Perhaps I've Had Enough

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
Thank you! Much appreciated.

 

[Frosty]

Aww, thaiturkey! I am sorry that they are giving you grief... maybe until it's time to cull or whatever you decide, you could try separating the boys into a pen by themself? And if all else fails, you don't have to hatch every egg, you can eat some, too. You have come so far in such a short time, I really hate to see you discouraged! Even if you decide to give up on them totally, be proud of how well that you did and all that you learned!

 

[soonerdog]

Sounds like you really do enjoy your turkeys but are burdened with dealing with so many at once! Maybe sell down to just a few and I am sure you will enjoy having turkeys! When I had turkeys many years ago, I learned to keep the larger females and the smallest males. The larger females do better during mating season with a smaller male. Wishing you the best!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Thai, Why do they only want the hens? Are the toms to large? I was just thinking back to my time in Asia and I remember alot of the meat was sold at the market in small "pieces" not the large cuts that we get here. I would think you could get top Bhait (I don't think I spelled that right, lol) for breast fillets. You are going to have to get your toms down to get some peace and hopefully you can and still make a profit. Don't give up yet.

Steve

 

[Olive Hill]

May I ask what your original plan for dealing with excess males was?

 

[kangababy]

I feel your pain.. this is our second year with Turkeys and I can't get used to the death Ratio. I am used to Waterfowl and how they normally only die at a young age (a few days old) and how Turkey just seem to kill over for no reason!

We all have lots of extras toms and will eventually eat them but what I had seperated as toms I think some are ending up being hens! So they will be hanging around longer.. Stick it out.. It will be worth it

 

[Omniskies]

Turkeys are seasonal layers, but they have a pretty long season. They can lay until August or September, then, depending on the weather, may lay again in November or December. Part of my Blue Slate flock are Christmas babies that hatched out that holiday week. If we have warm weather for a while then the seasonal layers may start up again. This happens with muscovies, turkeys, geese, and ornamental chickens. It may happen with call ducks and East Indias, too, but I don't have them so I don't know.

There's nothing wrong with not hatching anything out. Turkeys will lay for seven or more years and can live a long time. You can always take the eggs away from them.

What you should be doing is sitting down and finding out why you don't like turkeys, then find out what can be done to fix that problem. Are they overwhelming? Drop the numbers. Do they lay too many eggs? Make a compost pile for eggs found or feed them to your cats/dogs. Are they making a mess? Chase them away from the areas they're not around.

If nothing else, get rid of all of them and keep one hen. Toms are more tempting to keep, but when a tom doesn't have a lady around he will substitute the chickens or ducks with disasterous results. When roosters mount a willing turkey hen it's just hilarious, not dangerous.

 

[SED]

Yes, please don't give up. I enjoy the perspective that you bring from Thailand!

 

[ShadyHoller]

Sorry to hear about that. Sounds stressful. I'm new with turkeys as well, and can be shocked at how nasty they can be to each other at times.

I don't think I'm adding anything new here, but it seems like the general advice, provided in the posts above is to: (1) make sure they aren't too crowded, and (2) cull your extra males you don't need to keep for breeders. Even if you have to eat them yourself or sell them for less than you would prefer, it's a better option than having the flock self-destruct.

We've been lucky with our 8 BRs so far, but as they have gotten bigger, and as our sweet, curious jakes have grown into brutish toms, we have reached the point where there is too much testosterone in one coop. This Sunday, four days before Thanksgiving, we are resetting the ratio: on Monday, there will be two hens and one or two surviving toms. If those four get along, that's what we'll keep through the winter, and if they don't get along, we'll only carry one tom through the winter.

 

[thaiturkey]

Many thanks folks. I appreciate all your comments.

It never rains but it pours. One of the setting hens has gone missing leaving a dozen eggs. I can't find her and she was a very determined protector of her clutch. Very strange and it means we are yet another hen short.

If I don't get rid of all of them, removing some of toms is the way to go. The issue is not total numbers but the gender ratio, especially as we now have more birds maturing, also with a wrong mix.

Frosty, yes I could prevent too many eggs from hatching. In fact, I have to. The exponential rate of growth in bird numbers is not sustainable and we have decided not to move any to other land with all the problems of security.

Soonerdog, I had planned to keep the larger toms thinking that they would produce sturdy offspring and be better at mating but I see your point. Our problem yesterday was caused by a full grown stag mounting a six month old hen and the ensuing fight with other stags trying to push him off. So, size matters, it seems!

Steve, the buyers that we have spoken to want birds for breeding and have the same gender mix problem as us. None have been sold for meat yet. I managed to get some breast meat yesterday before it was ruined with chili so that I could see whether the flavour and texture are good enough. I cooked it but it's still in the fridge at the moment. If it's good I shall just get a few of the stags butchered and put them in the freezer. Otherwise they will probably go for stir fry somewhere if I give them away.

Olive Hill, there was no plan for dealing with excess toms! I knew that I had to get the right kind of ratio when we bought our first five poults and they grew up to include three toms. We were then given a pair and I bought two mature hens. I thought that was a reasonable start but, of course, setting hens are effectively out of action and the ratio worsens during that time. We have wanted to sell toms in preference to hens so I guess that was the plan in the end. This is our first year and, not knowing what to expect regarding mortality and having to wait for poults to show their gender, I let decisions slide and we have ended up with this mauling.

Omniskies, the problem is not that I don't like turkeys. It's probably the opposite, in fact. They can be frustrating and annoying and tie you down when you'd like to take a break but I've coped with all of that so far. The deaths have been difficult. This hen is the largest loss so far but poults have just keeled over and two fell in the pond and drowned. It's this to which I may not be able to adjust. It's as if several pets have died this year.

So, today I have to hunt in the undergrowth for signs of the missing hen and find someone to kill and butcher some toms.

As I write, a truck with a PA system is passing by. My wife tells me that the government is giving away eggs for hatching into laying chickens. I suppose it's part of the lame wristed aid effort for flood victims. Well, those chickens are easy peasy so she's off down the road to catch up with him. She says you only need to keep the eggs in a box and some will hatch. Hmmm.

Thanks again for all your comments and suggestions.