Persistency of broodiness in recycled turkey hens

Large White turkey breeder hens identified as broody during their initial egg production cycle were recycled into a second and third reproductive cycle in order to determine the persistency of broodiness. Egg production data included time to first egg, duration of lay and the number of eggs per hen. Nesting data included time to first broody nesting activity and duration of broody nesting activity. In general, there were no significant differences among the three cycles for the above observations. Mean values over the three cucles were as follows: 24.6 days to first egg following photostimulation; 49.4 days of egg production; 29.4 eggs per hen; 46.9 days from the first egg to first broody nesting and 59.7 days duration of nesting. Of 10 hens identified as broody in their first egg production cycle and followed through two additional 20-week cycles, seven hens demonstrated broody nesting behavior and nine had low rates of egg production. It was concluded that broody traits of a given hen are carried over into subsequent cycles.