Should nesting turkey hens be separated from tom

[hellfire]

I get my first turkey eggs usually March time. It's only really just kicked in this year in the last two weeks. Unfortunately my new Tom does not seem to be doing his job well or nicely!
Defiantly remove the Tom for safety. I've had them mount when hens have even been trying to lay!

 

[peacockfarmer]

I make bale pyramids or stairways along the wall of the barn. The hens lay eggs on the top of the stairway 4 or 5 bales off the ground. The toms stay on the ground and leave the nesting hens alone.

 

[fairie]

Just a side note about the hens. Last year we had 2 hens sharing a nest. Seemed okay. Then one day 1 hen just ticked over and started pushing eggs out of the nest, they started fighting over the nest and breaking eggs too.

I finally made 2 nests and at hatch time we stole the chicks away. Do you have a plan for when they hatch?

 

[Rare Bird Collector]

I raised 4 turkeys together, 2 of them are toms. This is their 1st year laying and to my surprise today I found the coop all bloody with the toms fighting. I seperated them but 1 hen was killed. Never seen it comming but I seperated the 3 remaining. Can the toms be put back together with no hen to fight over?

 

[R2elk]

I raised 4 turkeys together, 2 of them are toms. This is their 1st year laying and to my surprise today I found the coop all bloody with the toms fighting. I separated them but 1 hen was killed. Never seen it coming but I separated the 3 remaining. Can the toms be put back together with no hen to fight over?

Because you separated the toms, when you put them back together the fight will be back on. They are probably pretty equally matched so the fight for dominance will be extended. The more that you interfere with their fight the longer it will take for them to settle their differences.

I recommend that you get rid of one tom and get more hens. It is never a good idea to keep a pair of turkeys unless they are both hens and even then they will squabble from time to time especially during breeding season.

I try to keep at least 4 to 5 hens for one tom.

 

[fairie]

R2elk is the voice of reason. We tried last year to keep young Jakes as we just could not sell them. The fighting was constant. And we tried all sorts of separators. They fought thru chicken wire (cutting their faces up) they fought thru a tarp (ripping the tarp up), we had them apart and in 2 different pens but as soon as they got back together there was blood shed.
You need to sell the other male. Figure out which one you want to keep. Do you want to breed them, do you want to keep one more than the other because of his character?
It's sad that one of your girls died in the fight.

 

[Cayuga mama]

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[Cayuga mama]

I have 1 Royal Palm Tom and 2 Bourbon red hens. Both hens we're on their nests, one hen hatched out 3 babies, 1died. Still have 2 babies a week old. Went out today 1baby is dead. Only 1 left. Tom stays out all day..we let the hen out with the two babies. Was it too early to let them and the hen out? Tom, all he does is display.

 

[hellfire]

That's a real shame. I keep mum and poults separate for the duration of raising to be honest. Untill they are about 5/6months old. By then the Toms don't fight as much as breeding seasons pretty much over for ours when the babies come out. Was the chick damaged in anyway? How's the other one doing? Mum can sometimes another one by accident unfortunately. If she's a new mum that could be it. One of my pied smothered one in her first year.

 

[fairie]

I have 1 Royal Palm Tom and 2 Bourbon red hens. Both hens we're on their nests, one hen hatched out 3 babies, 1died. Still have 2 babies a week old. Went out today 1baby is dead. Only 1 left. Tom stays out all day..we let the hen out with the two babies. Was it too early to let them and the hen out? Tom, all he does is display.

Last year was our first time with Turkeys. We took all the poults away trained them to eat and drink then reintroduced them after 6 weeks. I was worried that they would die from some disease. We never lost one.

This year we had a hen go broody in the small forest behind our house. We left her there. Wild turkeys do it. She hatched the poults and after 3 days was off the nest. They are thriving and healthy. Last night we lost one in the middle of the night. She WAS still nesting in the forest. We spent an hour searching and found the other two. The mom was not hurt, lost some feathers, was traumatized and lost a poult but now they are okay.

The DAD/Tom has been by her side since day one. I was crazy nervous. Didn't know what to make of it. He is protecting them, the mom & the babies. He protects them from every loud noise, our dog, the cat, birds in the sky all of it. But he was not sleeping next to them in the forest. Now they are all together in the run and he is guarding them there all night too.

When they hatched we dipped their beaks in water (2x's a day just to be safe) and put food right in the nest in a shallow pie pan. Today I ground up dry Cat Food and Turkey Starter mixed 1/2 & 1/2 and they are loving it. But I am sure (as I have been watching their poo) that they are healthy since day one I followed them around and watched. The mom knows what she is doing.