Toms vs. Hens?

[BunnyLover44]

Which one should I get a tom or a hen... they can't be too noisy because I live in a neighborhood. (I have 7 chickens so they have to be nice.) Also what breed should I get???????
FYI: I'm new to this turkey stuff.



BunnyLover44

 

[faykokoWV]

you should never get just one of any poultry species - they are flock animals and want to be with their own kind. If you get a Tom but don't get him any girls of his own, he will try to mate the chickens. I would recommend at least a trio - a tom and 2 hens - also a smaller breed would be good

 

[BunnyLover44]

Plz help me and answer some of these questions:

Aren't toms like roosters loud and anyoning?

Do female turkeys lay eggs without a male or do they need a male?

Do I have to get a tom or could i get 3 female turkeys?

 

[BunnyLover44]

PLEASE VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[exop]

If you had 2 or three hens, they would be very happy together. If you had a tom he would probably get ignored most of the time and end up following the girls around trying to look important. Turkey hens really do like to hang out together.

Gobbling: I have never seen a hen gobble. The boys will do it, but only if they see something new and different or scary. I am out in the country on a dirt road, so generally they gobble if traffic passes (once or twice a day). Yesterday I was outside and my cell phone alarm went off: it plays a little tune, three times in a row. Each time the tune finished, all the toms gobbbled. It was hilarious.

Tinkle tinkle tinkle ting, tinkle ting (from my pocket)
WAWAWAWAWA (from the turkeys)
... Tinkle tinkle tinkle ting, tinkle ting WAWAWAWAWA
... Tinkle tinkle tinkle ting, tinkle ting WAWAWAWAWA

Gobbling is not quite as obnoxious a sound as a rooster crow, it doesn't carry as far. One turkey gobbling isn't much noise, but if you have several toms they will all gobble at once like a choir, when they see something alarming.

Turkeys make different noises than chickens, they do "talk to each other" and they are not totally silent. Hens make a "wonk wonk wonk" sound which means come over here or where are you... turkeys which have found something super awesome to eat or super fun to do (like standing on the roof of your car) will say "whick! whick! whick!" Boys who are having an argument will tell eachother "deedle deedle deedle" in a high squeaky voice. It doesn't sound like much to us, but I guess it sounds like fightin' words to a turkey.

Boys spend a lot of time strutting with their feathers fluffed up like a peacock, which is fun to look at.
Girls are pretty in a different way, they are graceful and slender like a canada goose.

Boys get bigger, so they are less likely to fly (over fences and escape). My girl turkeys all sleep in trees, but the boys sleep on top of the chicken coop.

If you have a girl turkey, she will lay eggs in the spring, and she may try to "escape" and find a secret place to make a nest. They like brambles and thickets for this. My hens lay march - june.

One thing to watch out for, turkeys are real grass eaters. Turkeys will eat long coarse grass that a chicken wouldn't touch. Even if you have just one turkey, make sure you have a nice big grassy yard. He or she will keep it mowed for you. And if it is rainy and muddy, keep the turkey inside for the day, if possible, because the heavy turkey weight and the narrow pointy turkey feet can turn your nice lawn into a muddy mess like a stockyard.

I have Narragansetts and I like them. They are really mellow. I've never had other turkey breeds so I don't know how they compare.

 

[R2elk]

Plz help me and answer some of these questions:

Aren't toms like roosters loud and anyoning?

Do female turkeys lay eggs without a male or do they need a male?

Do I have to get a tom or could i get 3 female turkeys?

Toms when they gobble can be heard for a very long distance and in breeding season they can and do gobble frequently especially whenever they hear any loud noise. Hens can also be loud at times.

Turkey hens just like chicken hens do not require a male around for them to lay eggs. They are seasonal layers so typically lay from spring to fall.

You do not need to get a tom but unless buying nearly mature or mature birds you will only be able to buy unsexed poults. I do not know of any hatchery that are selling sexed poults.

My recommendation to you is to forget about getting any turkeys and stick with your chickens.

 

[exop]

also a smaller breed would be good

A couple years ago someone recommended Midget Whites to me. They are a smaller breed and I guess they have a pretty good personality. They are great fliers, though.

That is the only drawback to a smaller breed, the smaller and lighter they are the more they are going to fly. Maybe fly out of your fenced in area and go to explore the neighborhood.

 

[exop]

My recommendation to you is to forget about getting any turkeys and stick with your chickens.

I think R2elk may have a point, turkeys would be much happier in a group of several turkeys with a lot of open space to explore and freedom. They would be a much better fit, if you lived out in the countryside.

If you are determined to try a turkey, start with some poults and raise them with some friendly nonaggressive chicks, so they think chickens are their buddies and not their enemy. When they are a couple months old you will be able to make a pretty good guess at which are boys and which are girls. Keep one girl and sell the rest to a 4-H-er. Ask them to save you a girl in case you guessed wrong

 

[retlaw]

My neighbors say they like the sound of the tom.

As long as there is only one its not that bad but when there are several their gobbling can be testing.
That's when I start thinking about freezer camp.

The gobbling can be heard from quit a long distance but i agree that roosters are much more aggravating.

So with close neighbors, hens might be your better option.

 

[BunnyLover44]

Ok thanks ... any other avise anyone like to share??????