Dominant Tom Size

[Meleagris gallopavo]

I'm of the belief that dominant Toms aren't necessarily larger than subordinates.  My definition of a dominant Tom is one that has a harem of hens he's always with.  Sometimes there's more than one Tom with a group of hens but the top of the pecking order doesn't necessarily mean larger with a longer, thicker beard and longer spurs.  I've been watching and listening to a Tom with several hens lately, and while he's nice, there's a group of 3 Toms that have been showing up together in the same field and one or two of those is bigger.  Just thought I'd run my thoughts on that by the group.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tail Feathers]

I once called in two toms.  One was clearly the boss, pecking at the other, edging him out and pushing him in the race to my calling.  He acted like the dominant of the two for sure.  They got closer and Mr. Dominant was a jake and the one being pushed around was a longbeard.
I think it sometimes comes down to aggressiveness and behavior as much as size.

[RutnNStrutn]

Just like with people, it's not the size of the gobbler, it's the size of the fight that gobbler has in him.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

[Happy]

Its all about attitude. I have a rooster like that. He has tried to fight my wife's dog three times and his record is 0-3. He will try  again at the next available opportunity.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[TauntoHawk]

Just like bucks attitude is a big factor. Also the dominant bird often is spending so much time tending to the hens and keep other males in check he's loses weight much faster than a subordinate bird who is still pecking around and eating on the edge of the flock.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Meleagris gallopavo]

My son's 2nd gobbler years ago was by himself off the roost, had an 11 inch beard, 1 inch spurs and weighed almost 26 lbs!  I guess what I'm saying is that dominant Toms are not always "trophy" birds.  They are also harder to kill because they're with so many hens from daybreak to sundown.

[Greg Massey]

Just like with people, it's not the size of the gobbler, it's the size of the fight that gobbler has in him.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

X2.. this pretty well answers your question..

[randy6471]

Just like with people, it's not the size of the gobbler, it's the size of the fight that gobbler has in him.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

X3...seen it many times.

[Cowboy]

Just like with people, it's not the size of the gobbler, it's the size of the fight that gobbler has in him.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

You beat me to this statement! I agree

[silvestris]

It is the hens who make the decision as to the gobbler with whom she will mate, and like human females, it ain't always the biggest, baddest male on the block.

[WV Flopper]

 Silvestris, I disagree. He doesn't have to be the biggest, but he will be the baddest! And will have the heart to back it up. Mike Tyson was 18! Yes, this does apply. We are talking a harem here, who wants a harem? Who here would take a harem? Got to think wild, they are animals. Some of us are not.

You can not compare women to animals. Even though, sometimes girls do like the bad boys.

[MK M GOBL]

Just goes to the Alpha / Beta / Omega. This is how I hunt turkeys, I identify the Alpha, learn him and then hunt him. I have learned the social structure and the ques that go along with it, I always take the dominant bird of the flock when possible, them birds sort it back out right then and Beta takes over (New Alpha) this is sorted out daily in the flock. I have some great footage of all this I show in my seminars and funny how many do not this stuff. Learn the bird!

Of course we already know the hen rules the roost 


MK M GOBL

[RutnNStrutn]

Its all about attitude. I have a rooster like that. He has tried to fight my wife's dog three times and his record is 0-3. He will try  again at the next available opportunity.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

LMAO!!!!

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

[tazmaniac]

Dominance is more related to body size and agressiveness than any other factor.  Spur size and beard length are irrelevant.

The pecking order is tested throughout the year, and the biggest birds can handle their own, lose a couple pounds during breeding season from decreased caloric intake, and still stay on top of the pile when challengers arive.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

[ManfromGreenSwamp]

Every single time I've killed all the birds of a group, the first in command had the longest Spurs. Just my observation from Florida.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk