Within minutes the mature tom came in from behind me, spitting and drumming as he circled out into the open to face the jakes again. I began calling to them so I could take a few pictures, but the show wasn’t over yet. ![]() The victorious five jakes fed and strutted along the green grass skid road. The five jakes were so aggressive I told Henry I labeled them the “Morgan County Street Gang.” The mature tom soon lost his confidence and ran into the woods. I was shocked to see such an unusual spectacle. The fight was on, as each jake was going at the mature tom, one after another. However, that wasn’t the case this time.Īll five jakes ran at the tom like the defensive line of a pro football team. No problem-this mature tom will run the jakes off. As my intended mature gobbler continued to strut toward me, five jakes appeared from the woodland cover between the tom and myself. Within seconds, the real show was about to begin. Then, he committed and began strutting down the hillside’s logging trail. And he gobbled again, and I called once more. Then, I saw him standing at a landscape rise on one of Henry’s timber skid roads. I called again and he replied with a deep gobble. No doubt, he was on the move searching for hens. Stroking the chalked paddle of my box call to mimic an excited hen turkey, my sequence was cut short by an approaching gobbler somewhere in front of me. I waited for several minutes-then he double-gobbled. Then, at 7:35 a.m., a loud “gobble” was heard. Henry had told me the birds had been active, so I became more impatient. There had been limited gobbling after daylight, which was abnormal. I was taking pre-hunting season turkey pictures at my Amish friend’s property, Henry Miller. They used all their fighting tools: wings, spurs, beaks, body postures and aggressive vocals. Twice, the woodland “street gang” pounded the lone mature gobbler. I watched five jakes dominate one mature gobbler. Not many hunters are fortunate enough to view and study turkeys during a session of fighting. I believe pecking order could be defined as the “physical” pecking turkeys force upon each other’s neck and head as they spar to establish their social role placement. ![]() Turkeys fight for many reasons, such mating rights, territorial usage and social intra flock structure.įighting establishes their pecking order. However, throughout the diverse habitats of the wild turkey, events aren’t always serene, and include dramatic physical clashes. In a perfect world, every life form gets along. ![]() So, how does turkey fighting affect hunters? How often do the turkeys fight and what initiates these actions? Toms especially fight, to establish dominance throughout spring mating activities. But the inner social structure of turkeys often includes physical conflicts between each bird. Most of the time they spend their days feeding, loafing and roosting at night. Throughout any given year, when hens and toms are not mating, these elusive birds share their days in flocks of their own. The social structure of wild turkeys can be complex.
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