The turkey is a close sitter and will not leave her nest for several days at a time. Grain and water should be kept near the nest all the time. When the turkeys begin to hatch I take the little chicks out just the same as I do when under a common hen, and give the ones that are not hatched a chance to do so.
When they are all ready to go into the coop, I lift the hen very gently and carry her to the coop, generally putting the little turkeys into the coops first as the turkey hen is a very nervous bird and will scratch around and sometimes walk on the little birds.
That is why I like to have them good and strong before they go into the coop with the mother. The little fellows seem to understand that the mother should not step on them for they will crowd over towards the side of the coop out of her reach. She will soon get used to them and to being fed and will settle down to taking care of her babies in good shape, as the turkey hen is a very devoted mother. She will watch out for those who feed her and take care of her little babies. They will run to meet me when they see me coming, that is, of course, if they are out in the field. I have had them come home themselves when I let them out for a ramble, and when I have gone to feed them the mother would be in the coop with all her little babies.
I give the same treatment to the turkey chicks that are brought up by their mother as I do when they are brought up by a common hen, only the common hen will leave them long before the turkey hen will think of forsaking her babies. I have gone into the turkey house when they were five or six months old and would find a young turkey pullet nestling close to her mother. You do not find this in any other domestic bird that I know of.
THE THROWING OF THE RED AND YOUNG TURKEYS
As there seems to be some difference of opinion about the "throwing of the red", first let me tell you what the throwing of the red means.
More or less blood must flow into the brain and head of the turkey when it shows so plainly through the skin. When a turkey is five weeks old or even four, it is time for it to begin to "throw the red", as when blood comes from the liver and heart, of course it must have some action on the little pullets. I have had young turkeys throw the red in five weeks, and show it very plainly,--that is after being fed twice a day on sting nettle. On the other hand, before I knew what to feed to them, I have had them linger along up until seven or eight weeks, and at the end of that time, they would usually die. What had happened was that the blood had returned to the liver, become stagnant and caused diarrhea, which, of course, caused the death of the young turkey. When a young turkey is in good condition it ought to shoot the red from the beginning to the end in ten days. Of course it will not be as prominent as in a larger bird. As the bird grows, the red becomes more apparent.