Turkey issues

[Bubblingbrooks]

We have a Bourbon Red Tom and a Slate hen.
They are in a huge coop and pen with some of our chickens.
Both are over a year old.
Trouble is, I have never seen any breeding, and there have been zero eggs from the hen.

Suggestions?

 

[justusnak]

When I had just my one tom and hen, they didn't breed either. I added another hen, and he seemed to understand what it was all about. Is there somewhere you might be able to purchase another hen? Does she have a place to lay? A BIG box, or a pile of brush to get under?

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

When I had just my one tom and hen, they didn't breed either. I added another hen, and he seemed to understand what it was all about. Is there somewhere you might be able to purchase another hen? Does she have a place to lay? A BIG box, or a pile of brush to get under?

We got her a Dogloo for a nest area. Another hen is an expense we cannot take on right now though.

 

[TanksHill]

When my hen and tom bred I only saw them once. I was very worried nothing was fertilized. My Aunt said do not worry one shot will fertilize many eggs and it did.

I wonder why shes not laying yet?? Could it be your confusing her eggs with chicken eggs?

I would have totally sent you some eggs BB. But my tom is now living in another town.

Shucks.

g

 

[rebecca100]

Same issue here. I finally got a tom for my great laying hen(last year) and this year not a single egg. They did eventually start breeding though. In your case maybe not enough hours of sunlight or perhaps too many. Sounds like something is off and they aren't realizing that it is time to do the baby making thing! Are other people's turkeys near you laying?

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Same issue here. I finally got a tom for my great laying hen(last year) and this year not a single egg. They did eventually start breeding though. In your case maybe not enough hours of sunlight or perhaps too many. Sounds like something is off and they aren't realizing that it is time to do the baby making thing! Are other people's turkeys near you laying?

fertile eggs and poults for sale for 2 months now up here. Ample daylight hours

 

[patandchickens]

I had a pair of heritage bronzes, from a very reputable breeder in the area, that were VERY late bloomers. The male did not start gobbling/strutting til a year old, and not visibly mating the hen til a couple months later; and the hen did not lay her first egg til she was probably at least 1 1/4 yrs old (early June last year).

HOWEVER, although I am not keen on the peter-pan-ness of the line, I gotta say I am a big fan of the hen (the tom got rude and stompy and belligerent and ended up in the freezer in the middle of last summer), because once she finally DID start laying, she alternated between laying and being broody all summer, and laid into early November. So I have kept her, and her son who is now my only tom (he has been another late bloomer like his sire but so far is much much more polite)

So, I think my point is, all is not lost. Last spring the turkey people I polled pretty much said that if the hen was not laying by early May there was probably something wrong with her, and yet, obviously not, in retrospect. So hang in there, maybe try upping their protein and calcium "just in case", or try adding another hen or two in the remote off-chance that's even feasible.

Good luck, have fun, hope yours turns out as well as mine did,

Pat