Nice Female Turkey Now Aggressive?

[PorcelainSmile]

Background: We recently adopted a neglected Black Spanish/Norfolk turkey. Now, when I say "neglected," I mean left to her own devices at [I'm assuming] a young age and in an area that is not suitable for unfettered free-ranging, unless of course, you enjoy shoveling your fowl off the street or picking through your neighbor's hunting-dog's feces for clues. As a result, her companion tom wandered separately and was--rumor has it--struck by a car. She came to us dehydrated, lonely/needy beyond comprehension, but overall in fair health. Up until then, she had somewhat relied on the kindness of neighbors. Now she has her own coop, run, and ample food and water. We take regular walks with her around the property. There was talk of a turkey companion or two, but plans are in limbo after . . . uh, recent events.

Personality [at First]: Needy. Needy, needy, needy. Sweet as a peach, but oh so needy for company. Before we had a run constructed, we had to take meals with the sliding door open so that she could still physically see and hear us. Otherwise? Everyone in the neighborhood would hear the ear-curdling heartbreak of a lonely turkey. She permitted our neighbor's children--or really anyone--to pet, feed, and pick her up. Sooner than later, she began strutting for . . . well, everyone in sight. Nevertheless, she does tend to favor the only man in our family. Everyone who knew her beforehand says that she's a sweetheart, endlessly curious, and loves grapes.

Age: Young? Maybe. My worthless assumption is that her strange winter-laying and sudden aggression are the hallmark of an irregular teenager who can't control her new influx of strange hormones. She became aggressive at about the same time she started laying.

Current Behavior: Don't turn your back. While holding a conversation with a neighbor, I am actively avoiding the turkey so as not to be attacked in full view of God and everyone. This turkey has fans and I don't want to disappoint them by exposing her [recent] primadonna character to the press. Although she once or twice attacked the man in the family, she tends to give him the most slack. Me? Not so much. The mere sight of me has her wattle turning crimson and her chest puffing up. She'll start pacing in front of the run's gate, sounding off with an eerie dilophosaurus chirp (a la Jurassic Park). I'm starting to think she sees me as the weakest link. I'm the youngest, smallest person in my family of three, and I'm the one she seems most hostile towards. My other two family members can approach her, even pet her, walk alongside her, etc. She's attacked them, sure, but it's after numerous peaceful interactions. I don't get a second of peace with her anymore.

Turkey Whisperers, please help! What is going on? Is this broody behavior and will it stop with her egg laying? At first, I thought her strutting was cute. Now? I wonder if it was an indicator that she's human-imprinted and showing the world she's the Top Turkey. We're patient with her and avoid pissing her off whenever possible, which means I have to sometimes not interact with her in general. (This is saddening, honestly. She's a cute turkey when she doesn't want to eat my face.)

 

[sourland]

She wants/needs a mate.

 

[Molpet]

She has imprinted on humans.
She's trying to dominate the weakest link because she doesn't see the difference between her and you.

 

[R2elk]

She is trying to move up in the pecking order. When you are around her, carry a broom and use the sweeping end to keep her at a distance from you. Push her, don't hit her with it.

Getting her more turkeys as companions may help.

 

[PorcelainSmile]

Well, darn. Is there any chance of this behavior subsiding? Is there any way of showing her we are the "top turkeys"?

 

[kcan2]

You have very entertaining descriptive powers that are obviously going underappreciated by your rescued lady turkey!
Having minimal experience with turkeys, I won't venture much advice besides agreeing with what others have said regarding the addition of a companion bird in hopes of alleviating her current fixation to "one up" you at life!

 

[Tennessee Great Granny]

Background: We recently adopted a neglected Black Spanish/Norfolk turkey. Now, when I say "neglected," I mean left to her own devices at [I'm assuming] a young age and in an area that is not suitable for unfettered free-ranging, unless of course, you enjoy shoveling your fowl off the street or picking through your neighbor's hunting-dog's feces for clues. As a result, her companion tom wandered separately and was--rumor has it--struck by a car. She came to us dehydrated, lonely/needy beyond comprehension, but overall in fair health. Up until then, she had somewhat relied on the kindness of neighbors. Now she has her own coop, run, and ample food and water. We take regular walks with her around the property. There was talk of a turkey companion or two, but plans are in limbo after . . . uh, recent events.

Personality [at First]: Needy. Needy, needy, needy. Sweet as a peach, but oh so needy for company. Before we had a run constructed, we had to take meals with the sliding door open so that she could still physically see and hear us. Otherwise? Everyone in the neighborhood would hear the ear-curdling heartbreak of a lonely turkey. She permitted our neighbor's children--or really anyone--to pet, feed, and pick her up. Sooner than later, she began strutting for . . . well, everyone in sight. Nevertheless, she does tend to favor the only man in our family. Everyone who knew her beforehand says that she's a sweetheart, endlessly curious, and loves grapes.

Age: Young? Maybe. My worthless assumption is that her strange winter-laying and sudden aggression are the hallmark of an irregular teenager who can't control her new influx of strange hormones. She became aggressive at about the same time she started laying.

