Royal Palms Breeding

[WIchickens]

So this is my first year of raising turkeys. I have 5 palms, hoping to send 2 to freezer camp and keeping 1 tom and 2 hens for eggs next spring. So, soon i will have to decide who stays and who goes. They are about 6 months old.
There are 2 toms, one is definately more in change than the other. I caught them fighting yesterday for the first time! Is it better to keep the dominent one for breeding or the quieter one?
Also, i have not seen any actual mating going on. Is it just not the season? Just want to make sure things are ok!

 

[ivan3]

So this is my first year of raising turkeys. I have 5 palms, hoping to send 2 to freezer camp and keeping 1 tom and 2 hens for eggs next spring. So, soon i will have to decide who stays and who goes. They are about 6 months old.
There are 2 toms, one is definately more in change than the other. I caught them fighting yesterday for the first time! Is it better to keep the dominent one for breeding or the quieter one?
Also, i have not seen any actual mating going on. Is it just not the season? Just want to make sure things are ok!

The boys are just being boys, at the moment (what is "practice" in the late summer/early fall - gets serious in the Spring). You'll see considerable sparring going on and the winner today may become tomorrow's has been. Having only two jakes makes the decision on which is slaughtered a little less difficult (having several jakes/toms can be troublesome as the fellows form "gangs" and one's best alpha might fall to the unkind ministrations of the "second string").

Keep the most dominant male and harvest the slowest growing female.

Season in Northern Hemisphere gets going in late Feb (generally).

 

[WIchickens]

Thanks for the response!

I haven't seen a fight since last week, so I guess they boys have worked things out for now, ha ha. I would imagine late February will be the beginning of our season as well, we have about the same weather in WI has NH....cold!!!