Our first broody turkey is still sitting on her eggs, and while we wait to see if any of her eggs hatch, we’ve given two more hens their own nests. These hens were likely the ones who wanted to share Mama Hen’s nest because they are so committed to sitting on their own nests!
We decided to turn a small, gated area inside of the turkey house into a brooding area. Originally we built this area to use as the access point to utilizing the upstairs and for storage of grains and food. Up until the other day, we hadn’t actually ever used the little area for anything, so it sat empty and sad.
Until now! The space is small and cozy but still has enough room for 5 turkey nest boxes, their own food and water, and a little foot path.
The two hens that we’ve put in there were picked based on the same requirements that I mentioned in my last post about our broody hen. In each of the 5 nests we put some decoy eggs and marked them so we would know they weren’t freshly laid. Then we caught the hens and put them inside the space, letting them choose which nest they liked best. The first hen to pick chose very quickly, and within minutes settled down on a nest in a corner made even cozier with cardboard walls. The other hen took longer to settle down. At first she seemed concerned to be away from the rest of the flock, but once we left she chose a nest in the middle of a few others nest options. She stole all the other eggs that were not under the other hen, and gathered them together in her spot.
When we returned and saw her devotion/thievery, we traded all of the decoy eggs under each hen for fresher, probably-fertile eggs. Now they each sit on 15 eggs. The eggs in each nest are marked differently so we will know if one hen tries to steal from another.
Can you see the hens? One sits so low to the ground that she is hard to see, and the other is only visible because her tail is sticking out from behind the cardboard corner. Go mamas, go!
And… Now we wait. We check on them everyday, making sure that they have enough food and water and that they continue to be committed to the cause. Sometimes when we look in their space, the hens are so low to the ground that you can’t even see them. They huddle over their future babies, already feeling protective!
It’s going to be an exciting year for baby turkeys!
.:.