The turkeys have decided it's spring. They toms are starting to strut in earnest. These are the survivors, and they're in pretty good shape for as wet a winter as we've had this year.
As we do each year, we'll pen the turkeys to collect their eggs and incubate them. My goal is to get our turkey production completely on farm. We'll probably hatch about half the turkeys we sell this year; the other half we'll get from hatcheries.
The turkey on the right is unimpressed.
We've had higher temps in the 50's the past few days, and our chickens think it's spring too! Love your turkeys! We were going to raise some this year, but decided against it since we have so much going on (chickens, goats, ducks, and hopefully bees.) Found you through the AgBlogFeed on Twitter. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping Spring really isn't too far around the corner! :)
Awfully pretty birds! My guy is debating whether to try them next year. I may need to give him a push.
ReplyDeleteI have a pair of Bourbon Reds which I'm hoping to get fertilized eggs from this spring. Won't the turkey hens sit on their eggs, or do they no make good setters?
ReplyDeleteTurkey hens will sit on their nests and hatch eggs, but we get a greater yield of turkey poults if we collect and incubate the eggs.
ReplyDeleteTakes 3 weeks or so to hatch the eggs; they lay an egg every other day or so during the season, so while the turkey hen is incubating she could produce another 10 or 15 eggs.
Later in the year we'll let them out and some of them do raise poults, but the survival is low.
Screw the groundhog! Farm animals have it all figured out.
ReplyDeleteWe were hoping to get some royal palms in the fall, but of the 4 'hens' we got, two were toms and one got nailed... We are still hoping to find a few laying hens this spring, but I doubt we will be able to..
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