My male turkey is being mean to my gander. What should I do?

[FoggyFowl1719]

Ok, so I bought a bonded pair of geese about 2 weeks after Easter. The geese (Lucy Goosey and Jeffrey) are about a year and a half old. I also have a pair of turkeys that I hatched out about 6 months ago. I kept the male (Stinkus) and one hen (Jennie O). I didn't have a properly sized pen to keep the birds together at first and I was afraid that my gander would beat up the turkeys. So I kept them in separate pens right next to each other since I knew that I wanted to put them in the same large pen once I had it built. I finally got the large pen and coop built and I put all 4 birds in. I have heard a lot about male geese getting aggressive and so I was worried Jeffrey would be the jerk if any of them. But almost immediately, Stinkus the turkey jumped up and tried to flog the gander. The female goose, Lucy, is afraid of the turkey hen too. But Jennie O doesn't show any aggression at all. I was also dumbfounded when I picked up Stinkus and realized that he's a lot heavier than Jeffrey. The gander is a cross between a Toulouse and an Emden so he is a big boy. His head is about 3 feet high and if I had to guess, I would say he weighs between 12 and 15 pounds. But Stinkus is only around 6 months old and he is definitely more than 20 pounds. His dad is a Royal Palm and his mom is a bronze. So he looks a lot like a Narragansett. They didn't really fight any more after the first flare up so I left them together for the night. When I checked on them the next day, Jeffrey had an injury on his head that looked like he had been pecked. It wasn't bad. Just a small superficial wound. I treated it and left them together since it seemed like most of the fighting had been solved between them. Then this morning, I noticed that Jeffrey now has a long line like a scratch going from the scab on his head down the back of his neck. I'm thinking they may be fighting during bedtime. The coop is 6ft x 6ft. But I haven't put up the roost for the turkeys yet so they only have the floor at the moment. I know I can't put the turkeys in with the chickens because of the potential for blackhead. I also don't want the turkey to kill my prized chickens like the Ayam Cemanis or Black Copper Marans. But the new pen is the only place big enough for the geese as I know they require a lot of space. Would installing the roost solve the problem? Or should I just build a separate place for my turkeys? The latter isn't as preferable since building materials are super expensive right now. But if I have to, I will.

 

[R2elk]

It's a pecking order / territorial dispute. It will take time for them to work things out.

For the health of your hen turkey, it would be best to add more hen turkeys. A tom can wear out a single hen.

Turkeys and geese or any waterfowl are not a good fit. idea. Waterfowl love water and making wet messes. Turkeys do best in a drier environment.

Large birds need much more space than chickens can get away with. A 6'x6' coop is too small to house those 4 birds together.

 

[R2elk]

Ok, so I bought a bonded pair of geese about 2 weeks after Easter. The geese (Lucy Goosey and Jeffrey) are about a year and a half old. I also have a pair of turkeys that I hatched out about 6 months ago. I kept the male (Stinkus) and one hen (Jennie O). I didn't have a properly sized pen to keep the birds together at first and I was afraid that my gander would beat up the turkeys. So I kept them in separate pens right next to each other since I knew that I wanted to put them in the same large pen once I had it built. I finally got the large pen and coop built and I put all 4 birds in. I have heard a lot about male geese getting aggressive and so I was worried Jeffrey would be the jerk if any of them. But almost immediately, Stinkus the turkey jumped up and tried to flog the gander. The female goose, Lucy, is afraid of the turkey hen too. But Jennie O doesn't show any aggression at all. I was also dumbfounded when I picked up Stinkus and realized that he's a lot heavier than Jeffrey. The gander is a cross between a Toulouse and an Emden so he is a big boy. His head is about 3 feet high and if I had to guess, I would say he weighs between 12 and 15 pounds. But Stinkus is only around 6 months old and he is definitely more than 20 pounds. His dad is a Royal Palm and his mom is a bronze. So he looks a lot like a Narragansett. They didn't really fight any more after the first flare up so I left them together for the night. When I checked on them the next day, Jeffrey had an injury on his head that looked like he had been pecked. It wasn't bad. Just a small superficial wound. I treated it and left them together since it seemed like most of the fighting had been solved between them. Then this morning, I noticed that Jeffrey now has a long line like a scratch going from the scab on his head down the back of his neck. I'm thinking they may be fighting during bedtime. The coop is 6ft x 6ft. But I haven't put up the roost for the turkeys yet so they only have the floor at the moment. I know I can't put the turkeys in with the chickens because of the potential for blackhead. I also don't want the turkey to kill my prized chickens like the Ayam Cemanis or Black Copper Marans. But the new pen is the only place big enough for the geese as I know they require a lot of space. Would installing the roost solve the problem? Or should I just build a separate place for my turkeys? The latter isn't as preferable since building materials are super expensive right now. But if I have to, I will.

