Turkey Tee-Pee

 For some time, now, I have been meaning to put nests into the turkey coop. I have been at a loss, though. I'm not sure what turkey nests are supposed to look like. There really isn't a whole lot of information of turkeys, at least not heritage breeds that actually live long enough to lay eggs and retain the ability to mate. Obviously, they should be bigger than chicken nests... MUCH bigger! I have read that turkeys like to co-nest. I have put it off because of the lack of direction, and the lack of time since I have been working so much. I received my second egg yesterday! This one, too, was laid while on the roost. Thankfully, it wasn't cracked! The time has come to figure out the nest dilemma! Since I have no clear direction, and like always, not a large budget, I decided to think my way through it and use what I have on hand. Wild turkeys nest on the ground, in thickets to hide them and provide protection from predators and the elements. Obviously, being right on the ground wouldn't be preferred because the nest would get wet when it rained, so I made the base out of a pallet. One of my favorite free and very handy things!
 Then it came to me... a tee-pee  Of course! It has to be cone shaped to keep the turkeys from trying to climb on top of it (HOPEFULLY!). I used my handy dandy electric chainsaw (Keegan calls it my little baby weed wacker...) to cut some small branches. It really has turned out to be quite handy and useful. The only issues I have with it is that really small stuff gets hung in between the chain and the base and have to be continuously pulled out, and the battery doesn't last very long. 
Back on task. I set the branches up and made sure they were steady and used some twine that I reclaimed from my tomatoes last summer, to tie them in place. Then I used the next best, free, and very prolific handy dandy material I have around here. Feed Bags! They are coming out of the cracks! I hate throwing them away because they obviously won't degrade any time soon, and I am always finding uses for them. I cut them open, and starting with a layer at the bottom, placed them around the tee-pee and attached them to the limbs and the pallet with a staple gun (another favorite tool of mine!).

 Next I placed another feed bag on the bottom of the tee-pee so that the bedding wouldn't fall through. I filled it with leaves and voila! A turkey tee-pee  I know that it isn't the prettiest thing I have ever made, but I don't think that the turkeys will mind. The best part is: If it doesn't work, I'm not out anything! I still have a perfectly good pallet, the feed bags were really just trash anyway, and may still be reused, and the leaves needed to be put in the coop anyway! Now I just need to wait and watch to see if they ladies get the idea! I can't wait! Tabby was already checking it out when I finished and put them up for the evening!