Current Behavior: Don't turn your back. While holding a conversation with a neighbor, I am actively avoiding the turkey so as not to be attacked in full view of God and everyone. This turkey has fans and I don't want to disappoint them by exposing her [recent] primadonna character to the press. Although she once or twice attacked the man in the family, she tends to give him the most slack. Me? Not so much. The mere sight of me has her wattle turning crimson and her chest puffing up. She'll start pacing in front of the run's gate, sounding off with an eerie dilophosaurus chirp (a la Jurassic Park). I'm starting to think she sees me as the weakest link. I'm the youngest, smallest person in my family of three, and I'm the one she seems most hostile towards. My other two family members can approach her, even pet her, walk alongside her, etc. She's attacked them, sure, but it's after numerous peaceful interactions. I don't get a second of peace with her anymore.

Turkey Whisperers, please help! What is going on? Is this broody behavior and will it stop with her egg laying? At first, I thought her strutting was cute. Now? I wonder if it was an indicator that she's human-imprinted and showing the world she's the Top Turkey. We're patient with her and avoid pissing her off whenever possible, which means I have to sometimes not interact with her in general. (This is saddening, honestly. She's a cute turkey when she doesn't want to eat my face.

 

[Tennessee Great Granny]

Turkeys are very social birds. Her mate is dead. She has no bird companion and people are no longer cutting the need for companionship. Buy her a tom or get another female. She'd be happier with a tom. Her hormones are getting to her. Make sure and for certain of her gender, Two toms will most certainly fight like two rutting bulls!! We got our feisties to mellow out. My son figured if they are being aggressive the thing is to not be aggressive back it simply encourages more aggressive behavior. We distract the aggressive birds from any they are being aggressive with walking between them and leading them away. My turkeys get aggressive around mating. It can also be food but we fixed that by having several feeders well spaced. I am fairly new to breeding turkeys but this is what we are noticing. They establish dominance by being bullies. Once it is established they tend to mellow out a bit until something upsets the apple cart again. If your turkey is being aggressive with you, she is reacting to her hormones to establish dominance. She need another turkey. She may even just come to you for a cuddle after that and save the bullying for the other turkey when establishing dominance. They even can draw a little blood but that is their way and as long as no one is seriously injured- it's best to simply try to keep it at a minimum. We walk between the birds parting them gently, even walking them in a circle- it only takes a few minutes. It might need to be repeated a second time rarely a third and we've never had a 4th time. We don't like the bullying, but they are turkeys and this is how they live. We have learned to keep it to a minimum. We human imprint on all our birds of every species. We like it that way because this place is riddled with predators including some two legged trespassing dears who'd like to invite our babies for dinner or simply steal to establish their own flocks. We post no trespassing and only expect animal predators. But there are morons who try. Not a single one of our birds has decided to take our own faces off. They do demand and get all the cuddles they want. Lil Bit Turkey never gets enough cuddles (shes a tiny runty gal) My turkeys will break out of their own pen and attack people trying to enter into any of the pens, even of the other bird species. BUT we do get young roosters who think they are going to overly bother the pullets with their hormones. We pull out the bull pen and load the young roos into it. They hate it and they will try a bite. I think they know better than to truly injure. The next place to go besides the bull pen (or leave in a sales) is the roaster oven.

 

[Tennessee Great Granny]

Well, darn. Is there any chance of this behavior subsiding? Is there any way of showing her we are the "top turkeys"?

We've had aggressive turkeys before. It is a pecking order thing. But while you want to be able to love on your turkey and get some positive responses back she must know and understand she IS A TURKEY. She did not imprint since birth which is in your favor.We literally had to get other turkeys. It works like a charm. They will do the pecking order stuff with each other and not humans instead. Just don't have more than one single tom turkey for each batch of breeding females. The boys will fight over females- it's awful, and can literally be downright deadly. We found the guys get along better in a bachelor bull pen until they are sold off. That doesn't eliminate fighting but it drastically reduces it. We have two pens for breeding turkeys with 1 tom to 10 jenny girls in each. We're about to construct a third to use solely for males and any trouble makers should one arise. You are going to find it really hard on your your lady turkey now that breeding and laying season is upon us. And all that aggression is going to come out on everyone until she's with other turkeys. I do hope you have a mate for her by now. BTW turkeys do not understand as if they are people. My son showed me that remaining calm and simply distracting a turkey can defuse just about anything. If you get ornery with an ornery turkey or goose or chicken that will amplify their ornery behavior. A calming atmosphere and distract them with something else is best. They are bird brains, it's easy to take their focus off of what they are doing and get them to focus on something else. Especially if it has to do with poultry snacks. Just don't feed them what you are eating or from an outside table setting. They will get aggressive and hurt your mouth bad trying to steal more of it from you. I have a best friend who made that mistake. That would set off a pecking order response with any bird species I think if they have been around people enough. Feed them from their own dish in their space- not your space. They are the turkey- you are naturally to have dominance over animals (that's a Bible thing) but do that dominance in love and gentleness and not triggering bird brained responses. I learn as I raise my babies. And I love seeing how others find rational remedies to poultry problems. I try to learn from my mistake and the mistakes others have made as well as the success stories.