Feeling his oats or freezer camp?

[mommyof5]

We have four turkeys, 1 broad breasted bronze tom(14 months) that we have turned into a pet, one heritage bronze tom(11 months) and two heritage hens also 11 months. We added the last three to give our sole surviver of the great turkey die off, some friends to hang with, but we have noticed that over the past few weeks that the younger tom has become increasingly aggressive toward our poor big guy. Wally(the younger tom) will run toward Tommy jump in the air show his spurs and flap his wings wildly all while poor Tommy turns tail and quakes on his oversized feet. We have separated the two and put Wally in the brooder coop but I need to put 6 chicks outside soon(morning sickness and chicks are not a good combo). Is this natural behavior that will sort itself out or will we need to have a neighborhood dinner soon?

 

[Lotsapaints]

2 Toms=1 Boss...it sounds like normal behavior to me and your lucky they don't both think they are the boss. They will fight it out but it looks like it will not be much of a fight and then it should be peaceful. Make sure the older Tom has a place to hide from the other one but separating them before they settle it only prolongs the scuffling and it seems that it shouldn't be too bad because the older Tom said the younger one could be boss just keep an eye on them but it looks worse than what it is.

 

[ColbyNTX]

That's pretty normal even if they are raised together. It may slow down once the tom establishes dominance but when the other gets near his hens, he will fight the other. Freezer camp can only be your choice!

 

[longranger]

If that broad breasted tom is HUGE his days are numbered just because of his genetics. Big broad breasted are meat birds not meant to live long lives. If he is like a 40 to 50 pound Tom or larger it probably is time to cull. That makes more sense to me than culling a young heritage tom that can breed and give you fertile eggs from your hens.

If he is really a beloved pet that 1 or 2 quality months with would be preferable to an eternity with the younger guy by all means cull the young tom. The younger one Should be easy to replace in the future if desired for breeding.

 

[gobblecluck]

im with longranger kill the broadbreasted turkey. soon enough he will get too big and kill himself anyways which would be very inhumane. while on the otherhand the heritage tom will live for many years. it doesnt make sense to me to keep a turkey that is suffering and cull the one that is prospering. just my 2 cents

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I agree in the long run, shoot in the short run, in a few months Tommy is going to die, end of story just how the breed is. They were bred like cornish chickens were bred for...Fatten up and get mature fast, and quickly die. They were bred to be quick producers of meat and the down size is no matter what they live short lives. The kindest thing your going to be able to do is cull the older tom sooner rather then later.

Again I agree the Heritage will offer you a great breeder that will be around for quite some years. I know its hard to think about, but thats what happens when you get broad breasted turkeys...