How to Hatch Turkey Eggs After They Get Cold

Turkey eggs are not often used in culinary arts due to the fact that an individual turkey lays around only one hundred eggs per year compared to the chicken which lays around three hundred per year. For this reason, most eggs are hatched once they are laid. However, the sporadic and spaced out timing of when turkeys lay eggs can make it difficult to properly monitor, incubate and even raise the turkeys once they hatch. Farmers often stall embryonic development by storing the eggs in cold temperatures in order to collect a decent batch of eggs before attempting to hatch them.

Things You'll Need

Turkey eggs
Incubator

Instructions

- 1
  After about one week of storage, gather the turkey eggs you wish to hatch. Keep in mind that hatchability will decrease over time in storage and that a temperature of around 14°C (57.2°F) should have been maintained during that time period. Extremely cold temperatures will kill eggs.
- 2
  Candle them by holding them in front of a bright light and examining the contents through the illuminated shell. If the egg appears fertile and healthy, set it aside to be incubated. Otherwise, discard the unusable eggs. Refer to the "Candling Pictures" link under Resources for guidelines on what is usable or not.
- 3
  Use a pencil to draw an X and an O on the opposite sides of each egg and place the eggs gently into the incubator. Each egg should have the same letter facing up. Check that the water trays are filled and turn on the incubator.
- 4
  Turn the eggs 180 degrees to the side with the opposite letter three to five times each day for the first 25 days. Make sure the temperature is around 37.5°C (99.5°F) with a humidity level of 55% during this time period.
- 5
  Stop turning the eggs on day 26 and reduce the temperature to 37°C (98.6°F). The humidity level should be increased to 75% by adding more water to the water trays in the incubator. The poults should begin to hatch from their eggs around day 28.