Hi, we have been raising one tom and two hens. The hens have laid six eggs and are not sitting on them. We have been told that they will finish laying then sit on them. Is this true, how long does this take? Should we seperate the tom? How long for the little ones can be left alone with the tom? Can you refer us to a web page or someone who will answer our questions? Thanks!
Return to Bird Taxidermy Category Menu
Hen turkeys will start sitting on their eggs when the weather gets warmer. The one I had Would lay eggs almost all year long but would only sit on them when it got warmer in the spring. Does you hen lay eggs everywhere or all together? If it keeps laying them everywhere it isn't ready to sit on them. I would not leave little ones with the tom. The tom I had killed two hens and a jake. He was really aggressive. He would always attack me when I went in the pen. Good Luck!
I don't know what your enclosure looks like, but the hens should have each started a nest. It's a good idea to build a natural brushpile/sticks propped against the fence for them to hide their nests in. They will lay one egg in the nest a day until they are finished. They may lay anywhere from 12 to 18 eggs, there is no set number. Once they are done laying, they will sit on the eggs day and night for approx 28 days (if I remember correctly), rarely leaving the nest to eat or drink. DO NOT seperate the Tom from the Hens while they are still laying their eggs, because they will get bred repeatedly throughout the egg-laying duration. Once they are sitting on the nest full time, you may seperate the tom if you want, but I don't think it is necessary. Just keep a close eye on the tom and monitor his behavior throughout and see how he is reacting. He should just go back to displing as normal and wind down as days go by, the same as a gobbler in the wild. One final note, don't get your hopes too high. Especially with captive birds, only about half the eggs will PROBABLY hatch and half of those will survive the chick stage. I'm sure there are better ways if you get into incubators or keep them in barns or something, but for turkeys that are outside in a natural-type enclosure, this is the best I have to offer. Good Luck... -RICH
I have two toms, and one hen the toms breed the hen very often. the hen only sits on her eggs every once in a while. She has made and layed about 46 eggs an 4 nests and only about 7 of the chicks have survived the chick stage.