Yesterday morning I called the Game Warden folks to find out about the turkey situation. It was late in the morning before an actual game warden called me back and he was very nice. He explained to me that we couldn’t take eggs from a wild turkey’s nest, and they preferred that we not release our domesticated Rio Grande turkeys into the wild but if one or two of them escaped and decided to live in the woods, we weren’t going to jail. He told me that if you raise the turkeys with the chickens, they’ll just think they’re one of the chickens and even if they escape during the day, they’ll probably come back to the coop at night.
I called the lady I had met at Tractor Supply and she came over and brought 17 eggs. Actually, there were 18 but one was cracked in the carton.
Turkey Eggs
They are big! She and I will split the babies, if any hatch out.
Incubator #3
It has some Bielefelder eggs (the darker brown ones), some Australorp eggs (the lighter brown) and two Easter Egger eggs.
All of the eggs have arrived.
Sherry V. says
So, when does the new wood start coming in for the extra coops??
My DH doesn’t want me to read your blog anymore because he doesn’t want chickens and thinks you are being a bad influence on me! I’ve tried to explain that I haven’t “caught” your yarn obsession (at least not yet) so it should be ok for me to continue “stalking” your blog.
He is still not too sure. . . . . .LOL
JudyL says
The builder will probably order the wood and have it delivered so I have no idea . . he knows when I need the new coop so it’s up to him.
Karin Vail says
you are going to LOVE the turkeys! They have SO much personality!!! We had 4 one year (free range) and they are so curious. They will follow you around and want to know what you are doing all the time. We really had a hard time butchering them (but we didn’t miss the HUGE messes they left). We couldn’t find ‘wild’ type looking birds, we just had white ones – which grew SO quickly! I would have much rather had the wild looking birds. Ours kept totally seperate from the chickens, they avoided each other.
Mary-Kay says
More fun in your neck of the woods. Bunnies and now turkeys. I can’t wait to see the little turkeys!
Susan says
So now you could title your blog, “Down on the farm.” You have THREE animals that *could* provide food for you. That’s a farm. LOL How are the potatoes looking now that the frost is past? I saw the droopy photo after your hard freeze, but did they come back a bit?
Mary in VA says
I hope the builder knows you need a BIG coop! Of course if you build a big coop then you will need to get more chickens and turkeys to fill it….
Deborah says
You will love turkeys. I’ve only hatched 2 – the eggs were very expensive to buy. They scared me a little when they hatched and did not stand up and start walking. It is actually normal for them to not stand until day 2 or 3. I made sure water and food was close by and sure enough they did stand and walk. Just not like chicks that jump right out of the eggs sometimes.!! Enjoy, Deborah