New turkey owner

[Chlochlo151]

Hey everybody, so I'm new to raising turkeys and I just got 2 turkey poults yesterday and have done a ton of research. The only thing I think I'm concerned about is if they will bond with me. They are both very young,one still has her egg tooth. But because I got 2 I'm worried they won't bond with me and will instead bond to each other which is what happened with my gosling. She is nice to me don't get me wrong but she didn't imprint on me she imprinted on a duckling we had her housed with. So now I'm wondering if my turkeys will do the same because there are 2 of them. Another thing I'm wondering is how to tell if a poult is weak. My bigger poult (Spice) is very energetic and rambunctious. She pecks everything out of curiosity and kicks her legs (most of the time) if someone picks her up. Well the smaller one (Sugar) is much more laid back sleeps more, allows anyone to pick her up without any protest. She will be completely still when shes picked up compared to spice who kicks her legs. She's much less energetic and prefers to sit and watch Spice rather than to participate in the exploring. She eats, drinks, poops, and sleeps like normal but she is so calm is worries me. I'm not sure if it's just her personality or if I should be worried. Can anyone help me out?

 

[R2elk]

Hey everybody, so I'm new to raising turkeys and I just got 2 turkey poults yesterday and have done a ton of research. The only thing I think I'm concerned about is if they will bond with me. They are both very young,one still has her egg tooth. But because I got 2 I'm worried they won't bond with me and will instead bond to each other which is what happened with my gosling. She is nice to me don't get me wrong but she didn't imprint on me she imprinted on a duckling we had her housed with. So now I'm wondering if my turkeys will do the same because there are 2 of them. Another thing I'm wondering is how to tell if a poult is weak. My bigger poult (Spice) is very energetic and rambunctious. She pecks everything out of curiosity and kicks her legs (most of the time) if someone picks her up. Well the smaller one (Sugar) is much more laid back sleeps more, allows anyone to pick her up without any protest. She will be completely still when shes picked up compared to spice who kicks her legs. She's much less energetic and prefers to sit and watch Spice rather than to participate in the exploring. She eats, drinks, poops, and sleeps like normal but she is so calm is worries me. I'm not sure if it's just her personality or if I should be worried. Can anyone help me out?

I don't advise imprinting turkey poults because of what the imprinting may cause later in life.

Turkeys are one of the easiest birds to imprint.

 

[nuthatched]

You don't want the to bond with you, you want them to bond with each other.

 

[Chlochlo151]

I don't advise imprinting turkey poults because of what the imprinting may cause later in life.

Turkeys are one of the easiest birds to imprint.

What does it cause later in life? These are pet turkeys and I had planned on imprinting them because of that reason. I have had friends who did the same and have all told me they are like dogs and so loving and entertaining to watch.

You don't want the to bond with you, you want them to bond with each other.

Why?

 

[R2elk]

What does it cause later in life? These are pet turkeys and I had planned on imprinting them because of that reason. I have had friends who did the same and have all told me they are like dogs and so loving and entertaining to watch.

Why?

All of the human aggressive turkeys that I have dealt with were ones that were human imprinted. The imprinting causes them to lose the ability to understand that people are not turkeys.

This causes them to try to treat people like they would treat other turkeys.

If you are planning to breed them it can cause them to consider people as their mates rather than other turkeys.

 

[Chlochlo151]

All of the human aggressive turkeys that I have dealt with were ones that were human imprinted. The imprinting causes them to lose the ability to understand that people are not turkeys.

This causes them to try to treat people like they would treat other turkeys.

If you are planning to breed them it can cause them to consider people as their mates rather than other turkeys.

Ohh ok thank you. That's really helpful!

 

[Dhurstnc]

I have a rebuttal to the imprinting thing. I have a Tom ( Broad Breasted Bronze) who has definitely imprinted on me. He’s about 5 yrs old and I rescued him about a year ago and I love him to pieces. When he would start picking at me or getting aggressive when I was feeding him by hand. I would him away (nicely, not to hurt) and scold him. I got him a girlfriend, a cute little Spanish Black and they are definitely attached to each other. My hen has actually imprinted on my husband. So I believe the difference would be if you were raising wild turkeys v/s a heritage breed. They can get aggressive. I just received 5 poults in the mail today and the imprinting has begun. I suggest watching the show.

