Turkeys aggressive (?) with my daugher

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Question. My now 4, 9 week old turkeys have been out in tractor for about 2 weeks. There is a large wire dog crate inside th tractor with a heat lamp where the turkeys spend the night for added warmth and predator protection (nights can still get into the 40s or low 50s).

Anyway, almost since day one, they've put themselves to bed in the crate at dark, altough every once in awhile I find them on top of the crate and have to pick them up and pop them inside before securing the door. Last night I was out of town and had asked my 17 year old daughter to put them away at night. When she went down they were on the crate and she said one of the larger ones (I think I have 2 toms and 2 hens) flew at her. When I spoke with her, she still didn't have the courage to go back and finish the job. I told her that although they had made a hissing noise once or twice when I tried to tuck them in, they wouldn't actually attack. She didn't really believe me. Finally she took a towel down with her. She had intended to throw it over the two larger birds (having successfully moved the 2 smaller ones) but ended up simply using it to shoo the remaining toms off the top of the crate and herd them inside.

So, will turkeys attack someone who comes into their space? Is their aggressive behavior towards my daughter because they don't know her? What do you think? On, do they need a heat lamp if the low temperature is around 48 degrees at night? How much draft protection?

 

[junkprospector]

i think at 9 weeks they should be almost fully feathered. I'm raising my first turkey, but if i recall 9 weeks was when i took the heat lamp out... so far he's been fine and that's been about 4 weeks ago... so i think you'd be OK to go without supplemental heat.

As far as the aggressive behavior - probably this would be normal. I don't know what kind you have, but i think some breeds are more flighty and protective than others. The fact that they are flying and stuff leads me to think you don't have one of the broad breasted breeds. the tom's may be trying to protect the hens, or just being aggressive since they aren't familiar with her. The only turkey i have any experience with is my 1 BBB - and thus far he has been very docile and friendly towards those he knows and even people he doesn't know - but i think the breed is lacking in the aggression and protective instinct, maybe even the 'flee' instinct LOL. If a predator came up to my turkey, he'd probably waddle over to them to check it out rather than run away.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

These are BBWs. They sometimes make sort of a hissing noise when I pick them up to put them away at night, but they've never done anything that I'd consider attacking.

 

[bugglesmommy]

I will start by saying that while I have no experience with turkeys yet, my husband is terrified of them. When he was a child his father had a big Tom. " Sweetest thing in the world..." so long as he was around. When he wasn't the Turkey would viscously attack my husband and his sister. He would not believe that his "sweet boy" was as mean as he was told and would not get rid of it. My husband is traumatized by that bird. I fully believe your guys may not treat your daughter as kindly as they do you.

 

[ivan3]

If you've been the human that they've been gotten used to, and have developed certain `expectations' of as to how things are done, and when, then they get flustered by any change.

Now, we've seen a fairly wide spectrum of `turkonalities'. Only one adult tom with any attitude at all (strangers were cornered when leaving their cars), none have so much as offered up a challenge trill in our direction. However, there is whole range of good/bad/ugly that, in our experience, has been skewed hard toward the `good' - unlike roosters...

 

[aztuffenuff]

I would like to ask a quest why is my tom aggressive to some people and to others he is not? Also it amazes me on how good e he is when it comes to judging character,so far the people he does not like are people that are not nice people!!

 

[ivan3]

aztuffenuff wrote: I would like to ask a quest why is my tom aggressive to some people and to others he is not? Also it amazes me on how good e he is when it comes to judging character,so far the people he does not like are people that are not nice people!!

If your turkey imprinted on you and you have spent a lot of time with it, it probably considers you the alpha. Turkeys have more social organization than chooks; related males will fend off unrelated males to allow a `family' member to mate. They pick up on some pretty subtle signs their flock boss exhibits. That said, they have been reported to be sometimes set-off (as are roosters) by as little as the thin, yellow line, around the sole of new mud boots.

 

[aztuffenuff]

well then guess he knows who I like and dislike!! I have spent a lot of time with Mr. Henry he is my lead tom per say and he is also a pet...a big one at that!!

 

[itsjustme]

I done alot of research before I bought my turkeys last year, I read they do not view humans as male or female by their gender they judge by the way you act. My turkeys could view me as a male though I'm not. I also read that they will try to add you to the pecking order and that lower ranking males will pick on whoever they feel is weak. Children and elderly people are almost always a target. Thy are also territorial. Wild turkeys will fight other turkeys that come into their area.I bought 4 poults that grew up to be toms. All 4 of them their turkey pecking order went Rocky, Mac, Rambo then Marty. . Marty does not mess with me. He will however go after kids and strangers. If the target seems frightened he gets worse. If they act like he isn't there or they face him and show him who's boss they back down pretty quickly. Recently my boy Rocky who' is the boss will break up fights between the other 2. He will also get between Marty and who ever he's after and will challenge Marty who always lowers his head and turns way. I'm not sure this is notmal behavior or not but it works. Lol so my advise. Don't be afraid, don't run away or back down. Sorry I just wrote a book. And I'm not claiming to be an expert I'm just stating what I've read and experienced.

 

[aztuffenuff]

your post is great and by my experience with my tom I think you did a great job telling it like it is!!