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To ensure high reproduction of females, they need to be provided with a comfortable place to lay eggs and incubate them. The design of such a place should be approached with particular thoroughness. It is necessary to install nests for turkeys in the house long before the females begin to rush. Gradually, the turkeys will get used to them, and the birds will only lay eggs there.
Nest installation and equipment requirements
You need to install nests in the warmest, quietest and darkest place in the house, away from the entrance. The turkeys are calmer there, they feel safe. This arrangement also contributes to the protection of birds from drafts, and therefore prevents diseases. Diseases degrade egg quality.
The nests are arranged so that the hens can easily use them, and it is also convenient for collecting eggs, disinfecting, and cleaning. The walls should be of such a height that the females could not see each other.
Branches should first be laid on the floor, straw on them, then hay. Sometimes, instead of branches, earth is poured onto the bottom. You can use a soft cloth rug or old clothes as bedding. The bedding provides dryness and warmth, so its quality must be carefully monitored and, as necessary, a top layer should be laid. To make the masonry denser and not move apart, it is advisable to make a wreath of straw around the eggs.
Nests are made at a distance of at least 25 cm from the floor. Sometimes they are installed in several floors. The size of the nest should be such that up to 5 females fit freely in it. Usually they are made in sizes of 60 * 60 cm, however, the characteristics of the breed should be taken into account – some of the turkeys are much larger than the average.
It is desirable to have a sloping roof so that other birds do not interfere with those inside. At night, the bird is removed from the nests, the inlets are closed.
What types of nests are
- open and closed (with and without a roof);
- single-tier and multi-tier;
- standing separately and being part of a structure of nests;
- with and without the audiobook;
- professional and handmade.
If financial opportunity allows, it is better to purchase nests from suppliers. If not possible, you can make them yourself.
DIY turkey nests
What nests can you make yourself
From boxes
The easiest way is to use a standard size vegetable crate. Better if it is wooden. The box is pre-washed, disinfected and dried. Place a pad on the bottom. Such a nest can be fenced with a screen (made of fabric or other suitable material).
From improvised materials
Also, a place for laying eggs can be made from baskets, buckets, wooden barrels and similar improvised means. The main thing is that the bottom should not be metal: some birds bury their eggs so deep that they reach the bottom, if it is made of metal, the egg may become supercooled.
From bricks
The nest can be made from bricks. On the surface where the nest will be located, you need to make a soft layer: put burlap in several layers or a padded jacket. From above it is necessary to lay bricks (in one row flat), leaving a place between them where the eggs will be folded. In the space left between the bricks, you need to put straw or hay and compact it well. If you plan to install several nests, you need to leave as many places as you need, but make partitions between them (cardboard or plywood will do).
Nest booth
Another of the easiest to make do-it-yourself nests for turkeys.
Necessary materials
- For walls, floor and ceiling: 1 cm thick plywood (or any other suitable material).
- For the base: wooden blocks – 4 pcs.
- for fasteners: screws, nails, corners, etc.
- for manufacturing: hammer, saw or jigsaw, screwdriver or screwdriver
- for measurement: tape measure or ruler.
Manufacturing mechanism
- Process the material for the walls, floor and ceiling so that there are no splinters, protrusions, cracks. Cut out squares for the walls (the number depends on how many masonry places are planned to be made in one structure).
- In one of the walls, cut a round or rectangular hole of such a diameter that a hen can pass through it. The entrance must be done at a distance of 20 cm from the bottom.
- Prepare bars in the amount of 4 pcs. the same height as the walls.
- Make a box of walls, connect them with self-tapping screws (or other fasteners) using bars. Attach the roof and walls. The “ceiling” can be made reclining – it will be more convenient to clean the nest and collect eggs.
frame nest
The required materials are the same as in the construction of the nest box. The frame differs from the booth in the absence of a round entrance. It is replaced by a high side.
Manufacturing mechanism
- First of all, a frame is assembled from a bar of a suitable section (for a structure of 4 nests, a section of 50×50 mm is suitable.). Depending on the size of the structure, intermediate supports should be added after 70-120 cm of the frame length.
- Vertical supports are installed on the frame. If the design provides for a sloping roof, then the length of the beam of the rear wall should be 10 cm higher than the front. The height and length of one nest must be at least 60 cm. Accordingly, if a two-tier structure is made of 4 places (two on the lower tier and 2 on the upper), the height of the vertical beams of the front wall must be at least 120 cm, rear – 130 cm.
- The frame must be sheathed with plywood sheets, or other suitable material. Before sheathing, the tree must be treated with sandpaper. Partitions between nests should not be transparent.
- Before the construction, a perch 15-25 cm wide should be installed. It can be made from one board, attached to the nest at a distance convenient for the bird to land.
- So that the eggs do not roll out, there must be a threshold at the entrance.
To facilitate the lifting of the nest during installation, you can attach a platform to it: a wide board with crossbars.
Nest with eggs
Suitable when there is no need to incubate eggs, but their collection is required. In such cases, it is important that the turkey comes into contact with the eggs as little as possible, for this they should be removed from the nest immediately. You can do this by making a nest with an egg collector.
The main feature is the bottom with a slope. On it, the egg rolls into a specially designated place. To prevent this from happening too quickly, a hole is made in the wall in front of the egg collector.
The base of the nest can be made, like a booth. The materials should be the same.
Manufacturing mechanism
- Prepare the tree in the same way as for the manufacture of the booth: process, cut out the walls, floor and ceiling, make a round entrance, prepare the bars.
- Assemble the base from the side walls, front, roof and floor, fastening the parts with self-tapping screws using bars. Attach a half-slope to the resulting structure in such a way as to ensure its slope of 10-15 degrees. The highest part should be at the entrance, the lowest – opposite. You can not make two floors, but immediately attach a half-slope.
- The back wall must be made shorter than the front by so much that a turkey egg can pass into the distance between it and the floor. To slow down the rate at which the egg rolls into the collection area, a soft plastic, rubber or cloth is attached to the bottom of the back wall. Sawdust or hay should be placed on the bottom so that the egg can freely roll into the collection area without getting stuck anywhere.
- The last step is to attach an egg collector to the back of the structure. You can make it yourself, or use improvised means. The main condition is that the eggs, when they get there, do not break. To do this, the egg collector can be upholstered with soft material and line the bottom with sawdust, hay, straw, etc.
The disadvantage of such a nest is that the egg collector is located in the back, which excludes the possibility of installing the nest against the wall.
What the egg collector looks like – look at the video:
Nest with retractable egg collector
Principle of operation: the base is a nest-booth, the bottom of which is made of two parts with a gap between them. Each part is angled 10 or 15 degrees so that the egg rolls into the slot. The hole should be wide enough for a turkey egg to pass through.
A box is installed under the bottom, the bottom of which, for the convenience of collecting eggs, is made at a slope towards extension. To prevent damage to the egg, the floor of the nest and the egg collector are covered with suitable material.
Thus, the egg laid by the turkey rolls into the gap between the parts of the floor, falls into the box under the nest, and rolls along its bottom to the edge. The farmer only has to pull out the box, collect the eggs and return it back. Such a place for laying hens can be installed against the walls, which significantly saves space in the house.
Conclusion
If the nest is in the right place and meets the requirements of both turkeys and farmers, then the productivity of females will be at a high level.