Yesterday we lost 2 turkeys. I don’t mean they died, I mean I LOST THEM. I count them at least once a day because of my minor OCD-ness. 1, 2, 3…36, 37, 38, 38, 38??? Oh no! Where are they?! Over here? No. Behind the waterer? No. In the feeder? No. No. No. No. No. No. NO. Oh mamma mia, mamma mia! ( Yes, I sounded like a Queen song.) Anyway, they weren’t in their brooder, under a pallet of feed, in with the chicken pullets, nowhere!
Then I saw something wrong…my ever-brooding Buff Orpington whose about 5 years old and probably hasn’t laid an egg in as many months was NOT in her nestbox. She sits all day, only getting up to eat and drink and to let others lay eggs for her to nest on. She was waddling around in the coop, more of a strut really. I came out of the brooder, walked into the coop and low and behold, 2 little turkey heads popped out from behind the waddling mamma.
I couldn’t believe it! They did escape the brooder but they found another one.
It saddened me to have to take her new found babies away, but there is a glimmer of hope for her yet. I have decided that I want to let her raise a clutch of chicks this summer. Once all of the pullets are into the layer coop I am going to put her onto the other side of the coop away from the layers to nest on a clutch of about 12 eggs. I think she’d really appreciate the chance to raise her own and we can always use a few more egg layers for our customers.
So I guess the title isn’t true, maybe I’ll change it to “Found Turkeys!” or better still, “Found Mamma,” because that’s what those bitty turkeys did.
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