What to do when the eggs hatch?

[Alex150o]

My eggs should be hatching anytime from tonigth to tomorrow. What are some tips or must's that i need to keep in mind? My eggs are being hatched by a turkey, do i let her handle them or should i bring them inside with a heat lamp? My previous peachicks (last year) were raised by their mother but this season i decided to collect the eggs so the peahens could keep laying. Oh, i think there migth be some sort of disease around in my land, some of last years peachicks didnt make it. What do i feed them?

 

[MinxFox]

Feed them medicated chick starter around 18% protein. Don't get too high of a protein % because it might cause leg issues. I have no experience with other birds hatching and raising peachicks so I can't help you with that, but I would keep an eye on them. Seeing as turkeys and peafowl are around the same size and turkey chicks look kinda like a peachick I don't see it being an issue, but I only raise peafowl here so I can't say.

When I have had my peahens hatch and raise the peachicks they normally do a great job so I don't see why some of yours died...Do you have chickens? They could have gotten black head. Also, if you don't have small fencing they could have wandered outside of the fence and gotten eaten by a predator. That is what started happening to my peachicks and I think the hawks learned that Spring and Summer time means peachicks because my dad said they were circling over my aviary like they were looking for something.

Hopefully the medicated chick starter will keep them healthy. They really like to eat wet medicated chick starter. Sometimes my peachicks would almost refuse to eat it dry.

 

[DylansMom]

Feed them medicated chick starter around 18% protein. Don't get too high of a protein % because it might cause leg issues. I have no experience with other birds hatching and raising peachicks so I can't help you with that, but I would keep an eye on them. Seeing as turkeys and peafowl are around the same size and turkey chicks look kinda like a peachick I don't see it being an issue, but I only raise peafowl here so I can't say.

When I have had my peahens hatch and raise the peachicks they normally do a great job so I don't see why some of yours died...Do you have chickens? They could have gotten black head. Also, if you don't have small fencing they could have wandered outside of the fence and gotten eaten by a predator. That is what started happening to my peachicks and I think the hawks learned that Spring and Summer time means peachicks because my dad said they were circling over my aviary like they were looking for something.

Hopefully the medicated chick starter will keep them healthy. They really like to eat wet medicated chick starter. Sometimes my peachicks would almost refuse to eat it dry.

I would advise you take them away quickly, if they imprint on the turkey you will have some very unhappy and noisy babies wanting their mama. I would take them away because of the disease danger. Turkeys are well known carriers of blackhead as much if not more so than chickens. Minx's advice on feed is spot-on, add some chick grit to help them digest it. They will need a heat lamp, 95 degrees F for the first week and 5 degrees lower each week after that. After about a week I start pulling feed out overnight, they don't need to eat between dusk and dawn and if they do it could cause leg problems because of rapid growth and weight gain. Give them a shallow dish of water and make sure they are eating and drinking by 2 days of age. You can dip their beaks in the water and food until they get the idea, usually once 1 of them figures it out the others copycat and all are fine. Good luck with your babies!

 

[zazouse]

Something i learned about peas and guineas that hatch and imprint on their moms is when i pulled them just a couple days after hatch i had a difficult time getting some of them to eat as they had already got use to their mom showing them what to eat.