Turkeys. 475 



Turkey eggs incubate in twenty-eight days, and may be hatched 

 out under ordinary hens, turkey hens, or in an incubator, but, 

 generally speaking, poults, as the turkey chicks are called, thrive 

 better with a turkey hen. Not more than fifteen or sixteen eggs 

 should be given to a turkey hen to hatch, or more than ten to an 

 ordinary hen. Turkey hens often sit too closely, especially if near 

 a spot where many people pass, and settings are sometimes spoilt by 

 over-bi^ooding. The spot chosen for the nest should be on soft ground 

 lined with hay and a roomy box put over it for shelter ; needless to 

 say, a site likely to be flooded should not be selected, and on no account 

 should the nest be made up on a wooden floor. Food, water, and grit 

 should be put down near the nest so that the hen can come o& to 

 feed, etc., at will; during the period of incubation small, yellow 

 maize is the best grain to feed; mash should not be given. Until the 

 hen is settled in her new nest it is advisable to give her a few nest 

 eggs, otherwise valuable eggs may be spoiled. If possible, the nest 

 should only be visited when the hen is oft. 



Twenty-four hours after the chicks are hatched they should be 

 moved with the hen to the run or yard they are to occupy. Runs that 

 have been used for other poultry will not do for poults ; the ground 

 must be sweet and clean, and if under short grass so much the better. 

 Turkey hens, if given complete liberty with their brood, are likely 

 to wander too far and run all but the strongest off their legs. Poults 

 cannot stand any dampness, so on no account should they be allowed 

 to get wet by rain or by running in long grass. It is better, therefore, 

 not to give them free range until about fourteen days old. Milk in 

 any form is excellent for them, not only mixed in their soft food, 

 but also to drink. A sudden change, however, from sweet to sour 

 milk must be guarded against, otlierwise diarrhoea may result. For 

 the first week dry bread, coarse oatmeal, boiled rice and bran sligthly 

 moistened with milk forms an excellent feed ; to this can be added or 

 fed separately finely chopped green food such as succulent green grass, 

 lettuce, lucerne, or, better still, onion tops; only a little food should 

 be put down at a time, just sufficient for them to clear up readily. 

 Food or green stuff must not be allowed to lie about the run ; after 

 the first week a little meat food is necessary, finely chopped liver or 

 green bone until the poults can get insect life for themselves. Fine 

 grit or sand and vegetable charcoal should always be available ; the 

 latter may be dusted over the mash two or three times weekly with 

 advantage. After the first week, and until three months old, four 

 feeds daily should be given, the first morning feed to consist of mash, 

 the basis of which should be wheaten bran, to which may be added 

 household scraps boiled overnight, or one part of Sussex ground oats 

 to two of bran, mixed with milk; in cold weather a little maize meal 

 can be added to the above. At first all grain should be finely broken 

 up as in chick mixtures, but whole grain, with the exception of maize, 

 may be given when four or five weeks old ; the latter should be 

 crushed. When the turkey poults become red about the head and 

 neck they may be taken from their parent; if not she will probably 

 induce them to roost at night, which will spoil (i,e, dent or cause to 

 become, crooked) their breast-bones, a bad fault in a bird required 

 for the table. 



Until four months old, young turkeys are better at night if shut 

 up in a roomy shed, the floor well covered Avith dry litter; during a 



