Adding more Turkeys question / advice

[vtfarmer]

We currently have Bourbon Reds - 1 Tom and 4 hens aprox 6 months old but everyone says it is better to have 2 toms just in case. Well we have the opportunity to get a Tom and 2 Hens that are 6 months old as well for 80 dollars which is a good deal to me. The question I have is - can we put them together since they are the same breed and age or will there be fighting like roo's. Thank you everyone.

 

[Arielle]

Fighting is normal when groups meet. I have fighting among my boys even when one gets stuck on the wrong side of the fence for a few hours. When back together, they re establish pecking order with fighting. Then is settled and they are all buds again. Space does't seem to improve this as they free range.

IDK, if they were cooped in a small area if there would be more fighting.

I have several toms, just in case.

 

[flocksalot]

Even your girls will get in on the action when it comes to pecking orders, but as Arielle stated this is normal and will work it self out. We have three toms to our seven hens. Some girls will only squat for a certain tom. You will end up with one dominant tom, but the others will fill in when allowed.

 

[retlaw]

No question about it, there will be fighting.
Two toms is to insure that one isn't shooting blanks.

The only problem I had when doing this is the tom I wanted as a stud because of his bloodline had to fight the back up toms.
So the back up toms were putting the hand picked selected breeding tom's health in danger every time they fought. (crook neck, blinded etc)

They will figure out the peaking order themselves and settle down but the order might not be to what you had in mind.

 

[vtfarmer]

Thank you everyone. Our plan will be to keep them all together if we end up with the other trio. Soon they will all be free ranging. Im just hesitant about purchasing them then having a bunch of fighting but we want to try to breed them so two toms will be best plus we would then have 6 hens.

 

[Celie]

The way I read, that turkey farms, in 1930, handled this was to put one tom with the hens in the morning and swap them around and have the other tom with them, in the afternoon !

 

[r4eboxer]

How common is it that a tom would be shooting blanks? I have 2 RP toms and I have one of them with the RP hens. I have the other RP with a BR. I guess if I put one in in the am and on in the pm that would be safe, but then I'll never know who or if someone is not fertile. Decisions decisions....hmm

 

[Arielle]

For clarity, I have ONE tom with the breeding hens. As I have checked the eggs, I know this Tom is good. THe back up toms, and the pet toms, run in a flock separate from the breeding group.

 

[Celie]

How common is it that a tom would be shooting blanks? I have 2 RP toms and I have one of them with the RP hens. I have the other RP with a BR. I guess if I put one in in the am and on in the pm that would be safe, but then I'll never know who or if someone is not fertile. Decisions decisions....hmm

Since on commercial farms back then, the farmers would have a huge number of hens for reproduction to the 2 toms, and it ensured fertility of the hen's eggs in case one of the toms were shooting blanks, so to speak.

 

[r4eboxer]

Since on commercial farms back then, the farmers would have a huge number of hens for reproduction to the 2 toms, and it ensured fertility of the hen's eggs in case one of the toms were shooting blanks, so to speak.

I can see the logic, but it does not seem practical, at least not for me. I'd rather know who or if one of my Toms was shooting blanks. I'm not crazy about feeding a non productive Tom.