Turkeys fighting like crazy

[trunkman]

I have 3 toms and 2 hens penned up in a 12 by 24 run and 12 by 8 stall that are about 10 months old. They have been fighting a lot and bloodying themselves almost every day. My question is should I keep just one tom with the hens or just keep them the way they are?

 

[SA Farm]

1 Tom is plenty for only 2 hens...You could try keeping 2 if one is really submissive to the other, otherwise I would recommend dropping down to just 1.

 

[R2elk]

I have 3 toms and 2 hens penned up in a 12 by 24 run and 12 by 8 stall that are about 10 months old. They have been fighting a lot and bloodying themselves almost every day. My question is should I keep just one tom with the hens or just keep them the way they are?

The chance of getting any breeding done with three toms in the pen is zero. Any attempt of breeding by one of the toms will be met by another tom knocking the first off of the hen. You are likely to end up with injured hens caused by the claws of the toms ripping the hens as they scramble to hold their place on the hen while trying to not get knocked off by the other toms.

One tom for 4 or 5 hens is a much better situation. In the case of one tom to two hens, it is best to remove the tom once the hens start to set on their nests. Failure to remove the tom at that time can result in injury to the hens up to and including death. The tom will take the fact that the hen is laying down as a signal that she is ready and willing to breed and her failure to cooperate will result in her being injured by the tom as he attempts to maintain his position on her back while she tries to dislodge him. I have also seen toms that will smash the eggs and destroy the nest in order to get the hen back into the breeding mode.