what am I doing wrong (incubating)

[Jim Eggers]

I have been trying to hatch turkey eggs with little luck. All the eggs are fertile, out of 10 eggs I get one to hatch usually not strong enough to get out without help. The turkeys that do hatch are weak and only 50% live. Breaking the unopened eggs all have fully developed turkeys inside that died before they could hatch. The turkeys are free range supplemented with corn and laying pellets during breeding season.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have been trying to hatch turkey eggs with little luck. All the eggs are fertile, out of 10 eggs I get one to hatch usually not strong enough to get out without help. The turkeys that do hatch are weak and only 50% live. Breaking the unopened eggs all have fully developed turkeys inside that died before they could hatch. The turkeys are free range supplemented with corn and laying pellets during breeding season.

What sort of incubator are you using?
What are the settings you are maintaining for temperature and humidity?
Are you using an auto-turner or doing egg movement by hand?
At what point are you going into lockdown and what humidity are you using at that point?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There are two things I would look at first. Temperature and flock nutrition.
Don't trust thermostats or thermometers that come with the incubator, nor cheap ones from walmart. They can be way off.
I use these 2.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=brinsea+spot+check
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt301wa.html

http://www.porterturkeys.com/egghatchingtips.htm

Flock nutrition is something often overlooked. Good quality protein and sufficient vitamins and minerals must be in the diet or the embryos can falter or fail to thrive as poults/chicks.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

There are two things I would look at first. Temperature and flock nutrition.
Don't trust thermostats or thermometers that come with the incubator, nor cheap ones from walmart. They can be way off.
I use these 2.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=brinsea+spot+check
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt301wa.html

http://www.porterturkeys.com/egghatchingtips.htm

Flock nutrition is something often overlooked. Good quality protein and sufficient vitamins and minerals must be in the diet or the embryos can falter or fail to thrive as poults/chicks.

So true - on both counts since I did exactly that, and overlooked the issue.