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To ensure high reproductive rates 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 special thoroughness. It is necessary to install nests for turkeys in the poultry house long before the females begin laying eggs. Gradually, the turkeys will get used to them, and the birds will lay eggs only there.
Requirements for installation and equipment of the nest
Nests should be installed 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 helps protect birds from drafts, and therefore prevents diseases. Diseases reduce the quality of eggs.
The nests are positioned so that they can be easily used by hens and are also convenient for collecting eggs, disinfecting, and cleaning. The walls should be of such a height that the females cannot see each other.
You should first lay branches on the floor, straw on them, then hay. Sometimes, instead of branches, earth is poured onto the bottom.You can use a soft fabric mat or old clothes as bedding. The litter provides dryness and warmth, so its quality must be carefully monitored and, if necessary, a top layer must be added. To make the clutch 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 on several floors. The size of the nest should be such that it can easily accommodate up to 5 females. Usually they are made in dimensions of 60*60 cm, however, the characteristics of the breed should be taken into account - some of the turkeys are much larger in size than the average.
It is advisable to have a sloping roof so that other birds do not disturb those inside. At night, the birds are removed from the nests and the entrance holes are closed.
What types of nests are there?
- open and closed (with and without roof);
- single-tier and multi-tier;
- standing alone and being part of a structure made of nests;
- with and without an egg collector;
- professional and handmade.
If financial opportunity allows, it is better to purchase nests from suppliers. If this is not possible, you can make them yourself.
Turkey nests you can make with your own hands
What kind of nests can you make yourself?
From the boxes
The easiest way is to use a standard size vegetable box. It would be better if it was made of wood. The box is pre-washed, disinfected and dried. Bedding is placed at the bottom. Such a nest can be fenced off with a screen (made of fabric or other suitable material).
From scrap 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 is not metal: some birds bury their eggs so deep that they reach the bottom; if it is made of metal, the egg may become hypothermic.
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 several layers of burlap or a padded jacket. It is necessary to lay bricks on top (in one row flat), leaving a space between them where the eggs will be placed. 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 required, but make partitions between them (cardboard or plywood will do).
Nest-box
Another one of the easiest turkey nests to make with your own hands.
Necessary materials
- For walls, floor and ceiling: 1 cm thick plywood (or any other suitable material).
- For the base: wooden blocks – 4 pcs.
- for fastening: screws, nails, corners, etc.
- for manufacturing: hammer, saw or jigsaw, screwdriver or screwdriver
- for measuring: tape measure or ruler.
Manufacturing mechanism
- Treat the material for the walls, floor and ceiling so that there are no splinters, protrusions, or cracks. Cut out squares for the walls (the number depends on how many places you plan to make for masonry in one structure).
- In one of the walls, cut a round or rectangular hole with such a diameter that a hen can fit through it. The entrance should be made at a distance of 20 cm from the bottom.
- Prepare bars in the amount of 4 pieces. the same height as the walls.
- Make a box from the walls, connect them with self-tapping screws (or other means of fastening) using bars. Attach the roof and walls. The “ceiling” can be made reclining - this will make it more convenient to clean the nest and collect eggs.
Frame nest
The necessary materials are the same as when constructing a 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 beam of a suitable cross-section (for a structure of 4 nests, a cross-section of 50x50 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 rear wall beam 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 of 4 seats is made (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, the rear - 130 cm.
- The frame must be covered with sheets of plywood or other suitable material. Before covering, the wood must be sanded. The partitions between nests should not be transparent.
- A perch 15-25 cm wide should be installed in front of the structure. It can be made from one board, attached to the nest at a distance convenient for the bird to land.
- To prevent eggs from rolling out, there must be a threshold at the entrance.
To make it easier to lift the nest during installation, you can attach a platform to it: a wide board with crossbars.
Nest with egg collector
Suitable when there is no need to hatch eggs, but rather to collect them. In such cases, it is important that the turkey comes into contact with the eggs as little as possible; to do this, they should be immediately removed from the nest. This can be done by making a nest with an egg collector.
The main feature is the bottom with a slope. The egg rolls along it to 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 wood in the same way as for making a booth: process it, 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 the 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 don’t have to make two floors, but just attach the half-slope.
- The back wall needs to be made shorter than the front wall so much so that a turkey egg can fit into the space between it and the floor. To slow the speed at which the egg rolls into the collection area, soft plastic, rubber, or fabric is attached to the bottom of the back wall. You need to put sawdust or hay at the bottom so that the egg can roll freely into the collection area without getting stuck anywhere.
- The last step is to attach the egg tray to the back of the structure. You can make it yourself, or use improvised means. The main condition is that the eggs do not break when they get there.To do this, the egg collector can be upholstered with soft material and the bottom lined with sawdust, hay, straw, etc.
The disadvantage of such a nest is that the egg collector is located in the back, which eliminates the possibility of installing the nest against the wall.
What the egg collector looks like - look at the video:
Nest with retractable egg collector
Operating principle: the base is a nest-box, the bottom of which is made of two parts with a gap between them. Each part is positioned at an angle of 10 or 15 degrees so that the egg rolls into the gap. The hole should be wide enough to allow a turkey egg to fit through it.
A box is installed under the bottom, the bottom of which, for the convenience of collecting eggs, is made at a slope towards the 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 just has to pull out the box, collect the eggs and return it back. Such a place for laying hens can be installed near the walls, which significantly saves space in the poultry house.
Conclusion
If the nest is installed in the right place and meets the requirements of both turkeys and farmers, then female production will be high.
