Jake Etiquette

[Lizzy733]

Hello Everyone!

My little turkey poults are growing up fast on me and it is looking like I have a bit of a skewed ratio - 3 jakes and 2 jennys. These are imprinted, which will probably come back to bite me come breeding time, but I had a bit of a question regarding rearing and temperament.

So, very familiar with Chickens - I'm currently enforcing a 1 meter respect bubble with my hand raised cockerels who should be coming into their hormones in another month or so.

Is there any similar rule when it comes to Turkeys? Do I need to start backing them off at any point, or is it okay to continue to allow them to stay friendly? They've never shown any aggression towards me (just display), though there is the occasional neck battling amongst each other.

With my roos, they'll be getting a bachelor pen and will be moved to breeding pens for one-off pairings with a small group of girls so I have full control over hatching and parentage - would an approach like this be good for the toms? Should I keep the girls separate and give them breeding pen access seasonally, or is this not really necessary? They're all from varied parentage so I'm not too fussed with who ends up being the breeding tom, so nuanced control over who gets who isn't really a concern for me with them, but if this would improve their breeding chances or reduce infighting, I'd be keen to implement it.

Right now, everyone's being run together since most of my flock are quite young. Everyone gets along with only the occasional spat and they all crowd me at the door when I'm doing my daily rounds and follow me like the little lost puppies they are when I'm in the aviary. Thankfully, they seem to have grown out of perching on my shoulder - unlike some of my pullets, which are older than them. (I've raised parrots this time, I swear!)

Any recommendations are welcome. I have heaps of space here to work with, so am keen on what's worked for others.

 

[R2elk]

Hello Everyone!

My little turkey poults are growing up fast on me and it is looking like I have a bit of a skewed ratio - 3 jakes and 2 jennys. These are imprinted, which will probably come back to bite me come breeding time, but I had a bit of a question regarding rearing and temperament.

So, very familiar with Chickens - I'm currently enforcing a 1 meter respect bubble with my hand raised cockerels who should be coming into their hormones in another month or so.

Is there any similar rule when it comes to Turkeys? Do I need to start backing them off at any point, or is it okay to continue to allow them to stay friendly? They've never shown any aggression towards me (just display), though there is the occasional neck battling amongst each other.

With my roos, they'll be getting a bachelor pen and will be moved to breeding pens for one-off pairings with a small group of girls so I have full control over hatching and parentage - would an approach like this be good for the toms? Should I keep the girls separate and give them breeding pen access seasonally, or is this not really necessary? They're all from varied parentage so I'm not too fussed with who ends up being the breeding tom, so nuanced control over who gets who isn't really a concern for me with them, but if this would improve their breeding chances or reduce infighting, I'd be keen to implement it.

Right now, everyone's being run together since most of my flock are quite young. Everyone gets along with only the occasional spat and they all crowd me at the door when I'm doing my daily rounds and follow me like the little lost puppies they are when I'm in the aviary. Thankfully, they seem to have grown out of perching on my shoulder - unlike some of my pullets, which are older than them. (I've raised parrots this time, I swear!)

Any recommendations are welcome. I have heaps of space here to work with, so am keen on what's worked for others.

You need to get rid of two of the toms. I try to keep a minimum of 4 to 5 hens per tom. With 3 toms and 2 hens you run the risk of the hens getting seriously injured or even killed.

Th problem is that the toms will do their best to prevent each other from breeding the hens. On way they will do this is by knocking each other off of the back of the hen. When that happens the tom on the back scratches and claws to maintain his position on the back of the hen. He can easily rip a hen's side open while doing this.

This can also cause low fertility in the eggs because of the failure of the toms to complete the breeding act.

Imprinted toms can become very dangerous when they decide to try to breed their human. They can be even more dangerous when they decide to attack anyone other than their perceived mate.

The trouble with separating two of the toms from your chosen breeding tom is that if they can be seen by the breeding tom, he is likely to spend the majority of his time fighting through the fence with them instead of attending to the hens.

 

[Lizzy733]

You need to get rid of two of the toms. I try to keep a minimum of 4 to 5 hens per tom. With 3 toms and 2 hens you run the risk of the hens getting seriously injured or even killed.

Th problem is that the toms will do their best to prevent each other from breeding the hens. On way they will do this is by knocking each other off of the back of the hen. When that happens the tom on the back scratches and claws to maintain his position on the back of the hen. He can easily rip a hen's side open while doing this.

This can also cause low fertility in the eggs because of the failure of the toms to complete the breeding act.

Imprinted toms can become very dangerous when they decide to try to breed their human. They can be even more dangerous when they decide to attack anyone other than their perceived mate.

The trouble with separating two of the toms from your chosen breeding tom is that if they can be seen by the breeding tom, he is likely to spend the majority of his time fighting through the fence with them instead of attending to the hens.

They definitely wont share a fence line with the girls. Our property is well spaced out, so that can be avoided. Didnt have much choice in the imprinting. That was from the original breeder.

Would it be suitable to keep all three toms, no female in sight, in one pen until needed? They have all been raised together - hoping they will be like my roos who have sorted their pecking order well in advance.

I definitely want to get more jennies. I could always 'pot' two of the toms if push comes to shove, but the rest of the fam are pretty attached. Will see how we get on. Two can be a bit nippy, but my white boy is quite gentle and easy to handle - also the biggest... Will see what happens once they hit the puberties.

 

[R2elk]

They definitely wont share a fence line with the girls. Our property is well spaced out, so that can be avoided. Didnt have much choice in the imprinting. That was from the original breeder.

Would it be suitable to keep all three toms, no female in sight, in one pen until needed? They have all been raised together - hoping they will be like my roos who have sorted their pecking order well in advance.

I definitely want to get more jennies. I could always 'pot' two of the toms if push comes to shove, but the rest of the fam are pretty attached. Will see how we get on. Two can be a bit nippy, but my white boy is quite gentle and easy to handle - also the biggest... Will see what happens once they hit the puberties.

You could keep all of the toms but it would be best if you got down to one tom for breeding season. Toms will at least annually have pecking order disputes. If they are equally matched the fights can go on for days. They can also have disputes whenever a lower member gets brave enough to move up the pecking order.

From your description I am guessing that your white tom is a Broad Breasted White and do not recommend that you use him for breeding.

 

[Lizzy733]

You could keep all of the toms but it would be best if you got down to one tom for breeding season. Toms will at least annually have pecking order disputes. If they are equally matched the fights can go on for days. They can also have disputes whenever a lower member gets brave enough to move up the pecking order.

From your description I am guessing that your white tom is a Broad Breasted White and do not recommend that you use him for breeding.

He's bigger physically, not by much and proportionate to his bone structure - not necessarily weighted down in the breast so far. The breeder did say some of her birds were a bit broader breasted, not necessarily the whites and they are all from mixed parentage, so not being bred to any specific lines or breed standards. He doesn't feel any noticeably heavier than his bros that I can tell and they weren't sold as dress out birds - meant to be used as breeding stock or pets. - the breeder was only a small-time\hobbyist.

Also, being NZ, I don't think the broad breasted stock here are quite the same as their US counterparts. - supermarket turkeys here are so tiny and uncommon compared to US. It's pretty much a game meat.

I doubt he'll get so chunky it will inhibit breeding, but I am aware true broad breasted can have difficulties with breeding and I will be keeping an eye on him just in case. So far, he has no trouble with flight or roosting at heights. Time will tell, I suppose. They were born late oct\early nov, so a couple months old now.

They're just really starting to shoot up now, it seems. Every day I go out and they just look that much taller.