Are Turkey's nice?

fruitjuice

Hatching
11 Years
Mar 19, 2008
5
0
7
Hello Everyone,
What a great find, this website. I never thought I would be a chicken person, but I have fallen madly in love. We have 25 chicks ranging from 4 to 6 weeks old. Loving them.

I thought it would be fun to have a couple of turkeys roaming around the place, but a friend told me they can be really mean. She was particularly upset with a couple of turkeys that pecked at her child's eyes.

Can anyone verify this or direct me to Turkey breeds that are nicer (more child-friendly) than others?

And if I did find some, can I put them in with my baby chickens or do I need to raise them up seperate?

Thanks,

Tara
 
I have Bronze turkeys , and they aren't mean to people, but they are mean to chickens. They don't kill them, but they like to pull feathers off the birds, and can do serious damage.
 
We had a turkey when I was a kid, he didnt bother us much but when it was that time of year he was looking for a woman he would chase us around the yard and peck at us. But I dont think we got him young enough to bond with him if I remember. Was friendly enough just not to hold him or anything like that.
 
Turkeys are very curious birds, I know my birds will peck at any unusual spot on my clothes. They don't try to be mean, they just wanna know if its edible, they do peck hard tho(I hate to feed them out of my hands cause they will just jab at it without any regard of the surface the food is placed upon).
I can imagen a small childs eyes looking mighty interesting, esspecially because they are in reach.
My turkeys love pecking at teeth or earrings(I always close my eyes if they are anywhere near my face).

Like people, every turkey has its own personality, of course there are certain characteristic/behaviours that are stronger in one breed compared to another. Royal Palms for example are generally more flighty and less hands on birds, Bourbon reds and Jersey Buffs are supposed to be more mellow. With meat turkeys I have had nervous and agressive birds, but also lots of calm/friendly ones.
We had one BBWhite turkey tom "Amigo" who hated the smell of Alcohol(Beer in particular), so he wasn't allowed to be out of his enclosure during garden parties because he kept on attacking anyone who smelled of Alcohol. Other then that any stranger could go and pet him or pick him up(if they were strong enough) without any hassle. Lifespans on these are mighty short, Amigo only lived for 2 yrs before his heart gave out.

My best turkey was a Merriams Wild turkey tom - "Miracle", I hand raised him from day 1 and he was the sweetest, easiest to work with bird ever. He loved to sit on my lap or at least beside me and just take a nap while I pet him.......
At the fair I could let him loose because he would always follow me no matter what. All the little kids coming up and petting him, and even some brave adults would try to pet him(ever notice how adults are more chicken then kids sometimes?). He was the biggest attraction.
Sadly he met his fate after he got into the goose pen(he flew in but forgot how to fly back out again) and was chased to death by the gander........

You can raise them together with chickens, but when fully grown you do have to watch for pecking, some turkeys(esspecially toms) take a chickens bold nature too personal sometimes and will bite them. I had to rescue some laying hens several times from my Royal tom last year because he kept grabbing them by their head and shaking them if they dared to try and eat out of the feeder the same time he does.

Once you have turkeys, you will be hooked, they are wonderful birds.

Anna
 
Are turkeys nice? HAA!!! I was chased over half a mile by 2 (tom adn a hen) my aunt gave me! Viscious things....:mad:
Then again, it could just of been our's, but.... I wouldn't have them around small children, IMO.
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Quote:
I am sorry for laughing but that put the funniest image in my head!
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Yea, my mom thought it was funny too. She just stood there laughting her head of while I ran for my life!
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I finialy had to run and go hide behind one of the horses. Turkey had been kicked enough to know not to go near them, LOL. Horses will NOT share their food with a turkey....
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I have had about 5 toms. All of them have chased my boy. They never got along with any kids. The hens are no threat. They don't pay the kids any attention.
 

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