Weird Turkey Behavior

[peasant_girl]

We have 28 chickens and a turkey. The turkey is younger than all the chickens. We put the turkey in there as a poult.

We recently realized that the turkey is a tom, not a hen as we were told when we got him. He has started doing this strange behavior with the chickens. He struts and while strutting stretches his wings out in an arc and moves the chickens around. It doesn't look aggressive; it kind of reminds me a mother hen guiding her young. I have no idea why he's doing that. Any ideas?

 

[HappyDuckie]

I've never had turkeys, but it sounds like mating behavior, maybe? Also, why do you just have one? They do best with other turkeys, I believe.

 

[peasant_girl]

I've never had turkeys, but it sounds like mating behavior, maybe? Also, why do you just have one? They do best with other turkeys, I believe.

I hope it's not mating behavior! We took the turkey as a rescue and we only have the one.

 

[R2elk]

We have 28 chickens and a turkey. The turkey is younger than all the chickens. We put the turkey in there as a poult.

We recently realized that the turkey is a tom, not a hen as we were told when we got him. He has started doing this strange behavior with the chickens. He struts and while strutting stretches his wings out in an arc and moves the chickens around. It doesn't look aggressive; it kind of reminds me a mother hen guiding her young. I have no idea why he's doing that. Any ideas?

It is aggressive. If you don't get that tom away from the chickens and really soon, expect to start having dead chickens as he stomps them to death while trying to mate with them.

You raised him with chickens. Now he does not understand that chickens are not turkeys and he is going to treat them like turkeys. He is not trying to herd them around. He is trying to get them to squat for him so he can crawl up on their backs.

 

[R2elk]

I hope it's not mating behavior! We took the turkey as a rescue and we only have the one.

Turkeys are very social birds and need more turkeys to socialize with.

 

[HappyDuckie]

I hope it's not mating behavior! We took the turkey as a rescue and we only have the one.

Are you going to eat it for thanksgiving? As elk said, turkeys need friends.

 

[Molpet]

I had a few squashed chickens when I didn't have enough turkey hens.