Hand raised turkey and peachick

[Angel07]

So, I’ve hand raised a turkey and she’s now about half grown. I’ve also hand raised a peachick for the past 2-3 months. The turkey would always check out the peachicks cage and when I put them both in a large aviary (with hiding spots and different food containers) at the start she was a little aggressive but now they’re fine and will sleep together and walk around during the day together.

Does the turkey think it’s her baby, her sister or her friend?

 

[sourland]

It has become her flock. When a friend purchased his home 30 years ago there was a flock of wild turkeys that contained a half a dozen peafowl. They ran together for the first 5 or 6 years that he lived there.

 

[Angel07]

Thanks for your help.
When I put them with the rest of the turkeys and peafowl will they seperate or will they stick together in one of the groups or go off on their own?

 

[Siotha]

I made a similar group when we got a turkey poult in July.. to help him live better adding 2 peahens, 1 jake, 2 chickens all babies. They brooded together for 2-3 months and gradually free ranged during days. The chickens - roo went with my a few month older hens no problem. It took 8 months and forcing July group to move out of the small coop to get the july chicken hen to join the chicken flock. The turkey sleeps over their old pen voluntarily. The peahens were rejected by the 4mos older peafowl. However, they are in the past 2 months much more integrated and all day hang out with the turkey peas and chickens in the yard. The turkey eventually got hormonal and the peas fight the turkey - turkey fights to kill, peacocks yearlings play fight to remind the turkey not to love on the peahens. The july peahens grew up with still turn to the turkey for comfort, safety and hanging out. We are finishing up 2 new larger coops for winter weather & breeding. We have a and high predator load here. We want the same species to stick with their species at night. We adopted 2 hens for our july turkey jake this weekend. For their pen & quarinteen time we are setting up roosts, introducing slowly, and creating a nesting area for the girls if they choose to use them. In short mine needed more roosts and a few nights in kennels to show each pen who has to move in with them. They get along during the day but the peafowl rule the entire coop flock and refuse to share a coop, or feeders... as in fight badly if any other bird tried to sneaks in their coop. We have a few more unmentioned birds getting ready along with the July group to move in together, we will transition with the "outcasts" first in the big coop. The elitist will be added in a few days later and monitored. I've heard some people do it no problem but mine are all hand reared except the new in quarinteen auction birds. And don't take kindly to changing their routine without a bigger reward... ie more roosts, or in a few trial runs... letting flighted birds sleep in rafters of 2nd non finished out story of garage a few nights showed it is possible. I do admit to being newb, and spending a lot of time with the flocks.

*finishing 2 bigger coops this week. As our turkey hens arrived 2020 hatch todag. And we are anticipating each species to coop at night together by may hopefully sooner.