very weird turkey behavior question. probably not for children!

kinnip

Songster
11 Years
Feb 24, 2008
2,114
16
201
Carrollton, GA
My tom has been doing a very weird shaky 'dance' today. It looks very much like something he should be doing on a hen (flapping in a forward direction and doing the Elvis with his pelvis), but the hens aren't around. Both before and after the 'dance' he's doing his strut. During the strut his face is fully flushed red. During the 'dance' it turns white, then afterward he's back to strutting red. Is he doing what I think he's doing, or is this some sort of medical problem? It's worth stating that this tom is very focused on people. He follows us around. He's 'saved' me twice from a rooster. He struts for us all the time. I don't know if he's breeding the hens.
 
It sounds like he is dancing for you. My tom does it anytime people come around him and he is breeding the hens.
 
You are describing a matting dance. Since he does it a lot, now it's a matter if he views you as another female or a male.

You can candle an egg after three days to see if it is fertile, or you can break one open to see if there is a spot and blood vessels running out from it. Both chicken and turkey eggs should have this spot after three days.

If you don't have a candler there are several plans around the internet. Since turkey eggs have a thicker shell you most likely will need a 90 watts flood lamp inside of it instead of the normal 60 watt bulb.

Tom
 
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Thanks folks. It just looked so compulsive. I wasn't sure if he was having some kind of seizure. The look on his face was definitely one of surprise. I guess this is the first time for both of us.
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Maybe I need to spend a little less time baby talking him and stroking his caruncles.
 
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I know the feeling - it's the same one I have when my dewlap African gander is around me lately!
 
I was out by the turkey pens today and I kept hearing this strange racket so I went looking for the source. I found one of my Black Spanish jakes doing his "little dance" on one of my duck decoys.
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It's what you suspect it is(he has the tail down and 'wagging' it too?). I've seen this with many toms before, it is normal and not because he's imprinted on people either.

If you want to make sure he breeds the hens, it's easy if you have a hen that will squat for you or squats for him.. if he follows you around that much, just get close to hens and see if any of them squat, and if a hen squats, just stay close until he finally 'notices' the hen and he should start being interested in her. Or else, just candle the eggs- turkey hens don't need to mate very often, just once or twice will fertilize their eggs for weeks afterwards.
 
Yesterday was a real winner! You guys woulda loved it. The tom was on one side of the girl goat fence. The hens were on the other. The tom strutted all day, and the hens kept stickin their butts against the fence. Apparently, all of these brainiacs forgot that they can fly over the fence, or maybe I'm the idiot and this is just turkey flirting.
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