Anyone know how to incubate wild turkey eggs?

Old and In the Way

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Fri May-01-09 12:45 AM
Original message

Anyone know how to incubate wild turkey eggs?

My dog today brought home 3 of them. I saw him exiting the puckerbrush on the 3rd trip (amazingly, he didn't break any of them!) I decided to follow him back in on the 4th trip and found another 6. No sign of the turkey and I suspect that the proximity to the house (about 20 yards) and the dog scent means mom won't be returning. Anyways, I have them under a lamp and have been rotating them every few hours. I really don't feel like spending $150.00 on an Agway incubator that I'll probably never use again, so I'm wondering if there's any suggestions from DUer's who have experience with wild bird incubation?

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MrModerate

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Fri May-01-09 12:51 AM
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1. More importantly, what the hell is "puckerbrush?"

Wait . . . maybe I don't want to know.

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XemaSab

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Fri May-01-09 12:51 AM
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2. Don't stick 'em in your bra and forget about 'em

:banghead:

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Chipper Chat

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Fri May-01-09 12:55 AM
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3. Call your local extension office for advice.

Eggs can take alot of abuse, so if your dog juggled them for sport they may still hatch.

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Heidi

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Fri May-01-09 12:56 AM
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4. I think you need to put the eggs back if you know where the nest is.

Apparently, wild turkeys have a very poor sense of smell.

From the Pennsylvania Game Commission:
Question: If I touch a turkey egg will the hen smell me and abandon the nest?
Answer: Wild turkeys have a very poor sense of smell so the hen cannot detect human odor and abandon her eggs for that reason.

Lots of good info here: http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=466&q=171916&pp=12&n=1

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Old and In the Way

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Fri May-01-09 01:06 AM
Response to Reply #4

5. Thanks....I could do that, but I'm concerned that the dog is going to continue to 'find'them.

Maybe I'll do that tomorrow and keep an eye on the dog. I'm amazed that the turkey would nest so close to the house when there are literally a 1000+ acres of unoccupied fields/woodlands around us.

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Heidi

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Fri May-01-09 01:14 AM
Response to Reply #5

6. Maybe you could call the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

today (Friday) for some guidance?
Telephone: (207) 287-8000

http://www.state.me.us/ifw/wildlife/index.htm

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leveymg

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Fri May-01-09 05:28 AM
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7. Watch "Fly Away Home." Girl incubates wild goose eggs in a lighted drawer filled with towels

The real problem you'll have is after they hatch.

Maybe, you should go out and price a small airplane.

Have a good flight. O8)

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geckosfeet

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Fri May-01-09 05:58 AM
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8. Google 'turkey egg incubation'. Lots of info. One link in post.

Hatch turkey eggs in an incubator

The real problem will be keeping them alive once they are hatched.

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Enthusiast

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Fri May-01-09 07:15 AM
Response to Reply #8

10. Wild turkey chicks eat bugs

they will catch them with no help. But these turkeys will be ruined by their association with humans.

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Uben

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Fri May-01-09 06:03 AM
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9. I know an expert turkey raiser.....

...her name is Barbara Bush!

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juno jones

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Fri May-01-09 10:01 AM
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11. Perhaps try your local university extention.

Or local orginization for rehabilitating wildlife.

My father told me stories from his '30's farm childhood including raising various wild animals. Turkeys are doable. Dad said they followed him around for awhile.

The coolest birds they raised were a pair of Great Horned Owls. My Uncle taught them to fly by jumping out of the hayloft. :)

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LWolf

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Sat May-02-09 06:50 PM
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12. I've incubated quail eggs, but I used an incubator.

Minus that, I'd get a heat lamp, a thermometer, google the correct temp for turkey eggs, use the thermometer to find the right distance from the heat lamp, and turn them by hand every 8 hours or so.

:shrug:

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