INCUBATION OF TURKEY EGGS 



ing off for feed or water. It is best, however, when they 

 are confined to a coop, to give them an opportunity to 

 come off of the nest each day. This will give them 

 an opportunity to stretch their wings and to walk 

 around and fly a little, and this exercise rests them and 

 helps to keep them in the best of condition. Sometimes 

 turkey hens sit so closely that they will not come off 

 at all of their own accord and will starve unless they 

 are made to come off for feed and water. Whole corn 

 is one of the best feeds for sitting hens and as much 

 of this as they desire should be given them once a day 

 when they are let off the nests. Fresh water should also 

 be provided at this time as well as a supply of grit. 



Should any of the eggs in the nest become broken and 

 soil the others, or if they should become badly soiled in 

 any other way it is best to clean them by washing with a 

 cloth dipped in luke-warm water. The nesting material 

 must also be kept clean. Just before the poults are due to 

 hatch it is good practice to remove the old nesting ma- 

 terial and replace it with new clean straw or hay. If the 

 weather is dry it will usually be found best to sprinkle the 

 eggs which are set under turkey or chicken hens two or 

 three times during the last week of incubation with water 

 heated to blood temperature. It is often good policy to 

 remove the first poults which are hatched, taking them 

 into the house and wrapping them in flannel or leaving 

 them in a flannel lined basket near the stove. If the first 

 poults hatched are left with the hen she sometimes be- 

 comes restless before the hatch is complete. The poults 



73 



