Turkeys and harmony in the barnyard ***UPDATE*** post #14

[racuda]

I'm getting a pair of Royal Palms and plan to free range them after being confined for a couple of weeks. They will be able to range over 50 acres of woods and fields. I'm wondering if they will get along with my dozen chickens and thirty some Guineas? Also I have some peachicks that I plan to free range when they are 10 weeks old. Will the turkeys be a danger to any of them?

 

[LarryPQ]

Um...I have a bajillion chickens in with my bajillion turkeys. Its a small run, too. Other than one tom trying to get jiggy with his chicken broodermates, I never had an issue.

 

[racuda]

So there's no truth to the rumors I've heard of killer toms? That's good news!

 

[LarryPQ]

Well I can only speak for my own experience. My tom was really sweet, but he didn't have enough girls and started mounting my 5-year-old when he was playing in the dirt.

I said, "GET OFF THE GROUND! What are you DOING down there?"

His reply, "I am building a nest to lay eggs in!"

....So I guess it was no surprise the tom was confused.

 

[CajunWildTurkey]

I'm new to the forum, but I can say when I was younger we raised chickens and turkeys togather. I'm just now getting back into raising them again. Now when I was younger we raise a turkey hen from a baby. this might sound silly but my mom raise inside our house. Our turkey was spoiled rotten. She stay in the house until she was about 6 months. then we move to a house with a bigger yard and got some chickens, where great togather. But everyone Beep-beep ran the yard. She protected the chickens as if they where her own babies. when she was a year old we got a tom. he was mean to any one that came near him until he was introduce to Beep. After Beep showed him who was boss of the yard he was more gentle the only thing is he would not mount Beep. But Beep would mount him. After about 6 months of this Beep ran away and joined a group of wild turkeys. some of our neighbors said they seen her with her new family every now and then. The turkeys I got now are a few months old and sweet as can be, other then Maddie trying to mount one of my Buffs they get along great.

 

[Parrotchick]

I have my gang of turkeys, geese, chickens and ducks marauding around 1/4 acre fenced in area next to me house. For the most part there is harmony. Occasionally the turkey hens chase after the roosters and are a bit aggressive to one in particular-I haven't figured out what's up with that, and the only answer I've gotten is "Turkeys are just weird." My beloved Tom, recently deceased (RIP), was a total sweetheart and never got involved in any trouble. I had heard he could kill the others but he was so mellow and laconic. Once I saw him try to mount a drake that was mounting a duck-it was pretty comical because Tom was so slow and clumsy.

I worked at a petting farm last fall where too many turkeys were kept in a pen with too many ducks and the turkeys, namely the hens attacked some of the poor ducks and even a young Chinese goose. A friend of mine who is a poultry judge, as well as a lifelong raiser of poultry told me that turkeys can kill other birds, even unwittingly. So keep a close eye on yours for a bit but I would think with all that space to wander everyone, and mates for all, it should be OK.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I had a "super sweet" tom kill my trio of black cayuga ducks. He was hatched and raised with them but one day decided to peck holes in their head to the brain and their eyes out! There was about 8 birds total in a 30X20 pen. You just never know.

 

[Thomasturkey]

I no longer have Guinea because they tormented my turkeys. They would chase them until they got heat stroke and died. Other people say I had mean Guinea. I think with any animal they are unpredictable and have some mean ones. I have had hen turkeys chase my roosters. For some reason they hate to see a rooster mate. I do not call toms mean but there fighting might be disturbing to people who have not seen it. They are nice to me. I have had toms fight in the spring non stop, but it is a mating thing. Young Toms fight while the older toms mate. Most of the time they do not fight to the death, it just looks like they are. I have bantam chickens and bantam ducks nest with my turkeys. No problems with mixing them. Even my geese and pea fowl get along with them. I have had a few babies get injured by getting pecked or stepped on. It happens but I do have several hundred babies that have never been touched. I do keep my babies inside until they are big enough that the Ravens do not eat them.

 

[MoriahQuilts]

Quote:
That's the funniest poultry story I've ever heard! Still laughing!

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:

TOO FUNNY