WOW...we have a male Rio Grande we were given when the previous owner's favorite Rhode Island Red Roo decided to be "all macho" and take on the Rio..the chicken didn't win (but it lived). Meanwhile, we've had a number of young cockerels in with this Rio while they await new homes or butcher...
And be sure to post what you find...I have a Rio mix female with a breeding injury. She is laying but has been removed from the pen. We want her bred, but don't want her hurt again, so artificial insemination would be perfect...especially if Porter's can provide the sperm because I believe he...
You are welcome. Too bad you didn't want to breed, because you can pretty much tell they are not siblings. We are eagerly awaiting our first 2 Narri eggs to hatch. Candled today and all is good. I LOVE BABY TURKEYS.
Have you been feeding extra high carb food (like 5-grain scratch) to help your birds maintain heat during the cold spell? If not, it is possible she has used up a lot of her reserves to keep warm. I would suggest bringing her inside a garage or other area where you can monitor her closer and...
I am thinking that Cran is a boy and Stuff is a girl. Boys grow bigger and faster than the girls, have thicker legs and bigger snoods even as babies. Stuffing may just be a girl and her wings are growing a bit faster than her body so they don't have enough room to lay down properly. Since you...
Your boys won't have any big fights unless there is a female around. They will have their normal pecking order skirmishes, but nothing too terrible. Perhaps you can place an add to trade two of your boys for hens.
I have never heard of anyone even trying to break a broody turkey although I know if you remove all the eggs..including the fake one, she will try to find another spot to start laying a clutch. Daily egg collection is a must if you want her to continue to lay..leaving fake eggs in the nest is...
This is our first year with Narri. So far, we have totally enjoyed them. The girls are reserved and fairly quiet and the boys are like inquisitive toddlers..follow us everywhere when we let them out for some yard time. We have 3 turkey pens..Narri, Heritage Bronze and Rio...one Narri girl has...
Clipping wing feathers on one side causes an imbalance when the bird tries to fly so getting height to get into a tree would be harder, but not impossible. Also getting away from predators will be hampered - so you need to weigh the advantages b4 u clip cause they all won't grow back until a molt.
This is what I found:
"When male chickens inseminated female turkeys, both male and female embryos form, but the males are much less viable and usually die in the early stages of development. When male turkeys inseminated female chickens, no hybrids resulted although the unfertilised chicken...
Ya know..I wouldn't think so...EXCEPT...we got a Guin-Hen last year when our more than amorous Leghorn male was penned with our breeding guinea fowl. It is very rare and the guinea egg went to a customer that was quite distraught because she thought we'd slipped in a chicken egg...a chicken...
Hummingbird Hollow...you are absolutely right...girl turkeys can strut and do a little shake to try to look bigger and more intimidating to predators or other turkeys and some can change their head colors too and we've had/have girls that are bearded...but the girls can't drum or gobble and they...
Trust me on this...only males gobble. Our boys will gobble in unison when we whistle. Love when customers come with their kids and we tell them to whistle at the turkeys!!
These were two Rio girls we hatched last year. I think it's those big trusting eyes that hook us first, and then they are so willing to be cuddled...then later, they run like Forest Gump and want to inspect everything - when we had these two growing out inside, I would have to remove them from...
Yes, just picking up the whole drawer..turkey, eggs and all and moving it to a new spot won't bother her in the least. Last year we had a broody buff orp...we just picked up the whole nest box one night and hauled it into the garage..she never cared one bit.
That was an interesting mental picture..your hens going in and laying their eggs atop your brooding turkey. I would like to suggest you go out tonight and mark the eggs that your girl SHOULD be sitting on or the poor girl will be hatching babies for days...LOL. Also, move her at night to a new...
Turkeys don't CROW and only the males "gobble". Hens talk a bit and coo and trill...but nothing near as loud as the noises out of our chicken coops/runs.
First time broody turkeys are known for accidently squishing the babies when they hatch, not always, but sometimes. We lost 2 poults last year that way so once they babies hatch, we remove them from the broody girl. I would be extra careful with chicken babies, since they are much smaller and...