on the progress!
 
Well....5 of the 8 eggs survived the flood. Three pipped yesterday night....Hen stepped on one and crushed it, we pulled the other two and hatched them out in a makeshift incubator. They are doing fine as of 0200. The remaining two have not pipped yet, so Hen is still sitting on them.....but as far as we can tell the poults within are still alive.

Question - When those poults pipp, we were going to pull them, then put the two hatched ones back in the nest with Hen so she can raise them. I doubt if she would figure out the swap. I concerned regarding survival though....so do we reintroduce or raise in a brooder?

Thanks for the advice.

jd & Carolyn
 
She'll take in those chicks no problem. It's what she's worked so hard for
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As far as survival goes, she will guard those babies with her life. I had a palm turkey that hatched out 5 or 6 chicks and let me tell you, not one chicken or turkey could ever get close enough to those babies to harm them.

Congratulations on those eggs making it! What a good mama!
 
Great news that some of them made it! I can't advise one way or another on whether to give them back to her, I have no idea of what kind of mother she will be. She could just as easily step on a poult and hurt it. You can always try, then you'll find out if she is a good mom.
 
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