Turkeys are fairly easy animals to raise, requiring nothing more than food, water and simple shelter to thrive. Nest boxes are an essential feature for laying turkey hens, and can be simply built with just a little time and effort.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oy3wGkI6m2w
How high should a turkey nesting box be?
Typical nest box dimensions are 50 cm wide x 60 cm deep x 60 cm high. The minimum front opening height should be 35 cm and this should not be reduced by the nest trap (Figure 5). Wider nests with a taller front opening are recommended for larger turkey strains.
What do turkeys use for nesting?
Nest Description
Wild Turkeys use only the dead leaves or other plant materials already present at the nest site.
Do turkeys need a nest to lay eggs?
The Turkey Nesting Process
Before turkeys lay eggs, they need to find a mate and build a nest. Turkeys naturally breed in March or April and start constructing their nests at around the same time. Turkey nests are simple. Mother hens scratch out a shallow depression in the ground to lay eggs in.
What is good turkey nesting habitat?
It is now recognized that turkeys do best in areas with a wide variety of habitat types and plant species. One recent researcher has described the ideal turkey habitat as one-half wooded, one quarter abandoned fields and one-quarter active agriculture.
How old is a turkey when it starts laying eggs?
about 7 months
“Turkeys have a longer life cycle so they need to get to about 7 months before they are able to produce laying eggs,” says Kimmon Williams of the National Turkey Federation.
Can chickens live with turkeys?
One of the main ways to keep turkeys healthy is too NOT raise chickens and turkeys together. When turkeys and chickens are raised together, turkeys run a high risk of contracting the disease histomoniasis, also known as blackhead.
Should I feed a nesting turkey?
Offer Plenty of Food Close to Nesting Cover
Nesting hens still eat. The closer food is to the nesting cover, the less ground hens must cover to meet their basic needs. Offering plenty of grub next to known nesting is a great way to help keep them alive.
Do turkeys stay on the nest at night?
Turkeys hens sitting on eggs or with very young poults will spend nights in their nests on the ground, but at all other times, both male and female turkeys and even poults as young as a few weeks old will sleep in trees. This is why turkeys can fly, albeit only in short bursts.
Where do turkeys sleep at night?
trees
Wild turkeys sleep in trees. The birds are usually seen walking so many people are surprised they even fly. Though they only fly for short distances, they are speedy and can hit about 55 miles per hour when going full tilt.
Why do we not eat turkey eggs?
Culinary factors also contribute to the dearth of turkey egg consumption. Turkey eggs have a thicker and tougher shell membrane and are harder to break than chicken eggs. Furthermore, most recipes are designed for the amount of liquid in a chicken egg.
Can female turkey lay egg without the male?
Occasionally, the eggs of female turkeys will — without any sperm involved — spontaneously develop into embryos and then into baby turkeys (which are always males). This process is called parthenogenesis and has also been recorded in many other types of animals, including bees, lizards, and sharks.
How hard is it to raise a turkey?
Turkeys are not that hard to raise, but they differ a bit from chickens in terms of what they need, and raising them from poults (baby turkeys) is more time- and energy-intensive than raising chickens from baby chicks.
What do turkeys like to eat the most?
Preferred foods of wild turkeys
Generally, turkeys thrive in and near mature forests that produce abundant amounts of mast, the fruits and nuts of woody plants. In the spring, they tend to eat leaves and grasses, and in the fall, they feed more on fruits, berries, seeds and insects.
What should you not feed turkeys?
Foods You Should Never Feed to Turkeys
- Low-quality chicken feed. Turkeys require more protein than chickens do, therefore, a simple chicken feed will not contain the nutrition that a turkey needs.
- Other Livestock Feeds.
- Dried/Raw Beans.
- Avocados.
- Fruit Pits and Seeds.
- Tomato and Eggplant Leaves.
- Raw Meat.
- Onions.
What is the best food plot for turkeys?
A mixture of corn, cereal grains, and green field is the ideal mix for turkey food plots. If you need to create openings for food plots, concentrate on clearing timber or brush that isn’t producing valuable hard mast. Forage-rich openings, food plots and small fields will be prime bird-attracting tools.
How many eggs does a turkey lay before she sits on them?
A turkey hen lays one clutch of eggs per year, these clutches can as small as four to as large as 17 eggs per nest (that’s a big clutch and that’s cool fact #1)! The hen lays only one egg each day, so if she lays 14 eggs it takes two full weeks to lay the entire clutch.
Does turkey lay egg everyday?
Turkeys are bigger than chickens, so they take up more space and require more food. And they lay only two eggs a week, compared to a chicken’s near-daily production, reports Modern Farmer. This adds up, so that in the rare instance a turkey egg is for sale, it’s easily $2 to $3 a pop.
How much do turkey eggs sell for?
around $2 to $3 per egg
When you take the higher cost of production plus the longer time required and combine it with the relative scarcity of the eggs, what you end up with are turkey eggs that cost around $2 to $3 per egg, or up to $36 per dozen.
Do turkeys return to coop at night?
Turkeys will roost anywhere except where you want them to.
They would go in the coop at night with no problems and roost with the chickens.
Do turkeys need heat in the winter?
Turkeys can overwinter in temperatures below freezing provided they have adequate shelter, water, and extra feed to support the increased calorie burn of producing enough heat for them to stay warm. With the right care, your turkeys will come through winter happy and healthy.