NATIONAL CITY, CALIFORNIA 11 



FINDING THE HIDDEN NEST 



Given free range, turkey hens usually secrete their nests in obscure 

 places, such as patches of weeds, tall grass, or bushy thickets, and often 

 wander a half-mile* or more from home before they find places that suit 

 them. To find these "stolen" nests, as they are usually termed, is often a 

 long and tedious task, the usual method being to follow each turkey hen 

 as she separates from the flock and starts toward her nest, taking care that 

 she does not know she is observed. A much easier and quicker method than 

 this is to confine the hens early some morning soon after they have come 

 down from roost and let them out late in the afternoon. Those that are 

 laying will then head straight for their nests in order to* lay the eggs they 

 have been holding. 



If attractive nesting places are prepared about the barn-yard, turkey 

 hens sometimes lay in them. In the North, where the laying season often 

 begins while there is still snow on the ground, they are more likely to 

 select their nests near home than is the case in the South, as they do not 

 range far during cold weather. Nests are easily made from boxes or bar- 

 rels, or by scooping out a little earth in the shape of a shallow bowl and 

 piling brush around it to satisfy the hen's desire for seclusion. Of all 

 nests, however, the one most preferred by turkey hens is a barrel laid on 

 its side and a nest shaped in it with straw or hay. When confined to a 

 breeding pen several turkey hens often lay in the same nest, but on free 

 range each hen usually makes her own nest. 



CARE OF EGGS 



When there is danger that the eggs may be chilled or destroyed they 

 should be gathered every day and a nest egg .left in each nest. Skunks, 

 opossums, rats, crows, and dogs are the greatest destroyers of turkey eggs, 

 altho minks, raccoons, coyotes, wolves, foxes, cats and certain large snakes 

 are also egg eaters. Often, when a turkey hen has been disturbed by one 

 of these pests, she changes her nest to some other place. 



Eggs for hatching should be kept at a temperature of as near 50 or 

 60 F. as possible, and should be turned over every day. They should be 

 jarred as little as possible while handling, and should be incubated while 

 still fresh, never holding more than two weeks if it can be helped. It is an 

 excellent plan to mark the date on each egg as it is gathered, in order to 

 be certain that no eggs are kept too long before they are incubated. 





50-lbs. OF TURKEY HENS 



