Adult turkeys peck at poult when introduced

[lexy2006]

At the moment we have a tom and two hens. One of our hens somehow have made a nest outside and it was too late when we discovered it. She had 15 eggs from which 11 hatched. Unfortunately, we realised too late that it was way too cold for them. They hatched in December and it kept raining- they were inside, though. Most of them died and we wanted to save the leftover four, but the next morning three died and we took the last one inside in a box. Luckily, the poult made it!

Now comes the problem. The poult is now exactly 9 weeks old and has become too big too keep in a box. It looks like it has all its feathers already and it has gotten warmer outside. So we decided to put the poult to the adult turkeys. Obviously the mother hen doesn’t recognise it anymore. All three puffed up and they started to peck at the poult. We were scared that they would kill it. So we decided to put them with our chicken (our three other chickens were unfortunately eaten by a dog because they somehow had gotten out of our like farm) and she was even more aggressive with it.

Now we don’t know what to do, because we can’t keep the poult inside anymore. Is it okay to keep the poult with the turkeys when they are so aggressive? Could it be a possibility that they’ll kill it? We’ve never had poultry so this is all new to us.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Is it possible to make a little pen inside of the turkey area for the young poult? I've done this using fencing or netting that is too small for the poult to stick it's head through yet still allows them to see it and it to see them. Right now it's a complete stranger and they have to get used to it and this may take some time. Your poult also needs to gain in size and maturity.

If that is not possible you can keep the poult with the chickens for a while? There is a risk the turkey could contract blackhead disease from being with chickens (it is present in some soils and can be passed from asymptomatic chickens) but depending on your set up you might decide the risk is worth it.
If your older turkeys and chickens interact anyway, or use the same areas, then keeping the young poult with the chickens shouldn't be an issue
I don't currently have turkeys but had them for 10 years and always kept them in a mixed flock with chickens, and often ducks, without any issues. Save for one of the toms and my drake duck often arguing over who was really the boss of the farm.

 

[R2elk]

Now we don’t know what to do, because we can’t keep the poult inside anymore. Is it okay to keep the poult with the turkeys when they are so aggressive? Could it be a possibility that they’ll kill it? We’ve never had poultry so this is all new to us.

You need to do a see no touch introduction and it may take awhile. If you just turn it in with the adult turkeys, it is possible that they can kill it. They need time to become familiar with it and it needs to learn turkey behavior so it can avoid getting pecked to put it in its place.

Put it where the adult turkeys can see it but not hurt it. Do not put it in with the turkeys until any aggression through the fence has stopped. Even after that, you need to watch closely how they interact with each other. It can be helpful to have a lot of room, obstructions and hiding places for all involved so that the little one can escape from any unwanted interactions.