March 8, 2023

Big Changes For Our Turkeys

Our Jersey Buff

Awhile back, I lamented that we thought our three young turkeys were probably all male. This is our first time with turkeys, so we have no past experience to guide us, plus, there were no distinguishing characteristics amongst our turkeys to compare physical traits and behavior. On top of that, turkeys are slower to mature than chickens, so we had a lot of uncertainty.

Our two Spanish Blacks

Guidance around the internet is vague to not helpful, I suppose because everyone wants to leave room for the exceptions to the rule. Most information is geared toward poults anyway, and after getting the wrong kind of websites in a search for "sexing young adult turkeys," I decided to turn to Permies to ask for help there. The Permies forums are my go-to place to talk to knowledgeable and experienced people with goals similar to Dan's and mine.

The consensus amongst turkey wranglers there was that we have three hens! Dan took to Craigslist to see if he could find them a Tom, and the next day brought home this guy. . .


He's a Bourbon Red, and was the best choice of the available options. Dan had to drive a ways to fetch him, but he was priced at $60, whereas the available nearby toms were priced between $150 and $300. 

We put him in the turkey yard, so that everyone could become acquainted by sight and smell through the fence. Our ladies were immediately interested.

Becoming acquainted includes us too. Adult animals, especially males, require a lot of respect when handling them. The adage to never turn your back on them is true, even when they know you. YouTube is filled with videos of humans being incredibly stupid with animals: poking, teasing, taunting, daring one another to go in with them, and generally assuming animals are like the goofy characters in cartoons. Everybody laughs when they get a reaction, but that only teaches critters that humans are not trustworthy. And once a bad experience imprints on an animal. it is near impossible to train out of them.

So that's the newest addition to the homestead. We haven't seen turkey eggs yet, but our hens are finally coming into mature, and turkey breeding season is just arriving.

18 comments:

Michelle said...

Well, congrats on having three hens! It will be interesting to see the resulting poults out of the two different crosses.

Leigh said...

Thanks, Michelle! That's interesting is that the Jersey Buff breed is actually an experimental comeback. The original Jerseys were lost, and turkey breeders wanted to bring it back. They did it by crossing Bourbon Reds with Spanish Blacks, and selecting offspring for color. They got a consistent buff color in three years, and then worked on conformation. I would have liked to get a Jersey Buff tom, but none were available, so this was the next best thing. I agree it will be interesting to see how the poults turn out.

SmartAlex said...

He's beautiful! I always wanted Bourbon Red Turkeys. It is hard to sex turkeys. My ex-husband once shot what he thought was a wild jake because it had a nice long beard, then when he cleaned it, "he" was full of eggs!

daisy g said...

So exciting! What a looker he is!

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

It is exciting! I love the colors of the Buff and the Bourbon Red - the only turkeys I am exposed to on a regular basis are the local wild kind, which are a sort of bland brown (although spectacular in their own way during mating season).

Dangerous Males - I have an unnatural fear of geese even now as I was attacked by one when I was 3-4 years old. Also, I had a rather scarring experience with a rooster later. This is one reason I like quail: Much easier to handle.

Ed said...

I am reminded of an incident where we were plucking chickens as kids and somebody stopped by to talk and help. As we worked, I could see them raise the chickens up, spread their legs and look, before continuing to pluck. Eventually they fessed up that they couldn't tell if they were male or female chickens.

I was always wary around bulls and boars and not so much around the heifers and sows, at least unless they had nursing offspring. The male animals would take advantage of you if you weren't looking from time to time. Once, a boar snuck up behind me and gave me a ride over a five foot tall fence with plenty of room to spare. I felt like I had been hit by a Mac truck!

Leigh said...

Alex, oh my. That's why we wanted to make sure! The confirmation has been that all three of our originals have let him breed them. We're hoping that eventually they will all identify as their own flock. Right now, the hens are used to hanging out with the chickens. The tom was an only turkey, so he's not exactly socialized to the turkey thing either. It will be interesting to watch how it develops.

