Can a Tom protect his hen while she is setting

[Corsomama]

First time with a brooding turkey hen. For background we started with 8 straight run, only had 1 female and kept 1 male, luckily both her favorite and mine. They seem like a bonded pair although I don’t know if that’s a thing with turkeys. She is approximately 1 week out from hatch and has a nice private woodsy spot within about a 1200 sq ft enclosed and covered run. We border on national forest and have had predator issues so they have to stay protected. Main enclosure is 20x40 and we added an extra 12x 20 of undisturbed vegetation in addition for her to choose a nest. The Tom seems to want to be near her and paces the corner where her nest is during the day but goes off to roost on his own at night. I have not observed him bothering her in any way. He is the calmest and friendliest out of the batch and i get the sense he is guarding her but from what i have read it seems like he might just be waiting on the opportunity to mate her. My question is should I block him off as we near hatch time or let them work it out. He really is a sweet boy and has never displayed any aggressive behavior except toward other Tom to guard his lady, he is a black slate and she is Narragansett if that makes a difference.

 

[R2elk]

First time with a brooding turkey hen. For background we started with 8 straight run, only had 1 female and kept 1 male, luckily both her favorite and mine. They seem like a bonded pair although I don’t know if that’s a thing with turkeys. She is approximately 1 week out from hatch and has a nice private woodsy spot within about a 1200 sq ft enclosed and covered run. We border on national forest and have had predator issues so they have to stay protected. Main enclosure is 20x40 and we added an extra 12x 20 of undisturbed vegetation in addition for her to choose a nest. The Tom seems to want to be near her and paces the corner where her nest is during the day but goes off to roost on his own at night. I have not observed him bothering her in any way. He is the calmest and friendliest out of the batch and i get the sense he is guarding her but from what i have read it seems like he might just be waiting on the opportunity to mate her. My question is should I block him off as we near hatch time or let them work it out. He really is a sweet boy and has never displayed any aggressive behavior except toward other Tom to guard his lady, he is a black slate and she is Narragansett if that makes a difference.

Toms should not be allowed access to a hen's nest. They take the setting hen as an invitation to breed. The hens resist the breeding attempts.

The results can be broken eggs, an injured hen or in the worst case scenario, a dead hen.

Your tom is not guarding her nest, he is looking for an opportunity to breed her.

 

[Corsomama]

Thank you that was my concern

 

[Corsomama]

Toms should not be allowed access to a hen's nest. They take the setting hen as an invitation to breed. The hens resist the breeding attempts.

The results can be broken eggs, an injured hen or in the worst case scenario, a dead hen.

Your tom is not guarding her nest, he is looking for an opportunity to breed her.

Thanks so much for the response, I had read that too but was hoping my guy might be an exception to the rule lol. I went ahead and enclosed her maternity suite with a faux gate just to be safe. Excited for her babies, she’s sitting on 16 eggs and she was from a batch of 15 so fingers crossed we will have a nice little flock soon.

 

[R2elk]

Thanks so much for the response, I had read that too but was hoping my guy might be an exception to the rule lol. I went ahead and enclosed her maternity suite with a faux gate just to be safe. Excited for her babies, she’s sitting on 16 eggs and she was from a batch of 15 so fingers crossed we will have a nice little flock soon.

In nature the hens hide their nest not only from predators but also from the toms. They will not rejoin the main flocks until the fall when their poults are nearly adults.

Some domestic toms can be really good with poults while others aren't.

I like to keep my poults out of the general population until they are at least a month. There are too many things that can happen to day old poults that are bad.

 

[Corsomama]

In nature the hens hide their nest not only from predators but also from the toms. They will not rejoin the main flocks until the fall when their poults are nearly adults.

Some domestic toms can be really good with poults while others aren't.

I like to keep my poults out of the general population until they are at least a month. There are too many things that can happen to day old poults that are bad.

That’s great to know too, I have 6 that are 2 weeks old that I incubated in case her hatch doesn’t go well. They are in a stock tank at the moment, i figured in another week or so I will move them to a spare enclosure that should be sufficient until they are 6 weeks or so. Then they will have to go into the pen with the tom or in with the new mama.

 

[Corsomama]

That’s great to know too, I have 6 that are 2 weeks old that I incubated in case her hatch doesn’t go well. They are in a stock tank at the moment, i figured in another week or so I will move them to a spare enclosure that should be sufficient until they are 6 weeks or so. Then they will have to go into the pen with the tom or in with the new mama.

One more question or perhaps just an observation, my Tom stood up straight and stretched and I noticed all of his chest feathers are missing, plucked clean like a broody hen does. I don’t think my hen is missing nearly as many as him. I had read someone else’s post that their Tom did the same thing but tromped all the eggs to death. I’m glad they are separated, hoping that when they are bigger he will do ok with them.

 

[R2elk]

One more question or perhaps just an observation, my Tom stood up straight and stretched and I noticed all of his chest feathers are missing, plucked clean like a broody hen does. I don’t think my hen is missing nearly as many as him. I had read someone else’s post that their Tom did the same thing but tromped all the eggs to death. I’m glad they are separated, hoping that when they are bigger he will do ok with them.

The toms often will rub their breast feathers off by strutting back and forth along a fence.

Just like all turkeys, all toms are individuals with their own quirks.

One man was really proud of how good of a father his was until he came home to dead poults from the tom apparently trying to breed them.

Toms that are good fathers are good fathers right up until they aren't. It can happen very quickly. Best to be on the safe side and keep him separate.

 

[Corsomama]

The toms often will rub their breast feathers off by strutting back and forth along a fence.

Just like all turkeys, all toms are individuals with their own quirks.

One man was really proud of how good of a father his was until he came home to dead poults from the tom apparently trying to breed them.

Toms that are good fathers are good fathers right up until they aren't. It can happen very quickly. Best to be on the safe side and keep him separate.

Than

The toms often will rub their breast feathers off by strutting back and forth along a fence.

Just like all turkeys, all toms are individuals with their own quirks.

One man was really proud of how good of a father his was until he came home to dead poults from the tom apparently trying to breed them.

Toms that are good fathers are good fathers right up until they aren't. It can happen very quickly. Best to be on the safe side and keep him separate.

Will do! Thanks again for all the info

 

[Corsomama]

Update: added my 4 week old poults to gen pop with fencing that they can pop back and forth through for protection and everyone is getting along great!