Turkeys fighting between breeds

[Plain_View_Farm]

In Spring 07 we expanded our Hobby Farm to include Turkeys.
We chose Black Spanish and Bourbon Red as they are Heritage Breed Turkeys and 2 of the more declining breeds. This past year we incubated and hatched several times selling off the Poults to local folks but we have 8 Toms left. 4 Bourbon Red and 4 Black Spanish.
We noticed in the initial ones we got the Toms began fighting as they matured. What we didn't know for certain is it was among the 2 breeds.
We had 1 Tom killed and 1 badly bloodied last year and sold off all the Toms but 2. What we didn't know then was they were fighting between breeds not there own kind.
The BR Toms and the BS Toms fight between themselves. We ended up separating these boys we have left now to there own enclosures and they are now fine. We did had to put a divider between them or they fight through the chain link fence. I use the black ground cloth used under Tan Bark which is fairly cheap and easy to hang on the wire. This works quite well.

My post here is to not only inform anyone who decides to get into Turkeys of different breeds but to ask if anyone else has ever seen this behavior???

Thanks.....

 

[chickenannie]

Does it have anything to do with them having different colors and therefore looking "strange"?

I say this because one of my turkeys had a blue slate mother and came out much darker-colored than the other BRs and they all seemed to pick on him. And one hen I introduced extra chicks to her and she accepted them all but the half-blue slate ones which had a darker color.

 

[reallemons1]

Our maturing toms pick out one poor guy and they all fight him. It doesn't seem to matter which breed. So I wonder if it is some behaviour they are attaking. Maybe the pick on is showing agression and the rest are putting him back in line. With breeding time coming up soon they probably are fighting for top bird for breeding rights. Just my guess....

 

[sandspoultry]

We have had ours fight and get bloody but never had them kill each other. We just let them sort it out for themselves.

Steve in NC

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

I had wondered myself if it wasn't just sorting out a pecking order so to speak but since they are separated, there is no disagreement among them,
4 of each. If I raise the black divider though there right at each other through the fence.
I feel as chickenannie mentioned it is the fact that the other is "different"
I just found it interesting.
David

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
They are going to fight if they are seperated by the divider and then can suddenly see each other again.

We have one corner where the Bourbon Red, Royal Palm, and White Holland pens come together and from time to time there is some fighting there between the 3 groups thru the fence, we just let them fight and they get tired after awhile. They are some interesting birds to be sure.

There were 2 Beltsville White toms that were fighting late last summer and I swear they fought for about 3 days from sun up to sun down. I was still pretty warm here and they would fight to exhaustion then take a short rest and right back at it. They were bloody from the wings up, I would check on them from time to time and make sure their wasn't any pieces missing from anybody and finally they sorted it out. The thing that suprised me the most was they were both "beta" toms the "alpha" just stood back and watched the show. I guess he figured they were no threat to him as long as they were beating each other up.

Steve in NC

 

[Struttn1]

I'm glad my birds don't fight.

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
LOL I always wondered about selling tickets or maybe a "pay per view" for turkey fights.

Steve in NC