Daisy, thanks! Yes, he's very handsome. :)

TB, interesting about the quail. My mother used to tell a similar goose story, having been chased by a goose on her aunt's farm when she was a little girl. Roosters, too, can be aggressive. Our first rooster was until he went after me. He ended up in the soup pot shortly after that.

Ed, oh no! Hopefully, you weren't hurt? We learned to give our boar a lot of space too, although most of the time he was friendly enough. Never did quite trust him, though. And I've had two bucks be aggressive with me. One lunged at me and caught my thigh with his horn and the other "playfully" butted me as I was going out the gate.

Respect can't be emphasized enough.

Jenn Jilks said...

You have such adventures!

tpals said...

He is a handsome fellow. I've often wished I could entice a couple hen turkeys to move in with Gru, but technically I'm not allowed to have them in town. Good thing he is wild and doesn't count! (But are they really wild when they run for the gate to see what treats I've brought?)

Leigh said...

Jill, wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Tpals, I love that!

Annie in Ocala said...

Congratulations! He's beautiful! I love turkeys and plan on adding some soon. I've had several here over the years and raised some to eat, and kept some for mating but the foxes/coyotes put end to that. Seems that one good thing from all the new neighbors that have cleared the woods and put fences up I have much less predation lately.
For now I'll look forward to seeing how it goes for you guys.

Leigh said...

Thanks Annie! Coyotes are a concern for us too, especially because Big Tom insists on roosting outdoors at night. I agree that fences help. I know coyotes can jump over all our fences, but there are a lot of them around the barnyard, plus we make our presence known all day long.

Nina said...

We don't have a rooster, and having to explain to adults that you can still get eggs from hens, without a rooster is always entertaining. I too had a bad experience with a goose, and a near miss with a llama. The llama was a shepherd saying he was gentle, when in fact the shepherd needed a crook to fend the llama off.Your Tom is lovely. We've got wild turkeys and a friend had bronze turkeys, but the red really is a pretty option.
The temperature was above freezing yesterday and we had melting! YAY! Today, sigh, we've another snow storm.

Goatldi said...

He is a stud muffin to be certain!

Fingers crossed for a rousing success!

I agree not only is cruising the internet weird at times it is also one of no one wants to offend anyone. Have we turned the corner and is it truly the direction we want to go?? Stay tuned.

Leigh said...

Nina, males require a wide berth. I think the bourbon red is a heritage breed, whereas the bronze are a commercial breed (???) Nice to hear you're getting peeks at spring!

Goatldi, well, we've got the turkey tango going on every day, so I'd say - success!

Internet - I agree. Especially when one side thinks they are allowed to be rude and mean but the other side isn't.

I'm fascinated with 19th century literature because of the conversations people have. They get together and discuss all manner of topics with a wide range of opinions, including disagreements, yet no one gets offended. Everyone sees these conversations as interesting and excellent entertainment. Quite a contrast from today.

Quinn said...

A friend raises a few turkeys for Thanksgiving birds each year, and her tom made it very clear to me that I couldn't take my eyes off him for a nanosecond. Oddly, my friend was standing right there, chatting away to me, and when I interrupted her to point out the turkey's behavior, insisted that he was perfectly friendly and harmless. I finally took off my coat to flap at the tom if he came any closer, and my friend got agitated with ME - I don't know what she thought I was going to do when I took my coat off, challenge the bird to a fistfight? - and herded the turkey away. It was a decidedly strange experience, not because of the turkey's behavior, but because of the human!

Quinn said...

Apart from my long story, I want to say congrats on the three hens AND your new tom!

Leigh said...

Quinn, I could picture the whole thing in my mind! I don't think some folks understand that their own animals, who are trusting and friendly toward them, don't see strangers in the same way. I've seen this mostly with dog owners, "my dog would never . . . " until their dog kills someone else's chicken!

One of the most fascinating and helpful books I've read on livestock behavior is Temple Grandin's Working with Farm Animals. She helped me understand how differently from humans animals perceive and think about everything around them.