If you want people to actually read your posts, break it up into paragraphs.

 

[FoggyFowl1719]

Just to be clear, only the coop/shed is 6x6. The pen is 12x12 with a plan to expand to the pond. The final paddock will be 30x20 with the 6x6 shed and a wire cover over the top. I just wanted to make sure they all had a decent place to get into for the winter. Even here in New Mexico the winters can get down to -10. I didn't feel that a crate and a dogloo would be adequate protection for them which is why I moved the shed and fixed up the pen for them.

 

[FoggyFowl1719]

If you want people to actually read your posts, break it up into paragraphs.

Thank you for the language Arts lesson.

 

[R2elk]

Just to be clear, only the coop/shed is 6x6. The pen is 12x12 with a plan to expand to the pond. The final paddock will be 30x20 with the 6x6 shed and a wire cover over the top. I just wanted to make sure they all had a decent place to get into for the winter. Even here in New Mexico the winters can get down to -10. I didn't feel that a crate and a dogloo would be adequate protection for them which is why I moved the shed and fixed up the pen for them.

Here in Wyoming the wintet temps can and do het to -30⁰F. My turkeys spend all their nights on their roosts outside. Their roosts are sheltered from the prevailing wind.

 

[R2elk]

Just to be clear, only the coop/shed is 6x6. The pen is 12x12 with a plan to expand to the pond. The final paddock will be 30x20 with the 6x6 shed and a wire cover over the top. I just wanted to make sure they all had a decent place to get into for the winter. Even here in New Mexico the winters can get down to -10. I didn't feel that a crate and a dogloo would be adequate protection for them which is why I moved the shed and fixed up the pen for them.

Your coop is too small for birds that are that big. A minimum of 10 square feet per adult bird is needed. That is clear area that is not used up by anything else such as feeders or waterers.

They need an even bigger area for a run.

 

[m1chelle1]

Ok, so I bought a bonded pair of geese about 2 weeks after Easter. The geese (Lucy Goosey and Jeffrey) are about a year and a half old. I also have a pair of turkeys that I hatched out about 6 months ago. I kept the male (Stinkus) and one hen (Jennie O). I didn't have a properly sized pen to keep the birds together at first and I was afraid that my gander would beat up the turkeys. So I kept them in separate pens right next to each other since I knew that I wanted to put them in the same large pen once I had it built. I finally got the large pen and coop built and I put all 4 birds in. I have heard a lot about male geese getting aggressive and so I was worried Jeffrey would be the jerk if any of them. But almost immediately, Stinkus the turkey jumped up and tried to flog the gander. The female goose, Lucy, is afraid of the turkey hen too. But Jennie O doesn't show any aggression at all. I was also dumbfounded when I picked up Stinkus and realized that he's a lot heavier than Jeffrey. The gander is a cross between a Toulouse and an Emden so he is a big boy. His head is about 3 feet high and if I had to guess, I would say he weighs between 12 and 15 pounds. But Stinkus is only around 6 months old and he is definitely more than 20 pounds. His dad is a Royal Palm and his mom is a bronze. So he looks a lot like a Narragansett. They didn't really fight any more after the first flare up so I left them together for the night. When I checked on them the next day, Jeffrey had an injury on his head that looked like he had been pecked. It wasn't bad. Just a small superficial wound. I treated it and left them together since it seemed like most of the fighting had been solved between them. Then this morning, I noticed that Jeffrey now has a long line like a scratch going from the scab on his head down the back of his neck. I'm thinking they may be fighting during bedtime. The coop is 6ft x 6ft. But I haven't put up the roost for the turkeys yet so they only have the floor at the moment. I know I can't put the turkeys in with the chickens because of the potential for blackhead. I also don't want the turkey to kill my prized chickens like the Ayam Cemanis or Black Copper Marans. But the new pen is the only place big enough for the geese as I know they require a lot of space. Would installing the roost solve the problem? Or should I just build a separate place for my turkeys? The latter isn't as preferable since building materials are super expensive right now. But if I have to, I will.

i know this is an older post, but i wanted to say that your gander isnt mean now, but they will become aggressive during breeding season, and can kill other birds (large or no). That was my only thing here, we separate breeding pairs and trios, even from their own (all goose) flock, because it gets gnarly in season. Outside of season...the geese are really good to eachother. No fighting, everyone loves eachother. It is a bit of a myth that geese are aggressive animals in general (as a rule) but it can depend on breed and temperament like anything else.
I'm familiar with aggressive turkeys, theyre excellent guards. Ive always been a little interested as to why people want geese to guard, when weve had much better results with turkeys ours chase full sized dogs off our property, the dogs are all scared of them! LOL! Our geese just run. TBH thats prob the smartest idea anyway

 

[R2elk]

ours chase full sized dogs off our property, the dogs are all scared of them!

You are very lucky that the dogs haven't killed the turkeys.