# Question about turkeys



## bobberbucket

So I follow a Facebook page called "where's Gary the portage lakes turkey" long story short some people have this turkey (not sure if it's there's or a wild one that just hangs around )that wanders off all the time and use the Facebook page to track her down. (Yeah Gary's a girl lol) well she recently went missing and has been found. When they found her this time Here's the kicker she's laid eggs and is setting on them! It's February is that a normal this time of year? I used to hunt spring turkey way back but gave that up years ago. I don't know much about them so I thought I'd ask here seemed odd for her to be laying eggs this time of year.


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## Carpn

That's crazy . I know geese have been starting to nest already but a turkey really suprised me . Judging from the picture of her nestled up by the garage it looks to me like she has some domestic turkey in her family tree . She may just be a domestic turkey who decided she liked freedom. 
My laying hens haven't slowed down at all this winter . Granted , I keep a warning light inside their co-op , but there are 8 hens and I get 6 to 8 eggs a day


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## beaver

It's not normal for a wild turkey, but she's not a wild turkey. Looks like someone's farm bird wandered off or was dropped off. I'd guess the eggs aren't even fertile.


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## bobberbucket

I guess because it's been so cold she's hasn't got up off of them. I know there are some wild turkeys in the area so the idea of the eggs being fertilized my not be totally out of the question? I just found it odd that she was setting on eggs in the middle of winter.


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## Doboy

My half-breed free-range turkeys would start to nest too early too,,,, & they would start a new nest 3 times before they gave up!
They also, buy my observations, would not start to 'sit'/ incubate that clutch until they deposited X amount of eggs. Just like chickens.
So, In order to have all of the chicks survive, I would steal all but 2 eggs,,,, until the cold spring wet weather would stabilize. Green grass & bugs. 
Also, something else that I noticed, my hens wouldn't get off of the nest to eat when the temps were under 50* One year, I had a hen die on the nest! I wonder if she starved????
Anyway,, if I stole some eggs, I'd end up getting 10-13 healthy chicks per nest.

Yesterday, Joe & I went down to the Mahoning to fish, & we noticed that the geese are all pared up & fighting for property,,,,, WAY to early.?
These high temps, Heavy spring rains & late frosts will wipe out a slew of birds,,,,,,,,,, I say, Better to EAT a bunch of eggs now ,,,,, postpone that hatch. Survival rate will increase. 
(BUT the laws don't allow it!) ;>)

I always crack-up when I see 'people' herding-up over populated 'PITA' geese. All that needs to be done is Put up a sign,,,, "FREE EGGS"! A win-win situation!?

JUST LIKE OUR FRUIT TREES! If they bud now,,,,,,, there goes our BRANDY!!!


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## supercanoe

I have seen wild turkeys breed in February. I don't how long after breeding that they begin to lay eggs?


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## fireline

Turkeys lay a egg each day after they have been bread but they don't set on them till the last egg has been laid, and they only need to be bread 1 time to fertilize all the eggs they are carrying, if she looses her eggs to a predator she will lay another nest of eggs,


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## supercanoe

Thanks for the info. So the hen that I saw being breed last year in February may have been sitting on a nest by the end of the month.


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## Doboy

fireline said:


> Turkeys lay a egg each day after they have been bread but they don't set on them till the last egg has been laid, and they only need to be bread 1 time to fertilize all the eggs they are carrying,* if she looses her eggs to a predator she will lay another nest of eggs*,



Do you know if she would need 'bread' again, for that second nest?
curious


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## beaver

If they're anything like the chickens and turkeys that I have had around the house, they'll get bred again, and again, and again wether they need it or not. Lol


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## fireline

If a hen lays 10 eggs the day she lays the last egg is when she starts setting on the eggs, and the egg that was laid on day one will hatch the same time that the egg on day 10 was laid, she will only lay 1 egg per day and covers it up with leaves and uncovers it on day 2 and lays another one. A baby turkey will stay in the nest with it's mother till it's about 14 days old then it can fly just enough to get to a limb, from then on it will roost in a tree every night and the survival rate really goes up. last year i walked up on a hen with young pouts and it was funny watching them try to fly, there wings were going really fast and they were flying very slow trying to get up in a tree, they were about the size of a softball


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## fireline

Doboy said:


> Do you know if she would need 'bread' again, for that second nest?
> curious


I am not sure but I would think she would need bread again.


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## lawrence1

Yes, she'll knead another slice of pumphernickel.


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## Backtroll

fireline said:


> If a hen lays 10 eggs the day she lays the last egg is when she starts setting on the eggs, and the egg that was laid on day one will hatch the same time that the egg on day 10 was laid, she will only lay 1 egg per day and covers it up with leaves and uncovers it on day 2 and lays another one. A baby turkey will stay in the nest with it's mother till it's about 14 days old then it can fly just enough to get to a limb, from then on it will roost in a tree every night and the survival rate really goes up. last year i walked up on a hen with young pouts and it was funny watching them try to fly, there wings were going really fast and they were flying very slow trying to get up in a tree, they were about the size of a softball


Just a small correction. After they hatch they will leave the nest with the hen and begin feeding. At night they will all sleep under her every night until they are able to fly and roost, around 14 days old, as you stated.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Farm bird..


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## bobberbucket

She laid 13 eggs and as far as I know she was still tending them as of yesterday afternoon.


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## NCbassattack

Wild turkeys here in NC never breed so early. The gobblers begin their strutting and calling around mid April, and you'll see hens with young poults around mid May.


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## joekacz

NCbassattack said:


> Wild turkeys here in NC never breed so early. The gobblers begin their strutting and calling around mid April, and you'll see hens with young poults around mid May.


Whether a turkey is wild or domestic can become argumentative among turkey hunters.I've been hunting turkeys for over 40yrs. and heard about all you can hear about that subject.Years back when I started to hunt these birds,the "old timers" then would tell you that the only way to tell the difference was by the color of their legs.Wild birds have red legs and domestic ones were gray.I don't know how factual that is but of all the birds I've taken over the years or called in for someone else they have all been red legged and the barnyard variety were slate gray.One thing to remember that like "wild" city animals(deer,squirrels,etc.) can become imprinted to not fearing humans so it also goes with turkeys and they will nest where ever they "think" their secluded.Also I've "bumped" hens off of nests during the youth season and counted 12 eggs in the nest so do the math on how long prior to the season she started to nest.Just my 2 cents,don't want to ruffle anyone's "feathers."LOL LOL


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## fastwater

Saw a flock of seven the other day along Rt.33 bypass just west of St. Rt. 188. No houses for several miles. 
They were pecking gravel right along the side of the road. There was an all, 
snow white jake with a small black beard that looked to be about 3/4" long. And a very, very light, grey, almost white hen. She looked very young as well. The rest of the birds were normal in color. 
That white jake was really neat looking with his red head, reddish colored legs/feet and small black beard. He will look really neat if he lives long enough to mature and that black beard gets longer.
Have turkey hunted 30+ yrs and have never seen a white turkey in the field.


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## Carpman

I have seen the parade start in Tusc county already. I work up here and have seen big groups out in the corn fields. The males are all puffed up strutting around. Happened last week, and saw them again on my drive in this morning. At least 2 males were doing circles all puffed up. I'm not a turkey person by any means, but it looks like the breeding dance has started to me. If I remember same area last year they were doing it this time as well.


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