Tom Needs an Attitude Ajustment! Question on Tom Turkey Behavior...

[SandyC]

I have a 3 yo Bourbon Red Tom. His mate was killed last year, so he
rules over a bunch of assorted chicken hens. Over the last week or so
he has started to challenge me a bit. Nothing too bad that a 2x4 doesn't
fix. Is he getting more aggressive due to spring coming on and will he
get worse if he doesn't have a mate? He didn't do this at all last year
when he had his mate.

 

[Dogfish]

Find him a mate, or two. You may never know why unless you eliminate the possibilities. He may be a bit "frustrated".

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Do rooster management techniques work on a tom?

 

[Jmiller429]

probably not. an agressive tom needs to be put in his place real quick. Pin him to the ground and hold him there until he stops struggling.

 

[crj]

My tom was going after my daughter. He would see her walk out the door and come running towards the house and just follow her everywhere. The tom knew she was afraid of him. I told my daughter that I couldn't have this. So today she finally got the nerve up to challenge the tom.

She walked with a piece of hose to keep him at bay. It worked but he still tried to spur her, or is it flog? I was outside and I picked him up. He doesn't give me a hard time at all. I had a good grip on him and told my daughter to come close and touch him. No way would she hold him so the best I could do is get her to use both hands and act as if she was holding him. I knew the turkey could see her. I created an illusion. So, I told her that we were going to put him down slowly and that we let go together so the tom thinks she was the one holding him. I also told her DO NOT step away from the tom, he will run away. Sure enough, off he went. My daughter got brave and walked quickly over to him to pet him. He ran again. She did this a couple of times to make sure he would run from her. It worked. Now, lets hope it stays this way.

BTW, her boyfriend came over today and he too was getting attacked. So, he went after the tom, picked him up and held him for a bit. I explained that when he is calm and ONLY when he is calm do you put him down. So far it's worked. They both feel so proud....... roflol

As soon as you step away from the turkey when he challenges you you are done. He has your number. You have to make sure that he knows YOU are the boss. I hope this helps a little.