**UPDATE**Why she won't sit on her eggs?

[markb816]

Hot off the press.
Just today I noticed broken turkey egg shells under my bronze turkey.
She has been sitting on the eggs for the last 3 weeks, resolving my issue about I posted earlier (see below).
I have noticed 3 little chicks. They are so little and cute and I think they were just born today.
My bronze turkey has taken a corner of the chicken coop for her new family.
Bear in mind that this is the chicken coop, where 8 chickens and two guineas, roost and lay eggs.
Is this going to be an issue?
I don't want there to be a power struggle or baby turkey chicks getting hurt.
I have a pen seperate that I could let the bronze turkey use and care for her chicks, but how would I transport them to the pen?
The bronze turkey hisses and makes a gurgling noise when I even look in the coop at them.
I don't want to stress her or the baby turkey chick.
This is my first time dealing with chicks, period. I always get my birds after they are fully feathere poults.
How will the chicks no how to get to the water bowl? I don't want them to dehydrate because they can't find it. I got the water bowl as close to the turkey family as possible without momma hissing at me or giving me a look like if I get one inch closer she will jump up and peck my pupil out!!
Please someone give me some basic straight tips on what I need to do at this point.
I don't want to loose any turkey chicks because of my own negligance or ignorance.
Thanks everyone ahead of time on helping me with this brand new chapter in the world of "As the Birds Turn".

thank you






Background: I have 10 chicken hens, 3 female guine fowl, and 2 bronze turkeys(1male, 1female)
Dilemma: So this is both turkeys "1st" full spring(they were both born last early summer), they are not kin(came from 2 different breeders). They have been getting it on and my girl turkey has started laying her first season of eggs. Quite a few eggs, I might add. But she shows no desire to sit on them or brood. I don't have an incubator or time, patience to try to fool with hatching eggs myself.
I just thought she would the tend to her eggs. I know they are fertile because both turkeys are not shy about putting their "business" out there.
None of my other chickens are broody. So I'm just getting a nest of turkey eggs that I don't know what to do with. I was hoping for some baby turkeys!
She lays the eggs in the coop where the chickens lay their eggs as well.
I gave her her own pen and doghouse with nest. She laid eggs but still wouldn't sit on them.
Should I call child and family services and have her arrested for child/egg neglect(joke)?
But really is she ever going to be motherly and sit/hatch some eggs?
What should I do with eggs piling up? I was hesitant about removing because I figured enough pile up, she would get the hint.
Please give me your insight on how I can get her to sit on eggs?

 

[Jocasta]

You can't MAKE a bird go broody, it's a hormonal shift that is down to mother nature. Sometimes you can encourage this hormonal shift, i.e. leave several eggs in the nest every day, make sure her nest is secure and safe, totally protected from the elements etc, but this won't guarantee a broody hen. Also, some breeds are far more likely to go broody than others, with some, it's pretty rare. Turkeys don't generally make as good mothers as chickens so if you got a broody chicken, this'd likely be a better option than a broody turkey although some turkeys obviously do the job brilliantly too.

But as for what to do with your eggs, ideally, you should only store them for up to seven days - any longer and the chance of them hatching depletes considerably and past the 14 day mark would make it incredibly unlikely. My advice would be to either invest in a fully automatic incubator as this involves very little effort and time on your part, or sell your eggs. Be sure to sell them in the viability window though (i.e. in the first seven days - five if you're posting them). If you are planning on storing them up to sell, make sure you store them pointy side down, and turn them daily.

A turkey's laying season is much shorter than a chickens and there's no guarantee that without an incubator, you'll be able to hatch them before the hen is no longer laying.

 

[boykin2010]

i agree with Jocasta but maybe if you dont want to bother with an incubator you could pay someone to hatch the eggs for you.

 

[markb816]

Wow, my bronze tukey hatched some baby turkey chicks!
Aww.