Will hens fight?

Glenmar

Songster
9 Years
Jan 17, 2011
2,785
19
183
VIRGINIA
I have a pair together. I want to put a second hen in with them. She has been with them before, but not for about a year.
will the other hen or tom fight with her?? Are they as bad as chickens??
 
Turkey Hens do have a dominance hierarchy just like chickens, but hens don't fight anywhere near as brutal has the toms do. I think adding the other hen will cause a couple disputes until the hierarchy is re-established, but after that there shouldn't be a problem.
 
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I see hens attacking toms more then hens attacking hens.
Hens mostly run from another if trouble is a brewing.
The most I have seem a hen attack another hen is when the tom was sick and dying the hen would protect the tom if another hen took a cheap shot at him.
 
My hens do not fight one another but they will fight and try to kill a rooster or any other bird in the chicken yard. They are brutal. They are THE meanest birds in the chicken yard and they have everyone afraid of them. They will also try to kill or run away any predators. I don't know where they get that behavior from but they are a force to be reckoned with. :oops:
 
I have four hens. There is a definite hierarchy in the group.
One hen is much more dominant and just one look from her and the others will turn and walk away.
Some infighting does happen. They try to grab each others head and pin down the opponent.
More than one occasion I have laughed when 3 hens were running round and round the tom. He was spinning around and around until finally he pecked at the persecutor to stop her.
 
I have 3 hens and last year they were all fine but now they are fighting each other. There is 1 adult tom and one youth tom that are in the same group. They aren't getting in the way. Can anyone suggest why the hens are only now fighting?
 
I have 3 hens and last year they were all fine but now they are fighting each other. There is 1 adult tom and one youth tom that are in the same group. They aren't getting in the way. Can anyone suggest why the hens are only now fighting?


Early Springtime, the jennies & hens will tussle, and the jakes and toms will spar. Working out the social order for the breeding season. Were they still under a year of age last year? (are bit more `modest' in their `knocking heads' as juveniles) How much room do they have (in a run - or free ranged?).

A thread with some more info: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/849264/why-is-my-female-turkey-aggressive
 

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