Dominance?

[guesswho]

I know seasons a long ways off but I have a question.  All this dominance stuff doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  If you have three mature birds in an area can only one of them be the boss?  Or can gobbler A be dominant over gobbler B, and B be dominant over C, and C over A?    And if A is dominant over b and c, could that change mid season? 

[Flydown]

Not sure and don't care but I'm pretty sure that all 3 of them are gonna have a headache if they stay in said area and try to be the dominate one. 

[hookedspur]

Not sure and don't care but I'm pretty sure that all 3 of them are gonna have a headache if they stay in said area and try to be the dominate one. 

[vaturkey]

 Gobbler A is the dominant bird until I kill him. Gobbler B & C are FUNNY GOBBLERS until gobbler A dies. Then gobbler B is not so funny until I kill him. Once gobbler A & B dies I give gobbler C a little break & go kill gobbler D & E. Once gobbler D & E dies gobbler C is no longer a FUNNY GOBBLER. Now that gobbler C is the dominant bird I get out the Dog Whistle & Squealing Hen. Gobbler C was the best eatin cause he didn't have any jelly on his belly.   


     

[handcannon]

All this A through E mess is sounding more like an algebra problem. Shoot em all and stomp the eggs!

[Skeeterbait]

I think it depends on the individual birds and to some degree there ages.  I have seen older birds that seem to not allow any other gobblers in there presence.  I have seen an older bird act like the commander with a number of lieutenant gobblers allowed in his presence but only he struts and the others serve as sentries.  And I have seen two or three birds of same age and stature seem to work as a team with all strutting for the hen or call.  These usually seem to be two year olds when an older bird isn't in the area and I wonder if they may be hatch mates.  I do not know if they share breeding rights but I suspect so.  Turkeys squabble and fight to work out a pecking order but I don't know how far down the list the ordering goes.  I do believe that pecking order can change during the season as a dominant bird gets killed or simply looses stature due to the toll on him from breeding and gets challenged by another bird.    

[Tail Feathers]

I don't know if they have a full pecking order or if it consists of one dominant and the rest are equal subordinates.
I suspect it's one dominant and equal subordinates but that's far from a scientific viewpoint.

I think it can change during season.  I've seen it change at the sight of the dominant tom hitting the dirt!

From what I've read, it's pretty much a regular thing for turkeys to test dominance.

[Turkey Beard]

I think that if Gobbler B is oen bad dude but not quite bad enough, he'll either stay subdominant to Gobbler A or go out & find a new territory where he can become Gobbler A.  I think that there's just one dominant bird in an area and the rest are arranged like rungs on a ladder... pecking order doesn't exist just for the top spot, it's also there for the ones who are trying to get up to the B spot, C spot, etc.

[drenalinld]

I think it can be any of the scenarios you describe. This pecking order can be challenged hourly, daily, weekly or less frequently when subordinate gets unhappy with established order. It may or may not change with each challenge.

One thing I know for sure. The hen is dominant at my place!

[FANMAN]

It's really pretty simple Ronnie......A+B=C/B-A




Wish I was there to see your eyes spinning around in your head.

[guesswho]

It's really pretty simple Ronnie......A+B=C/B-A




Wish I was there to see your eyes spinning around in your head.

I think that equals zero, so I'm guessing your saying kill'em all.   I think that's the plan I'm going with. 

[longspur]

pie are square

[guesswho]

pie are square

And I are confused.  Seems like I can always count on getting good straight forward clear answers here

[chatterbox]

pie are square

And I are confused.  Seems like I can always count on getting good straight forward clear answers here

I say go with your first instinct Ronnie. Just shoot them all.

[longspur]

pie are square

And I are confused.  Seems like I can always count on getting good straight forward clear answers here

oh! I'm sorry, I thought I was on the three word story. LOL
My uncle had turkey most of my life that were not hunted for at least 3 or 4 miles.He fed them in his yard. The dominance thing never seemed to be cut in stone. Sometimes there was one that seemed dominant, other times two or three would run together and beat up on the rest. Once there was a dominant bird for several years then two younger birds teamed up on him. Number of hens and individual attitude probably comes into play.