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Nest Advice Part 2

Bone Collector

Bone Collector

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On April 28th i found a nest on my property and posted about it. I was told it took 28 days for a nest to hatch in most cases, and by my count, if the day I found it was the day it was laid, then tomorrow, or Sunday (depending on how you counted) would be the latest possible hatch dates.

1. is this correct? Do turkey eggs always take 28 days or can there be instances where it takes longer?

2. If #1 is correct, I plan to replenish some mineral sites, on Memorial day. is there anyway to determine if they hatched or if it was raided?

I've never found a next before, and to my knowledge, haven't seen the remnants of one. I assume If they hatched the eggs will be there, but cracked open, but it may be the same if raided, just want to know if there is any way to determine one way or the other.
 
By no means am I an expert, but when a nest is raided on my property I will find egg shells and pieces 50-100 yards from the nest. I would imagine a successful hatch would have most of the egg shells all within 3 ft of the nest.
 
Grnwing":1mh1fpmg said:
By no means am I an expert, but when a nest is raided on my property I will find egg shells and pieces 50-100 yards from the nest. I would imagine a successful hatch would have most of the egg shells all within 3 ft of the nest.
Click to expand...

That is what I was thinking


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I'm thinking if it's raided you will be able to tell. Incubation is either 26-28 days. It also depends on when the hen started incubating them. If you found her nest on the 28th of April, and that was her full clutch, she probably was incubating at that time or like the very next day. So yes, they could hatch anywhere from tomorrow to Memorial Day.

If it wasn't her full clutch, she will return to that nest every so often (they create an egg every 25-26 hours I believe) until it is complete then will begin incubation.

In my experience, if you bust a hen off the nest early during the incubation period they will attempt another, but if it is late in the incubation period they are more likely to return. I have no idea if this is science facts or not though.

Hopefully she will raise a good brood for your future.

How many eggs where in it and did you see a hen when you found the nest?

Keep us posted, I love talking about turkeys.


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Bone Collector":13zqc4vv said:
On April 28th i found a nest on my property and posted about it. I was told it took 28 days for a nest to hatch in most cases, and by my count, if the day I found it was the day it was laid, then tomorrow, or Sunday (depending on how you counted) would be the latest possible hatch dates.

1. is this correct? Do turkey eggs always take 28 days or can there be instances where it takes longer?

2. If #1 is correct, I plan to replenish some mineral sites, on Memorial day. is there anyway to determine if they hatched or if it was raided?

I've never found a next before, and to my knowledge, haven't seen the remnants of one. I assume If they hatched the eggs will be there, but cracked open, but it may be the same if raided, just want to know if there is any way to determine one way or the other.
Click to expand...

I went and found the post you made about it. Since you jumped her she was likely incubating, but she could have been just laying an egg too. April 28 is when most hens in this area are setting or beginning to set. I would think you'd be safe to travel up there again without messing up anything.


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It's easy to tell from the shells whether they hatched or were raided. Post a pic and I can let you know

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If the nest was raided the eggs should be broken apart entirely, often scattered around. When they hatch out they make more of a hole in one side of the egg. If the hen you bumped was already setting, then the 28 day period was already underway. I have no idea if the 28 days can vary, I'm no expert on bird nesting.


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Well it's hard to say? Some of the stuff looks kinda like what some have described and some not so much. Most of the shells were in the nest. Two egg shells were within 4-8' and broken up.


Here are some pics:

This is right in the nest

ebfd3b3a8cc8a719fc8870e53f0a420a.jpg


This was within a couple of feet

29db05272bcc3eb5b2dc31a804e373c6.jpg


This was about 8-10' away

2ffa35e1121af0e2b1349f453500fc18.jpg


Some looked smashed others looked broken out of. The ones in the nest made me optimistic but the two that were outside the nest area and badly broken make me wonder.

What do y'all think


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megalomaniac":i2jsgzuj said:
Hatched

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Click to expand...

I hope you're right. I know there have been some successful hatches in the area as I've seen a jake or two each season, as well as a Jenny hen or two. The last time I saw a hen with poults on my place was the first summer after I bought the place (2013). Hopefully I'll see them in a couple of months with some size to them.


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