naked chest

[heyjude1]

for the past nine days(since tornadoes touched down about 20 minutes from here) my Tom has been pacing back and forth along his fence.. He now is bare naked in the chest!!! He is still going in the coop at night with his hen, but he paces in there too. I have no idea how to stop this.. Has anyone else had this problem? Their pen is 30 X 70, so they have tons of space and he only paces along the two sides that face the yard, and not on the field side where the chickens free range... I would appreciate any and all help.. Not sure if he could get sick from this or not.. These are my first turkey babies and I care about them alot... Oh yeah--"Thomas and Gerty" appreciate your help also...

 

[ivan3]

Is the fencing standard chicken wire? If so, that is the problem. As the males get bigger and are stressed for whatever reason they'll pace. They usually do so against the fencing. Chicken wire will leave them with chests that look to be ready for the oven. Larger gauge wire (welded wire) won't have the same effect. A workaround is to string up lengths of that black/breathable/garden plastic (comes in rolls), twisty tie that at chest ht. along inside of fence. They rub against it but will not pull away feathers and fluff.

 

[heyjude1]

I will go today and get some and do the entire enclose.. Thank you so much for your help.. He is still pacing, but I will try and calm things down alittle with the feather loss... Again thankyou....Jude