Two weeks ago here on the homestead we were crushed when our Chocolate Turkey hen was killed by a predator. We only had 3 chocolate turkeys and only one of them was a hen. And not very many people know that chocolate turkeys are listed as critically endangered. To be honest that is the main reason why I ordered 5 poults last year.
Turkeys are extremely hard to raise and we lost 2 of those poults within a week of getting them. We were so happy that we had 3 adult chocolate turkeys. I know it's not much but I felt led to help with the conservation of them. And until 2 weeks ago I was so happy about how they were progressing.
So two weeks before Claudia's death, I had found 4 eggs that she had laid. So I decided to put them in the chicken nest box to see if one of my hens would set on them. And sure enough one did. And when Claudia died I took the 6 eggs she had laid and put them in the nest box with another hen. Now the last 6 won't hatch for another 2 to 3 weeks. But the first 4 hatched!!!! The spirit of Claudia lives on.
Now 2 of the 4 poults survived their first day and the chicken hen realizing they weren't chicks didn't want anything to do with them (this is pure speculation). So I grabbed those two poults up and put them in a shoe box with a heat lamp. Now I am hoping for 6 more in 2 to 3 weeks. Just the hatching of the first 4 brought us full circle with our chocolate turkeys. And it feels great to help with the conservation of them. Now the hard part begins which is keeping these little ones alive until adulthood.
