A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[memphis]

Ralph, give Snitch & her beau a break....and a little privacy maybe??

 

[duluthralphie]

Ralph, give Snitch & her beau a break....and a little privacy maybe??

Would you like to come up design, build and pay for a private love nest for them?

Of course, having an architect come here could be embarrassing with my thrown together shacks.

I will put them in somewhere tomorrow for another day of romance.

 

[HeavensHens88]

Hello!
My friend's Eastern Wild tom has proven to be a true nut. (Okay, I do REALIZE that every fowl has a good reason to behave the way it does...) He is eight months old. He resides with two females and a brother in a 10 by 8 coop along with 3 Barred Rock hens and their massive roo. They have a 20 by 15 open outdoor pen with a covered top that the birds are permitted to access daily. They have a constant supply of turkey maintainer pellet and scratch grains; of course, water is ALWAYS available. My friend would really love some input on this traumatizing turkey before he does even more damage to himself or his flockmates.
I wish I could assist my friend more with my own poultry know-how, but my knowledge of turkey behavior is limited.
RELOCATING HIM TO THE POT IS NOT AN OPTION!!!!
*UPDATE* All chickens have been moved to a separate coop to prevent more wounds!
Here is the current list of this tom's charges:

1. He attacks the wall.
Before he is let loose in the pen at 7 AM daily, the tom repeatedly rams the wall with his whole body for no apparent reason. He also will run back inside during the day and launch himself off of the perch into the wall.
2. Charges walls of pens.
After he is let out into the pen and after finishing his daily buffet of grass, he will begin to dive into the poultry fencing. Sometimes this ritual will cease after two or three launches; other times it will go on for a half hour or more.
3. He attacked the rooster.
I do realize that chickens and turkeys should NEVER be housed together under ANY circumstance. They grew up together, though, and so my friend mistakenly thought it would be okay to leave them together for a few more weeks until the chickens' new coop was finished. Unfortunately, MISTAKE. My friend opened the coop yesterday to find a very bloody rooster. His comb had been torn apart in numerous spots and literally the entire comb was bleeding. Mr.Tom's beak was covered in discriminating red evidence.

Luckily, after a treatment of flour and A+D ointment, he recovered. After this episode, the chickens were temporarily relocated to the garage until their coop is completed.
4. He NEVER deflates!

The turkey NEVER stops fanning!!! His owner has never seen him deflated and looking normal!! He fans while he eats, while he perches, and EVEN WHEN HE SLEEPS!!

So, is this turkey retarded and non-redeemable, or can he be reformed?!

Any input is appreciated!!

 

[duluthralphie]

!!

So, is this turkey retarded and non-redeemable, or can he be reformed?!

Any input is appreciated!!

Why does he lock them in the coop? If the pen is covered let them come and go as they want.

I do not think that is enough space, but that is just me.


I am not sure it matters if he is redeemable or not if the owners refuse to cull him. 2 Toms need more than 2 hens. Monogamy has not hit the turkey world yet.

Chickens and turkeys can be kept together just fine. I have done it for several years with no problems. I even throw a Guinea fowl or 10 into the mix.


I really think he is frustrated from lack of space and not enough women and one over powering brother.

 

[HeavensHens88]

Thank you very much for your quick response, duluthralphie! A very valid point, but the other tom has been bullied into submission by the crazy dominant male; he has never fanned in his life and almost seems scared to gobble. More hens would be a very good idea, although I am doubting if the owner will be adding more to his flock within the next few months.... Again, thanks!

 

[Molpet]

I also think they need more space.. and hens... and agree the wild turkey is nutso
My jakes broke the back of a 6 month cockerel they were raised with.. in a lot bigger pen... NOW I have it set up so the chickens have a space they can escape to that the turkeys can't follow.

