Wild turkeys are fascinating birds that have complex reproductive behaviors. As these popular game birds become more prevalent across North America, there is growing interest around their nesting habits and development. One common question is: when do wild turkey eggs hatch? To understand the incubation period, we must first look at the full turkey nesting cycle from start to finish.
Courtship and Mating
In early spring, male wild turkeys, also called toms, begin competing for female turkeys, known as hens. Toms perform elaborate mating displays, spreading their tail feathers, puffing out their bodies, and making gobbling noises to attract hens. Once a hen selects a mate, the tom will breed with her.
Wild turkeys are polygamous, meaning one male turkey may mate with multiple hens in a single breeding season The mating season lasts around 2-3 weeks in April and May. After successful breeding, the hen is ready to begin the nesting process
Nest Building
About 1-2 weeks after mating, the hen selects a nest site and starts gathering materials. Nests are bowl-shaped depressions scratched into the ground and lined with leaves, grass, feathers and other vegetation. Hens look for sites with dense undergrowth that provide concealment, often at the base of a tree, shrub or tall grass.
Nest building takes 3-10 days as the hen continues adding lining. She may maintain 1-2 potential nests before settling on one to lay her eggs. Some hens also reuse the same nest site year after year.
Egg Laying
Once the nest is fully prepared, the hen begins depositing her eggs. Turkey hens lay 1 egg per day, usually in late afternoon or early evening. Clutch size averages 10-12 eggs but can range from 8 to 15.
Eggs are tan or cream-colored and speckled with brown spots They are pointed on one end and oval-shaped, about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide The hen continues laying eggs until her entire clutch is complete.
Incubation
After all the eggs are laid, the hen begins incubating them. She sits tightly on the nest with only short breaks of 15-30 minutes per day to feed, drink and preen herself. Hens are very secretive and wary during incubation, leaving the nest silently and covering the eggs with vegetation to conceal them.
The incubation period lasts for 28 days. Using her body heat, the hen keeps the eggs at a constant temperature of about 100°F throughout incubation. She frequently turns the eggs and rotates their position for even heating and development.
Hatching
Turkey eggs hatch over a 12 to 24 hour period, usually in the very early morning. When ready to hatch, the poult (baby turkey) starts pecking a hole around the top of the egg with its egg tooth. It continues pecking a circle until the shell comes off in a cap shape, a process called pipping.
The poult then rests for 6-12 hours before using its legs to kick and push its way fully out of the shell. This strenuous hatching process leaves the young poult wet, exhausted and vulnerable.
Leaving the Nest
Within 12-24 hours after the initial eggs hatch, the hen leads her poults away from the nest site. She shows them how to forage for food like insects, seeds and berries. The poults follow their mother closely, communicating with soft peeping sounds.
The hen remains protective of her brood for 4-6 weeks until the poults grow and gain independence. By about 4 months old, young turkeys reach full adult size and are ready for their first mating season. From start to finish, the turkey nesting cycle takes 5-6 months and repeats yearly.
Ideal Hatching Conditions
For successful hatching, turkey eggs require consistent incubation temperature and humidity. Ideal conditions are 99.5-100°F and 55-65% relative humidity. The embryo dies if humidity gets too low and the shell membranes shrink or become brittle.
Temperature is also critical. Eggs hatch best when the temperature varies no more than 1°F per day. Cooler temperatures below 98°F slow the growth rate, while excessive heat above 102°F causes death. The hen pays close attention to maintaining perfect conditions.
Potential Threats
Wild turkey eggs face many natural threats during incubation. Bad weather like hail, wind or flooding can damage nests. Predators like raccoons, foxes and snakes eat eggs. The hen startles easily from the nest during this dangerous period.
If a nest fails early in incubation, the hen may try to re-nest and lay another clutch. But it takes a toll on her health to lay too many eggs per season. Late nest failure is devastating since there isn’t enough time to re-nest.
Hatching Success Rates
Only about 35% of wild turkey nests produce poults. Of the eggs laid, around 70% hatch successfully under prime conditions. But nest predators, weather events and hen abandonment claimed about 54% of nests in one study.