Hey everybody, so I'm new to raising turkeys and I just got 2 turkey poults yesterday and have done a ton of research. The only thing I think I'm concerned about is if they will bond with me. They are both very young,one still has her egg tooth. But because I got 2 I'm worried they won't bond with me and will instead bond to each other which is what happened with my gosling. She is nice to me don't get me wrong but she didn't imprint on me she imprinted on a duckling we had her housed with. So now I'm wondering if my turkeys will do the same because there are 2 of them. Another thing I'm wondering is how to tell if a poult is weak. My bigger poult (Spice) is very energetic and rambunctious. She pecks everything out of curiosity and kicks her legs (most of the time) if someone picks her up. Well the smaller one (Sugar) is much more laid back sleeps more, allows anyone to pick her up without any protest. She will be completely still when shes picked up compared to spice who kicks her legs. She's much less energetic and prefers to sit and watch Spice rather than to participate in the exploring. She eats, drinks, poops, and sleeps like normal but she is so calm is worries me. I'm not sure if it's just her personality or if I should be worried. Can anyone help me out?

I have a rebuttal to the imprinting thing. I have a Tom ( Broad Breasted Bronze) who has definitely imprinted on me. He’s about 5 yrs old and I rescued him about a year ago and I love him to pieces. When he would start picking at me or getting aggressive when I was feeding him by hand. I would him away (nicely, not to hurt) and scold him. I got him a girlfriend, a cute little Spanish Black and they are definitely attached to each other. My hen has actually imprinted on my husband. So I believe the difference would be if you were raising wild turkeys v/s a heritage breed. They can get aggressive. I just received 5 poults in the mail today and the imprinting has begun. I suggest watching the show, My Life as a Turkey. You can see it on Prime or you may be able to watch it on YouTube.

 

[GarrettW]

Hey everybody, so I'm new to raising turkeys and I just got 2 turkey poults yesterday and have done a ton of research. The only thing I think I'm concerned about is if they will bond with me. They are both very young,one still has her egg tooth. But because I got 2 I'm worried they won't bond with me and will instead bond to each other which is what happened with my gosling. She is nice to me don't get me wrong but she didn't imprint on me she imprinted on a duckling we had her housed with. So now I'm wondering if my turkeys will do the same because there are 2 of them. Another thing I'm wondering is how to tell if a poult is weak. My bigger poult (Spice) is very energetic and rambunctious. She pecks everything out of curiosity and kicks her legs (most of the time) if someone picks her up. Well the smaller one (Sugar) is much more laid back sleeps more, allows anyone to pick her up without any protest. She will be completely still when shes picked up compared to spice who kicks her legs. She's much less energetic and prefers to sit and watch Spice rather than to participate in the exploring. She eats, drinks, poops, and sleeps like normal but she is so calm is worries me. I'm not sure if it's just her personality or if I should be worried. Can anyone help me out?

Domestic turkeys imprint very easily. If you handle them frequently, then they will attach to you. Imprinted turkeys can be aggressive toward people, but turkeys that are not imprinted can be aggressive too. With my 2 bronze turkey hens one would submit to me and the tom, but the other would only submit to me. If you're not worried about breeding the turkeys and just want them as pets you should be fine.
With the more lethargic poult, I'd say she's fine as long as she continues to eat, drink, and poop. It's probably her personality.

 

[Coops Dad]

All the turkeys I've ever had have easily imprinted on me, not because it was intended but because they live with the main flock of chickens and I spend a lot of time in their area. It's hasn't been a problem because by they are in the freezer before they're sexually mature, so the toms haven't seen me as anything other than the Food Daddy. My current set of poults are 9 weeks old and follow me like the leader of some weird bird cult.