Got a question about breeding

I have one female and two toms. I really do not want to get rid of a tome and plan on keeping all three. They have a stack of straw outside of the chicken house and prefer to sleep there at night. My concern is if this female was to lay eggs or brood, would she do this outside on the bales or find a place in the chicken house? We live in Kansas and are expecting as cold and harsh of a winter as we did last year, which is not good. Just concerned about the possible babies that I could get.

Andrea

It is not recommended to keep 2 toms with only one hen. The first major concern is come Spring which is prime mating time all the way through early Fall they will continue to mate her repeatedly and they will fight each other while one is trying to mate. They will at some point very likely rip her open. I have been keeping 2 Toms myself with my first year only 2 hens and my second year with 6 hens and my hens have still suffered majorly, some with large open gashes across their sides under their wings. My adult toms have been kept in a separate pen this entire summer/fall. This Fall I will cull one Tom and have him processed for Thanksgiving. Bringing me down to only one Tom to over winter. I don't plan to keep 2 toms on hand at any time now unless they have separate pens and separate hens.

Second concern is if she does decide to brood she cant be left to brood in the same pens as the Toms. They will likely climb in the nest with her and crush her eggs, if some eggs did manage to hatch the toms could crush them also.

I don't mean to sound negative so I apologize but it is the reality of your situation.

Now to respond to your question, turkeys are seasonal breeders and seasonal egg layers meaning they wont be doing either of those through the winter so you should have no worries about her trying to brood poults over the winter. Most turkeys start mating and laying eggs very late winter/early spring.

You are not being negative you have the experience. I do appreciate the advice as I would e mistake of leaving them together. I have separate pen that she can have the run of and if babies come, they would be safe.