Interactive lesson

Poults and keets, step by step

Interactive lesson: from egg to bird on the range — the turkey hen as a broody, hatching eggs, the incubator, candling, the hatch and the brooder.

Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with the Incubation and rearing young module. Already bought? Unlock

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The whole lesson as text

1. Turkey hen, broody hen or incubator

First decide who will sit on the eggs: a turkey hen, a broody hen or an incubator.

The turkey hen as a broody — She sits for 28 days almost without getting up and covers 12–18 turkey eggs or 25–30 guinea eggs.
Nest on the floor — In a quiet, dark part of the house, behind a partition, made of fresh straw. Other hens must not get in.
Water and food by the nest — She gets up once a day. Set all the eggs on the same day and write down the date: hatch is on day 28.
Guinea eggs under a hen — A broody hen covers 12–15 guinea eggs. The keets then grow up with chickens, so keep them away from turkeys.

Why: A heritage turkey hen is one of the best broodies on the farm. A guinea hen hides her nest and abandons the eggs halfway through, so guinea eggs are hatched under another broody or in an incubator. Broad-breasted white hybrids don't mate naturally and have no fertile eggs.

Don't put chicken eggs under a turkey, or turkey eggs under a hen, if you want to keep your turkeys safe from blackhead (histomonosis).
A turkey hen usually goes broody after laying 12–20 eggs, in April or May.

2. Hatching eggs

A well-chosen, well-stored egg is half the battle.

Medium-sized, well shaped — Choose medium-sized, well-shaped eggs with no cracks, thin patches or rough shells.
Clean, but unwashed — Don't wash a dirty egg. Scrape it gently with a dry cloth or don't set it.
Pointed end down — Store for up to 7 days at 12–15 °C (54–59 °F), in a carton, pointed end down. Longer than 4 days: tilt the carton once a day.
Mark in pencil — In pencil, not felt-tip, write the date and the mother's mark. X on one side, O on the other, for turning.

Why: After 7 days hatch rates drop fast, and after 14 days they are poor. The first eggs of the season are often less fertile: the stag should be with the hens for at least 2 weeks before you collect eggs.

A turkey egg weighs 80–90 g; a guinea egg weighs 40–45 g and has a very hard shell.
Don't keep hatching eggs in the fridge, but in a cellar or a cool larder.