Can you hatch domestic turkey eggs and let them go in the wild and will they survive.?

Question

I want to hatch some domestic turkey eggs and let them go in the wild and see if they survive. They will be set free in 13 acres or wooded area. with ery few predators.

Answer 1

Please don't do that. They won't survive. They are not adapted to living in the wild, even in a semi-controlled environment. They might not even know how to forage in that environment and could starve. They would have little to no skill at evading even the "very few" predators. If you want to hatch them, keep them in a pen, raise them and feed them. Don't let them loose.
Also, if you are what they see when they hatch, they will imprint on you. They wil think that turkeys and people are the same, which will obviously be bad for their future survival.
If any manage to survive, they could breed with wild turkeys. This would introduce the inferior domestic genes into a well adapted wild population of turkeys and reduce that population's ability to survive.

Answer 2

Most Galiformes (turkeys, pheasants, quail, etc) have very low survival rates when hatched in the wild. That is why they have such large clutches (8-12 eggs) compared to many other bird species which have 3-4 eggs per clutch. That low survival gets even lower when you home hatch and raise Galiformes because they do not gain any experience of foraging and mostly have no skills for predator avoidance. I did research on pen-raised bobwhite and found that when the weather was good average life expectancy once released in the wild was 9 days. When weather turned cold and wet, that expectancy was 3 days.
Predation was the major cause. Even if you think there are few predators their are many you may not think about. Raptors and feral cats (house cats that are free roving) are not usually noticed at first but are prevalent in most areas and very effective predators.
If you still want turkeys work with a group such as the Wild Turkey Federation. They can help you improve the habitat on your land and when practical help get wild turkeys for releases.
You should know that if you live on this land, turkeys can become a problem species fast. They habituate quickly (get use to humans) and will soon be roosting and crapping on your cars at night, scratching and tearing up gardens and lawns. They are large birds and can do large amounts of damage.

Answer 3

If you mean "domestic" turkey eggs fresh from the momma Turkey, I don't see why not - you would have to use an incubator of course. You could try raising them with some chickens...if their mother or other turkeys are not available this could help develop some of their insticts. I wouldn't set them free as chicks...they might have a harder time surviving. There are predators out there that you wouldn't automatically think of...in the south we have fire ants that would kill the little guys in a heart beat if they weren't fully grown when released.

Answer 4

The wild turkey mother shows her babies what food is best to eat, and it is harder for domestic animals to survive in the wild because most of the wild instinct has been bred out of them. I think it is best to keep them safe with you. If you want to reintroduce wild turkey into its native habitat ( I'm not sure where your from) talk to a wild bird rehabilitator and they can help you get started.

Answer 5

The biggest issue is that 'domestic' turkeys don't fly. In the wild they would not be able to escape predators. Your question notes "very few predators" -----that's very few too many!

Answer 6

the likely hood is slim due to the breeding of "butterball" turkeys....one dog will kill them all because the domestic turkeys cannot fly a short distance....natural food sources in winter would be a obstacle...

Answer 7

they will be lucky to make it a year the have been bred for meat not for survival