 

[R2elk]

Hello!
My friend's Eastern Wild tom has proven to be a true nut. (Okay, I do REALIZE that every fowl has a good reason to behave the way it does...) He is eight months old. He resides with two females and a brother in a 10 by 8 coop along with 3 Barred Rock hens and their massive roo. They have a 20 by 15 open outdoor pen with a covered top that the birds are permitted to access daily. They have a constant supply of turkey maintainer pellet and scratch grains; of course, water is ALWAYS available. My friend would really love some input on this traumatizing turkey before he does even more damage to himself or his flockmates.
I wish I could assist my friend more with my own poultry know-how, but my knowledge of turkey behavior is limited.
RELOCATING HIM TO THE POT IS NOT AN OPTION!!!!
*UPDATE* All chickens have been moved to a separate coop to prevent more wounds!
Here is the current list of this tom's charges:

1. He attacks the wall.
Before he is let loose in the pen at 7 AM daily, the tom repeatedly rams the wall with his whole body for no apparent reason. He also will run back inside during the day and launch himself off of the perch into the wall.
2. Charges walls of pens.
After he is let out into the pen and after finishing his daily buffet of grass, he will begin to dive into the poultry fencing. Sometimes this ritual will cease after two or three launches; other times it will go on for a half hour or more.
3. He attacked the rooster.
I do realize that chickens and turkeys should NEVER be housed together under ANY circumstance. They grew up together, though, and so my friend mistakenly thought it would be okay to leave them together for a few more weeks until the chickens' new coop was finished. Unfortunately, MISTAKE. My friend opened the coop yesterday to find a very bloody rooster. His comb had been torn apart in numerous spots and literally the entire comb was bleeding. Mr.Tom's beak was covered in discriminating red evidence.

Luckily, after a treatment of flour and A+D ointment, he recovered. After this episode, the chickens were temporarily relocated to the garage until their coop is completed.
4. He NEVER deflates!

The turkey NEVER stops fanning!!! His owner has never seen him deflated and looking normal!! He fans while he eats, while he perches, and EVEN WHEN HE SLEEPS!!

So, is this turkey retarded and non-redeemable, or can he be reformed?!

Any input is appreciated!!

One of the toms has to go. Since this particular tom appears to not be fully there, he is an excellent candidate for being the one to go. As @duluthralphie has pointed out, the area they are being kept in is far too small. I try to keep 4 to 5 hens per tom. Under the current circumstances adding more hens to the mix won't work unless the area they are kept in is greatly increased.

 

[memphis]

HeavensHen - too little space, too few hens, too many toms.

Ralphie...as much as I would love the opportunity to design the perfect space for a turkey tete-a-tete....I was thinking of maybe not hanging around watching them. Do you think they need time to adjust to their new situation and (since they are young) sort of figure things out? So to speak....

 

[memphis]

And back to your lapper in training, Snitch! Daisy doesn't always eat a treat while on my lap. She'll only take a treat if its something she loves. Annie, however, will eat everything I offer her.

Does Snitch settle down for a snooze yet?

 

[duluthralphie]

And back to your lapper in training, Snitch! Daisy doesn't always eat a treat while on my lap. She'll only take a treat if its something she loves. Annie, however, will eat everything I offer her.

Does Snitch settle down for a snooze yet?

Snitch is young the Ton is 2 or 3, it is the unnamed sidekick of sidekick. ( I forget things like years)

Bert does not mind that Snitch does not eat treats in my lap. Bert stands by my legs and waits for me to hand him the treats Snitch passes on. She does not sleep, but she closes her eyes and relaxes for a minute or two at a time. She fights the initial removal from her cage and she tried to flea from me when I tried to catch her in the love pen.

I found a fresh nest today. I knew it was fresh because there was a black hen on it. The nest had 4 chicken eggs and 3 turkey eggs, I am so far behind the eight ball this spring! I should not have turkey eggs for another month.


I cleaned out the Nest box in the SS pen. What a pain in the butt that was. I had one SS that jumped on my arm I was holding the putty knife in. It is hard to scrape with a hen on your forearm. Then I had another SS jump on my shoulder and the other arm to see what was going on... A third one decided to inspect the nest box from the inside, as it must have been important to have so many birds there. Sussex are the most turkey like chicken there is.