Turkeys For 2013

[Sally8]

BJ I just love the babies! But all of your birds are beautiful! Thanks for sharing! 

X2

 

[Celie]

X2

 

[MumsyII]

Wow! I just came in from breaking up a turkey fight with my four month old Blue Slates. The tom and who I thought was his favorite female poult were going at it by biting each others head. Rough play does not describe it! As I was watching with my jaw dropped, he took her by the back of the head, drug her over to the five gallon water bucket and dunked her head and held it there! If I had not run into the pen and grabbed her, he would have drowned her!

I held him so she could get away but she attacked him again! All I could think of to do is let the tom and other three hens out and separate the attacking hen so she could have a cool down.

What is going on here? Anyone able to explain this?

 

[MumsyII]

Four months old. She is swollen and bloody. Her face is messed up and she is acting hurt. He is strutting his stuff more than normal. Is this four month old sexual maturing?

This is the largest female and the two were always chummy chummy until now.

I'm afraid to put them back together. She is bloody and they all may gang up on her.

 

[Celie]

Four months old. She is swollen and bloody. Her face is messed up and she is acting hurt. He is strutting his stuff more than normal. Is this four month old sexual maturing?

This is the largest female and the two were always chummy chummy until now.

I'm afraid to put them back together. She is bloody and they all may gang up on her.

WOW, never had that happen around here, but have seen it with teenage human kids! Sounds like a case of bad temper! Wow, he could have drowned her and his displaying shows he is bragging that he won the fight!! I had a tom and a rooster start to go at it this morning, but Grace, by female lab, breaks up any fighting before it can get serious. Unfortunately, she thinks mating is also fighting, when the tom steps onto the hen's back!

 

[MumsyII]

WOW, never had that happen around here, but have seen it with teenage human kids! Sounds like a case of bad temper! Wow, he could have drowned her and his displaying shows he is bragging that he won the fight!! I had a tom and a rooster start to go at it this morning, but Grace, by female lab, breaks up any fighting before it can get serious. Unfortunately, she thinks mating is also fighting, when the tom steps onto the hen's back!

This is my first turkey venture. I could hardly believe my eyes when he purposely shoved her head under water and held it there! I'm still shaken over it. And he did display for ten minutes when I took him out of the pen. She was still fighting back up until the moment I closed the gate between them. I have not seen him try to mount. I have seen the girls lay down for him. He mostly just steps on them for a second. I've never seen a fight like this with them.

 

[chickadoodles]

This is my first turkey venture. I could hardly believe my eyes when he purposely shoved her head under water and held it there! I'm still shaken over it. And he did display for ten minutes when I took him out of the pen. She was still fighting back up until the moment I closed the gate between them. I have not seen him try to mount. I have seen the girls lay down for him. He mostly just steps on them for a second. I've never seen a fight like this with them.

I am not a pro by any means.... but if they are only 4 months old he may not realize she is a hen and does not have an interest in her like that yet. I think that was part of my problem here. My toms were not paying any attention to her and she kept trying to get their attention. All of a sudden one day the fight broke out between my 2 alfa toms over the hen! Just a thought...

 

[Celie]

I am not a pro by any means.... but if they are only 4 months old he may not realize she is a hen and does not have an interest in her like that yet. I think that was part of my problem here. My toms were not paying any attention to her and she kept trying to get their attention. All of a sudden one day the fight broke out between my 2 alfa toms over the hen! Just a thought...

Sounds about right to me, but I would have never thought a turkey would try to drown another! I have seen turkeys fight until one finally gives in and runs away, but being penned, they might not have anywhere to run, so one might get bloods, but have never seen this kind of aggression in 4 month olds. Older toms will fight to establish pecking order by pulling each other snoods, and if a younger one joins in , it will usually get pecked, but only in mating season.

 

[desertmarcy]

This is my first turkey venture. I could hardly believe my eyes when he purposely shoved her head under water and held it there! I'm still shaken over it. And he did display for ten minutes when I took him out of the pen. She was still fighting back up until the moment I closed the gate between them. I have not seen him try to mount. I have seen the girls lay down for him. He mostly just steps on them for a second. I've never seen a fight like this with them.

That he deliberately tried to drown her, shows these birds have more intelligence than most people give them credit for. Did you say she was the fight instigator? I have all my young hens and toms penned separately, until next year when they are breeding age, then I will put my breeding pens together. I think the turkeys, as well as young chickens, do much better when the sexes are separated until you want to breed them. There is just too much hormonal activity going on at that age---just like human teenagers!

 

[chickadoodles]

I know they will fight to the death from some research I did on mine fighting so bad. But him trying to drown her is an amazing thought for a turkey, I'll bet! I may put all my toms in the rooster run and leave my hen in with the chicken hens till breeding time.