Newbie with turkeys

[outdoorbunny]

This may be a silly question but I'll ask it anyway. I have a 5 month old black Spanish turkey that I raised. He is starting to do a mating dance so I'm thinking its a male. He's very friendly and loves to be petted to sleep every night. If I don't he'll follow me around until I do. Lol. My question is once he gets to the "mating age" will he become aggressive towards me? If so, how do I prevent it from happening? I don't have a female for him so he is surrounded by chickens only. I had a rooster that was a single hatch so I kept him in the house with me. He was a love bug but the day I introduced him to the flock, he became an attack dog with feathers.

Thank you for any suggestions you may have for me.

Debra

 

[R2elk]

This may be a silly question but I'll ask it anyway. I have a 5 month old black Spanish turkey that I raised. He is starting to do a mating dance so I'm thinking its a male. He's very friendly and loves to be petted to sleep every night. If I don't he'll follow me around until I do. Lol. My question is once he gets to the "mating age" will he become aggressive towards me? If so, how do I prevent it from happening? I don't have a female for him so he is surrounded by chickens only. I had a rooster that was a single hatch so I kept him in the house with me. He was a love bug but the day I introduced him to the flock, he became an attack dog with feathers.

Thank you for any suggestions you may have for me.

Debra

It is never a good idea to have a single tom with chickens. Eventually he will try to mate with them and that is never a good thing. If you don't keep him separate from the chickens, you will have dead chickens.

He could very well become aggressive with you as he ages. What is also very likely is that he will become aggressive to everyone else.

Turkeys are flock birds and unless being raised for consumption should not be kept as a single bird.

Either get him some hens, find him a new home with other turkeys or process him.

 

[outdoorbunny]

If I get him a couple of hens, can I let them mingle with the chickens?

Debra

 

[R2elk]

If I get him a couple of hens, can I let them mingle with the chickens?

Debra

I don't have any problems running my turkeys and chickens together. Others have had turkeys kill their chickens. It all depends on how the turkeys react to the chickens. It helps to give them lots of room. The more confined the space the more likely there will be problems.

Good luck.

 

[outdoorbunny]

I picked up 2 one year old bronze hens this morning so I think George (the tom) will be very happy. Right now the girls are in a run but George is already "talking"to them.

My babies are spoiled. The chickens and George (and soon his girls) have 5 acres to play in plus they took over the entire barn for evening parties. Lol.

Thank you for the advise!

 

[R2elk]

I picked up 2 one year old bronze hens this morning so I think George (the tom) will be very happy. Right now the girls are in a run but George is already "talking"to them.

My babies are spoiled. The chickens and George (and soon his girls) have 5 acres to play in plus they took over the entire barn for evening parties. Lol.

Thank you for the advise!

Good Luck.

 

[Eruedraith]

I already have a handful of chooks that have a Light Sussex Roo, and I was wondering if it would be okay if I got a breeding pair of Turkeys and kept them together? I'm guessing it would mean war.

I just would like to have a breeding pair to get some babies for fattening up.

What if I got a single female turkey and put her in with my flock of chooks?

 

[R2elk]

I already have a handful of chooks that have a Light Sussex Roo, and I was wondering if it would be okay if I got a breeding pair of Turkeys and kept them together? I'm guessing it would mean war.

I just would like to have a breeding pair to get some babies for fattening up.

What if I got a single female turkey and put her in with my flock of chooks?

I do not know whether or not there is Blackhead in Australia which is pretty much the only disease that doesn't appear to affect chickens but will kill turkeys.

I personally never recommend a pair of turkeys. I try to keep 4 to 5 hens for each tom. It greatly diminishes the wear and tear on the hens from the toms breeding them. Since all of the hens don't tend to go broody at the same time it also helps in getting the toms to leave the setting hens alone.

Whether or not turkeys brought in to a chicken flock will get along with the chickens depends on the individual turkeys and chickens. I have the occasional spat between a hen turkey and a rooster but it rarely gets serious enough to matter. Others separate their chickens and turkeys because the turkeys are capable of killing the chickens. Turkeys can be very persistent when they get an idea in their minds especially young jakes nearing sexual maturity.

Good luck with whatever you try.