male turkey

[jade0206]

I have a male turkey, he seems to be trying to mate but I don't have any hens,should I get a hen for him. I had two males but they did not get along so I had to separate them. Now I am thinking of getting a hen. Should I ,will he be nice if I get a female or will he not get along with her. Any advice. Thanks in advance.

 

[chooks4life]

If he's a pet, not dinner, then he would benefit from having a hen. So would the other.

As to whether or not he will be nice to her, that depends on him, his parents, and the instincts he inherited. He may have inherited instincts from a male who lived a fairly natural family life, roaming with his mate and other poultry, or he may have inherited instincts from a male who spent his life cooped up away from hens until it was time to mate, probably spending his every day displaying and gobbling at other males in the same 'battery-stud' situation, becoming almost psychotically frustrated in a mental loop that never reached a natural conclusion.

I've had toms from fathers from both circumstances, and the more natural the life, the more natural the behavior, but the more restrained ones tended to eventually take out their frustration on the hens, never being able to access other males but seeing them 95% of the time compared to almost never seeing and interacting with hens.

Yours are only young, I'm guessing. Living a natural or close to natural life will always benefit them, so if you can give them a more natural life, go for it.

Time will tell. Best wishes with them.

 

[jade0206]

They will be a year old in July, they are were friendly. I bought them from a lady who got from porters turkeys. But for some reason the two males just will not get along. So the one is all by himself and the other is with my chickens. I am just wondering if I should get poults and when old enough put with them. Or try and get older hens

 

[ivan3]

The jakes/toms will spar to establish pecking order, regardless. Once the `order' is worked out the alpha will occasionally remind his pal (strut and charge) who is the boss. They rarely inflict lasting damage on each other (though they'll knock over/down any garden stakes/plant pots/etc. that might get in the way of their dueling).

If you can be sure of how well an adult hen was cared for and have a way to quarantine her for a month, that would the fastest way to get fertile eggs. Raising from poults could be tricky owing to not having a lot of hatcheries that vent sex them (might get males).