Nests on the ground suffer heavy losses, while nests in trees or shrubs have higher success. Still, a 50% hatch rate would be considered very good. This is why wild turkeys have large clutches – it improves their odds that at least some poults will hatch.
Tracking Nesting Activity
During nesting season, it’s common to find turkey feathers, eggshell fragments or trampled vegetation around nest sites. Keep dogs leashed so they don’t disturb hidden nests.
Avoid approaching or disturbing hens as they may abandon nests when distressed. Give nesting areas wide berth until poults hatch and follow their mother away from the location. This ensures the best chance of reproductive success.
When Do Eggs Finally Hatch?
So when exactly do wild turkey eggs hatch? The incubation period lasts 28 days from the start of sustained brooding. Hatching begins around day 28 and may continue for up to 24 hours until all viable eggshells are emptied.
Poults pip the shell about 4 days before fully emerging. Timing can vary slightly based on weather and incubation consistency. But day 28 is the average expectant hatch window if all goes well for the developing embryos.
Turkey Nesting Season Dates
Now that we looked at the full nesting timeline, here are the typical turkey nesting season dates:
- Mating: mid-April to early May
- Nest Building: late April to mid-May
- Egg Laying: late April to late May
- Incubation: late May to late June
- Hatching: late June to mid July
Of course, weather shifts and region impact exact dates. Use these as general guidelines for when turkeys breed and nest in your area. Understanding their reproductive cycles allows you to avoid disturbing nests during critical periods.
Fascinating Nesting Adaptations
Through evolution, wild turkeys developed some incredible adaptations to maximize nest success:
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Hens reuse nest sites across years and select secluded, hard-to-detect locations. This lowers predation risk.
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Large clutch sizes compensate for egg losses so some poults usually survive.
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Hens can re-nest up to 3 times to lay more eggs if early nests fail.
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Group nesting behavior has hens sharing incubation duties and improving protection.
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Nest attendance peaks in early morning when predators are less active.
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Camouflaged mottled plumage allows hens to blend into the nest.
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Hens eat eggshells to recycle calcium and leave no evidence of nests.
These unique behaviors give turkey nests the best chances of survival in the wild.
In Summary
Wild turkey nesting is a remarkable process. It begins with courtship in spring, followed by nest building, egg laying, 28-day incubation, hatching, and finally the hen moving poults from the nest. Understanding this breeding cycle helps shed light on when turkey eggs hatch after a month of dedicated maternal care. With excellent adaptations and some luck, wild turkey nests can overcome the many threats they face to successfully deliver the next generation of these popular game birds.
Developing Poult Behavior Timeline:
- Day old poults: learn to respond to the hen’s putt or alarm call before leaving the nest and will respond by freezing or running to hide beneath the hen if she sounds the alarm call
- Within hours: Poults learn to peck at food items by mimicking their mother’s behavior
- Day two: poults are performing most of the characteristic feeding, movement and grooming behavior patterns
- Week one: poults are regularly dusting with the hen
- Week two: Poults are able to fly short distances
- Week three: Poults can roost in low trees with the hen, this change also indicates a change of diet from mostly insects to a higher percentage of plant matter
- Past week six: Poults that survive to this age have a much better chance of surviving to adulthood
- 14 weeks: male and female poults are distinguishable by body size and plumage
- By fall, the pecking order of the sibling groups has been established and the young flocks are ready to enter the social organization of the surrounding population
- Body growth of juveniles ends by the beginning of winter
Breeding usually begins in late February or early March in its southernmost habitats, but not until April in northern states. The cycle is complete with the hatching of poults by June or as late as mid-summer farther north. Birds that renest may bring off broods as late as August.
Dominance and Pecking Order
- Turkeys have home ranges, not territories.
- Birds fight for dominance recognizing individuals within the pecking order while sharing overlapping home ranges.
- Males and females have separate hierarchies.
- Stable pecking orders within flocks of the same sex seem to be common to all wild turkeys subspecies.
