Question about lonely Tom

[Fox hater]

Ok so here's the situation, I have always had chickens and guineas....last summer we bought our first turkeys poults.....they are close to a year old I would guess. I was very excited to start getting eggs in a few months. I had never seem them mate, but Tommy Boy sure does put on a show for me and her...she could have cared less it seems.

Yesterday morning I went out and couldn't find my hen, after a few minutes a found her dead in front of the guinea enclosure (they never would go in at night) so they roosted on top. Blood from around her mouth and one laceration on her head, no other obvious trauma. She was frozen solid with a light bit of snow on top of her, and I know she was still alive at midnight.

Anyway after I brought her out Tommy got all crazy and wanted to mate with her ( the first time I had ever seen him attempt). Bottom line I did the necropsy and she was full of internal injuries, her crop was full of blood, lungs were foamy and blood in the gut area ( I think from the liver). Could he have killed her mating? He had. Little bit of blood on his tail and splatter on his head.

Either way now he is alone? Should I try to find him another mate? Will she stay on my land if she was not raised here? Should I try to rehome him? Will he start attempting to mate with my chickens? I feel horrible for him? I really don't think it was a predator, owl or anything, what could get a full grown turkey on top of a building?

Sorry to ask so many questions just don't know which way to go.

Jan

 

[Celie]

Sounds like worms to me, but others like Frank or Kuntrygirl can give you more information on such things. IMO, if you get him a grown mate, which is what I would do, and are afraid she might run away, I would suggest you penning her up for the first few weeks until she gets accustomed to her new home. My turkeys free range, but tend not to go too far from where they are fed. If she became week from the worms, she would have laid down and the tom might have taken that as her presenting herself to him and attempted to mate, which would account for the blood on him. I would worm him or look for the same thing in him and treat it as soon as possible. Good luck and I hope someone more familiar with parasites will chime in here?

 

[Fox hater]

I don't think it was worms, I didn't see any signs on necropsy. All of my birds free range and I wormed everyone a few months a go. She was a feisty hen she used to challenge my silkie roo all the time (who IMO is my best roo, oldest and takes the best care of his hens). Since these were my first I wasn't even sure they were old enough to be "frisky" unlike chickens they mature much slower, I was sure it was getting time for mating. There were a lot of downy feathers where they roost and where I found her.....I will look for a mate for him, he looks sort of lost