Turkey hen behavior??

Just wondering if turkey hens will do a display like the toms do? With the tail all fanned, all puffed and wings down? I bought a pair of blue slates but the one I would think is the girl is acting like the bigger Tom?? Help I hope I didn't get 2 boys.

I have bourbons, bronzes, and a slate hen. Yes, hens will do that at times. My slate hen does it more often then my bronzes. But, I have seen it. And yes, I know she is a hen, because just a few minutes later she laid an egg for me.

Ok that makes me feel better!!! She looks like a hen and never sounds like the tom but thought maybe it was a young Tom.

Yes girls will do it. More of a dominance thing.
Our pet turkey Rosie will do that to my youngest, and make the funny "toooooool" noise at her, but also seen her do it when a younger tom or hen was placed with her.
I notices the other day when I put my slate hens back with their tom that one hen was puffing up at another hen, so guessing dominance.
Is your tom and hen the same age?
The thing to watch is the snood, females cannot extend their snoods, only males, so if your "female" has a long snood then most likely a boy, if not then probably just showing your tom some dominance.

Ok makes sense, I was out doing chores and my big commercial whites hang out outside the slates pen and the Tom was doing his thing for them but then the hen came up to the fence and did it towards one of the whites also so I was a little confuzzled at first lol. I believe they are the same age. Was told they were both last years hatch. And the one in question doesn't have the big snood.

So today I was in the pen with them filling water buckets and both the male and female were doing the display but towards my daughter everytime she walked by. Should I be concerned? Will they start being aggressive to her. She is only 17 months but very petite. The turkeys are as tall or taller than her so wondering if I this might be bad.

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Rosies wrote:So today I was in the pen with them filling water buckets and both the male and female were doing the display but towards my daughter everytime she walked by. Should I be concerned? Will they start being aggressive to her. She is only 17 months but very petite. The turkeys are as tall or taller than her so wondering if I this might be bad.

You know, mine were hand raised by myself and my daughters, ages four yrs and 20 months. They are laying and a year old that I currently have. My children have always been out there with them. However, they display at both of them. I have never had them get aggressive, but they are never in there alone. They can go into the chickens alone, but cant reach the latch for the turkeys. I think again it is a dominance thing. They are telling my kids, hey, this is mine. If I ever see aggressive behavior they then will be on my table. I find that they pay them less attention when they are giving the turkeys treats. So usually they each carry a small kids size bucket of feed for them.