New to Turkeys and an aggression question.

[Notaneggpert]

I just got four young Turkeys (not up on all the turkey terms yet) and two are still little just getting feathers but I also got a male and female white pair. I often see turkeys with chickens and did not think it would be a problem, but the male Turkey, not even full grown attacks and drags my hens by their combs, is this aggression normal?

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
It's probably not aggression, it's probably trying to mate with the chickens. But, being larger, I guess it could hurt them, so you may need to separate.

 

[queenturkeygirl]

Here's some turkey terms for ya:

poult= baby turkey
hen=adult female turkey
tom= adult male turkey
jenny= young (but not baby) female turkey
jake= young (but not baby) male turkey

I've never mixed a baby chicken with a baby turkey before-- so I'm not sure why they're doing that (dominance? jealousy? not sure)
But if you have any other questions about turkeys I could probably help ya, I've been raising turkeys for 3 years and studying them like crazy- whatever question I don't know the answer to I have a determination to figure it out; but in your case I'm gonna need a lot more description of what's goin on. How many chickens/turkeys you have? How often do you feed them? Do you give special treatment to either bird? If you send me a private message I can help ya a bunch.

I hope I helped ya with somethin!
Sincerely,
Jackie

 

[denasfarm]

My Turkey pair were raised with chickens but when they hit puberty they became hateful with the chickens. The hen scalped a couple of birds and poked one eye out of two other chickens. She still lives with the BIG hens but I have to watch her around any rooster. She will attack it. She rules over the hens.
She sleeps in a seperate house since she likes to grab the hens and drop them off the perches at night.
The Tom lives seperate all the time unless I take her over to breed. He can see the Turkey hen (or he gobbles nonstop) but he is too rough with her to live full time with her. He will kill chickens and tries to do it with my dog, bowling ball, shoes, feet etc...He will also attack strangers...meaning anyone other than myself or daughter. They are Bourbon Reds.

 

[flocksalot]

Young turkeys will often grab another turkey by the head and hold them down. Sometimes they move around with them. My 3 1/2 week old toms will grab each other like that and try to establish dominance. Another thing they will do is prevent another from getting past them. They will keep their chests together and push at the one they are trying to dominate. When the one tries to get past they will flip out their wing to prevent it. This will go on back and forth as the poult tries to get past. I hate seeing it and remove the offender and the offendie, but I know it happens when I'm not around as I see marks on necks and heads. My guess is that your turkeys are trying to show who's boss. Silly little babies don't understand that we don't like it. Although I do find nothing cuter than a 2 day old turkey poult strutting his stuff. All that baby fuzz is just not very frightening.

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

I have found my poults to be very curious little creatures and anything out of the norm they will pick at. I have 3 of them in with my Cornish X and the poults are constantly just staring at their combs and then just grabs one. I think they think it's a prize or something!!

They even do it to each other.

 

[Faith Hope]

I have 5 6-week-old turkeys. They are being raised with my mixed flock of chickens (adults as well as chicks). They seem to get along fine with every one EXCEPT by broody silkie. Every time they see her they chase her and gang up on her. It is so bad that now that she has hatched out her chicks, that I can't let her out unless I'm out there because they chase her -- crazy birds! And she will attack any chicken that gets near her or her chicks, but not the turkeys -- she runs screaming from them and leaves her chicks behind.

I can't figure out why the turkeys chase her -- I think they actually like her, since she is unique to the group (the only silkie adult). But I wish they would leave her alone!

 

[Notaneggpert]

Okay was watching the interaction today and it is actually the hens that are starting it. I think they are fighting over the cool spot just on the side of the horses water barrels. I run the water over twice a day so it is cool and with the Temps being in the 100s the chickens mill around the wet sand. I try putting a spinkler in their coop to soak the sand there also but they perfer going where there is danger of being stepped on by a horse (I have lost a couple this way). Any way I regress...the hen flew at the turkeys with her feathers all puffed so the Jake (thanks for the correct terms) puffed back and grabbed her comb and started dragging her. I did not see this the first time when I posted the question. He then started chasing all the hens. They have a separate coop but I like to let them free range on weekends and a couple of hours on the weekend. The Jenny is very passive and just avoids the hens. I have two poults (love knowing the correct terms now) that I have penned up with some chicks and they are actually very protective of the chicks and at night the larger poult lets all of them try to nest under it. Really cute will have to get pictures. I also have some white keets with them but the keets keep to themselves. I am learning.

 

[flocksalot]

My cute little baby boys were fighting like mad today. One had anothers beak inside of his beak and they were going round and round until I pulled them out and separated them. I think It was a death match. Both were panting and looked about had for. I was actually worried that I was going to loose them. The girlies are so much calmer, but I got just a few to many boys this time around, I know for sure that I have 8, but possibly more. They are just getting their caruncles and starting to say turk turk or trying to gobble. I love this age except for the dominace thing. Of course with turkeys I love any age. They do have to be the big Tommy Boy. Although a 42lb dressed out Tommy has a very nice breast section to get smoked for sandwich meat, so I guess we wont be buying much sandwich meat this winter. I can't keep my turkeys near my chickens. I saw to many die from Black Head when I was a child. My parents never kept them in the same area that they raised chickens or even had them at the same time as they only raised meat birds, but they still had problems with it.