Toms fighting ... leave them alone or what?

[erinszoo]

We have six white holland turkeys. Two of them are definitely Toms strutting around puffing out with the long snoods and booming. So far they haven't shown any aggression towards each other but today we saw our biggest tom and another bird and they looked like they were sparring with each other, grabbing each other by the snood and by the throat and pulling. Nobody drew blood or anything but it was a bird we thought was a hen. Could the tom have been trying to mate and just not getting it right? They are only 5 months old. When they left each other alone finally, then the two toms started in doing the same kind of thing, pulling each others snoods. Is this normal?

We're only keeping one tom for breeding purposes, the other will be going to freezer camp after the fair in two weeks, but we don't want them messed up before showing them.

 

[PekinBantam]

I'd keep an eye on them and see if they do it again, it may be a dominance issue or it may be the first attack in a battle... Keep us posted and tell us if it happens again.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Mine do that alot they are about 4 1/2 months old, oh boy do they get rough. Its not a mating mishap. its more of a dominant display. They are growing and want to show others whos boss they will fight amongst each other. My suggestion is taking the tom you plan on showing and putting him in a seperate enclosure if possible so they dont damage the plumage.

 

[frank53061]

My Bourbon Reds are 5 months old now and I just went out to tend to them and I found one of the Toms one of the bigger ones head and neck was bloody he must of got ganged up on poor guy but you know those hormones are a raging LOL.
I will probably see a lot more of this carnige.