Young strutting

[Devils Flower]

I thought it would be fun to see what’s the youngest people have see their turkeys strut?

Last year my two poults that turned out to be males starting strutting at 4wks old.
Royal palm, Beep-Beep.
View attachment 2648706
This little one started under 2wks old. Store had him marked as artisan gold. View attachment 2648707

I say “him” but do keep in mind that females can strut too. My very, very limited experience has been that only my males strutted so early. I hope I ended up with mostly females this year. Otherwise I’ll be stocking the freezer and trying again next year.

So what ages have you guys see your poults strut?
I think it looks hilarious

They are so cute when they start doing that. My baby's started doing that around 3 weeks. At that time 2 would puff up like that and start pushing each other around.
It just warms the heart when they strut and just makes the day better.

 

[Isadora]

I have had them strut as young as 3 days old.

My 5-day-old chick just did it yesterday! It was hilarious because he's just a fuzzball. Naturally I didn't have my camera ready or anything, but it was adorable.. naturally I didn't have my camera ready or anything, but it was adorable.

 

[mldoublee]

I have a question about this! I have 3 poults that are all strutting, but here's the thing:

They all met each other at different times and I'm wondering if this is affecting the behavior. The first one is 3 weeks old. The other two are 1.5 weeks old. Baby 1 started strutting when I introduced Baby 2 to him/her. Baby 2 didn't start strutting until Baby 3 made an appearance a couple days later. Now all 3 of them are strutting.

What's the likelihood that I wound up hatching 3 toms vs. them mimicking the behaviors from the older ones, respectively? So curious!

 

[R2elk]

I have a question about this! I have 3 poults that are all strutting, but here's the thing:

They all met each other at different times and I'm wondering if this is affecting the behavior. The first one is 3 weeks old. The other two are 1.5 weeks old. Baby 1 started strutting when I introduced Baby 2 to him/her. Baby 2 didn't start strutting until Baby 3 made an appearance a couple days later. Now all 3 of them are strutting.

What's the likelihood that I wound up hatching 3 toms vs. them mimicking the behaviors from the older ones, respectively? So curious!

In your case the strutting may be nothing more than a dominance issue. Yes they may all turn out to be toms but other members have had young females display at an early age.

 

[mldoublee]

I'm so excited to find out!

 

[turkey girl 0964]

I'm so excited to find out!

Turkeys are so amazing aren't they!

 

[SarahGfa]

Is there any relationship between young strutting and becoming an aggressive turkey as an adult?

 

[R2elk]

Is there any relationship between young strutting and becoming an aggressive turkey as an adult?

None of mine ever became people aggressive but I go out of my way to make sure that mine do not get imprinted.

 

[SarahGfa]

None of mine ever became people aggressive but I go out of my way to make sure that mine do not get imprinted.

What about aggression towards each other? are the young strutters more likely to fight with other males?

 

[R2elk]

What about aggression towards each other? are the young strutters more likely to fight with other males?

No more so than any others during breeding season.