Will Toms and Roosters get along in the same coop?

[Frosty]

If black head (histomoniasis) isn't a problem in your area, chickens won't have it to pass on to your turkeys. I have never had it show up here, some folks in other areas have. To see if it is a potential problem in your area, either contact your local Ag Extension or see if others in your area have turkeys and chickens. It's a protozoan parasite , it has to be there before any birds can pick it up.

If your turkey tries to mount a chicken hen when breeding season comes in, you will start finding dead hens. I have had it happen the one winter that I put them all together. It doesn't appear to be as bad if they are free range, I can't verify that because with the winters we have up here my birds are still locked in pens when the season starts.

 

[ivan3]

Our chicks were brooded with BBB poults. One poult survived long enough to transition to the coop and run. Cockerel and all but one pullet ignored it. The BSL pullet that spent more time with poult than with flock spent the two days following our putting down the spraddle legged BBB running around the house, loudly giving out with the `Where's the flock' vocalizations.

The heritage poults transitioned outside a month-and-a-half later. The same BSL pullet that had spent so much time with the BBB poult now behaved as if she owned the new turks. She was none to shy about herding them/throwing out hackles and attempting to hen flog them, etc. Several years on, and two more turkey generations in place, that same BSL hen marching to the fire pit where the turks are dirt bathing is sufficient reason for their clearing out, ASAP. No turk dares touch a grape until the chooks have finished.

We have placed a tom in chicken run following the tom's loss at sparring (rest of turks will sometimes gang up on loser). Do have to say that owing to the chooks and turks understanding of their `history' we worry more about the BSL hen charging the tom and the tom beating itself up against fencing in an attempt to get away, than we do about the tom doing damage to the chooks.

Our roo has always pretty much ignored the turks.

Wouldn't keep turks and chooks in same run (more than one tom) owing to the potential for inadvertent injury to chooks if toms start sparring with each other.
Along with those concerns already noted, order of precedence and the amount of space available are important variables to consider as well. Only observation will reveal how it will go with your flocks at your location.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks everyone for imput, next step county ag. I so want turkeys but only if blk head is not an issue here.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Our Midget White turkeys get along fine with our chickens and ducks.... no blackhead in our area, no inter-species mating attempts (knock on wood). We have only a single tom, roo, and drake.

However, there is no way our turkeys will sleep in a coop. They insist on roosting on top of the run.

I did some reading on blackhead disease, and per this article by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, "Its geographic distribution is limited mainly to the eastern and midwestern United States".

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26481--,00.html

 

[NorthTexaschick]

When we were outside a few days ago, my hubby said, "Hey, what's Turkules doing?" Darn jake was standing on top of my head rooster. The roo wasn't making any noise - had just given up. At first I thought the jake had broken his wing, but turns out, the roo's leg was broken along with other injuries. Had to put him down. Dangit! This jake is about 32 wks old. Is this part of his "coming of age?"

He had done ok with the chickens until a week or so ago, when I would hear him "psst!" at them when I was out to feed them or hand out treats. I guess he was giving a warning and none of us took him seriously. He had never shown any serious signs of aggression until the incident with the roo.

Whatever his problem, he is penned now so he can't hurt any of my other chickens.

 

[ivan3]

NorthTexaschick wrote: When we were outside a few days ago, my hubby said, "Hey, what's Turkules doing?" Darn jake was standing on top of my head rooster. The roo wasn't making any noise - had just given up. At first I thought the jake had broken his wing, but turns out, the roo's leg was broken along with other injuries. Had to put him down. Dangit! This jake is about 32 wks old. Is this part of his "coming of age?"

Sorry about your roo

. Jake likely thought roo was a sparring partner (what variety turk?). Had the jake been raised with the chooks? In a shared run at the time of the attack? Some individuals are more aggessive than others. Like roos, certain colors being worn, or behaviors exhibited, by humans, can result in sudden aggression directed at the humans. Have had turks for going on seven years and have never seen this sort of behavior directed at chooks (explained in previous post) or people. However, other member's experiences differ from ours.
Though we stash a tom in with the chooks on occasion, for brief periods, we'd never allow turks to share a common run with the chooks (size differential alone is determinant).​

 

[NorthTexaschick]

The jake is a Bourbon Red and he has been with the chooks all along, free ranging on about 1/3 acre. He's still alone in his pen now, since the incident. He is not aggressive toward me, but does become agitated if one of my sons goes close to the pen and talks to him. He's not aggressive with me but I think he has the hots for me, as he really puts on the strut and sometimes does a "rain dance" when I go in to feed him.

I have two gals for him (what is the proper name for a juvenile female turkey?) but have to secure the top before I put them in with him or they'll just fly out.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

I have two gals for him (what is the proper name for a juvenile female turkey?) but have to secure the top before I put them in with him or they'll just fly out.

A juvenile female turkey is called a jenny.

 

[junglebird]

He's not aggressive with me but I think he has the hots for me, as he really puts on the strut and sometimes does a "rain dance" when I go in to feed him.

Mine's the same, dances for me every time I go out. I now know where Flamenco oroginates!

 

[Mort Bondurant]

Interestingly, it's the turkey hens that will chase the rooster. (Now, my rooster General Taylor is clearly not from fighting stock.) The toms don't seem to view the rooster as a threat and don't bother. This is life in the barnyard: a pecking order is established and then the meeker will steer clear. I recommend getting the midgets.

Mortimer