This Turkey Tuesday is about being cantankerous and crotchety. In the wild turkey world, when we think of fights erupting and birds scuffling with each other, our mind typically goes to visions of toms duking it out in early spring as breeding season approaches. However, with fall approaching, hens will also get into scuffles when other hens raise their ire. As we enter fall, hens will start forming larger flocks that will carry through winter, and forming these flocks sees birds unfamiliar with each other suddenly foraging and roosting together. Some hens in these groups have already sorted their dominance hierarchies, but others have not, and fall is the time to do so. But why does dominance matter in hen flocks? One, dominant birds get access to preferred resources, whether it be food, roost locations, or nesting areas next spring. Two, dominant hens breed first, and nest earlier than subordinate hens, so there’s a reproductive advantage to being dominant. Three, these early nesting hens are more likely to hatch their nests, and earlier hatched poults typically have higher survival than those hatched later. So all things being equal, there’s incentives for hens to assert and maintain dominance over other hens. The take home is the upcoming months of fall are important in structuring the flocks of hens that will comprise our breeding populations next spring.
Pic by Monte Loomis