- Breeding behavior is triggered primarily by the increasing day length in spring and subsequent hormonal response.
- Unusually warm or cold spells may accelerate or slow breeding activity slightly.
- Courtship behavior patterns include gobbling and strutting by the males, this attracts the female.
- The hen crouches to select the gobbler for matting, which signals the male to copulate.
- Hens become secretive while searching for a site to nest prior to laying eggs.
- Nests are shallow depressions formed by scratching, squatting and laying eggs.
- Moderate dense understory is preferred to allow hens a view, but also provide protection.
- Hens lay between 10-12 eggs during a two week period.
- Continuous incubation begins when the last egg is laid.
- The hen will only leave for a short period to feed and may remain on the nest for several consecutive days.
- Eggs will be incubated for 26-28 days. The hen sits quietly and moves about once an hour to turn and reposition the eggs.
- Hatching begins with pipping – the poult rotating within the shell, chipping a complete break around the large end of the egg.
- Hens make soft clucks in response at random to begin to imprint the baby birds.
- Imprinting is a special form of learning which facilitates the rapid social development of the poults into adults.
- Damp poults free themselves but dry fully so they can follow the hen away from the nest within 12-24 hours after hatching.
Why Don’t We Eat Turkey Eggs!
FAQ
What time of year do wild turkey eggs hatch?
But the fact remains, unless you hunt turkey, you probably don’t think about them as much in the springtime. But this is a crucial time of year for New Hampshire’s 40,000 turkeys. After mating in April and incubating eggs in May, turkeys are now hatching chicks and rearing broods of young poults in June.
Do wild turkey hens sit on their eggs at night?
Hens will only visit the nesting site long enough to deposit her egg for the day. The rest of her time will be spent elsewhere feeding and roosting. At the end of the laying period, incubation starts. During this time, the hen puts herself in danger to stay on the nest day and night for about 28 days.
Do wild turkeys lay eggs twice a year?
In the wild they lay one clutch of about 10-12 eggs before she starts nearly continuous incubation for 28 days starting after the last egg is layed. Turkeys provided they are well fed and mature will start laying eggs from early spring to early summer.
How long do wild turkeys sit on their nest?
Turkeys have an incubation period of about 26 days. Hatching begins with pipping.
When do turkey eggs hatch?
For wild turkeys the arrival of spring marks the start of the breeding and nesting season. This begins an approximately two-month cycle during which hens lay and incubate eggs culminating in the hatching of adorable, fluffy poult chicks. But exactly when do those turkey eggs hatch after being laid?
When do wild turkeys lay eggs?
To summarize the key points: Wild turkeys breed and nest in the springtime, typically March through May. Hens lay eggs in April and May which take about 4 weeks to incubate. Most wild turkey poults hatch out in May or early June. The exact timing depends on region, climate, and weather patterns.
How long do hens incubate turkey eggs?
Hens incubate them for about 28 days, and baby turkeys, called poults, leave the nest in the first 24 hours. Hatching wild turkey eggs in captivity is a very different process. Before you can hatch wild turkey eggs, you obviously have to find some first.
When do wild turkeys hatch in Florida?
The reproductive cycle for the Florida wild turkey begins only slightly earlier than for the eastern wild turkey in other southern states. However, in southern Florida, turkeys gobble during warm spells in January, several weeks before actual mating. Egg laying is mainly in March and April with peak hatching occurring in early May.
When do turkeys mate & hatch?
Mating typically runs from early April through May, with eggs hatching mainly in May or June. At higher elevations in mountainous areas the breeding season will be delayed. In locations over 5,000 feet in elevation, turkey nesting may occur from late May well into July, with poults hatching in mid to late summer.
How many eggs does a turkey lay a day?
In the wild, these beautiful birds mate in late March and lay a total of nine to 12 eggs (laying one egg each day). Hens incubate them for about 28 days, and baby turkeys, called poults, leave the nest in the first 24 hours. Hatching wild turkey eggs in captivity is a very different process.