Birdy Playground

I was very curious with this question. In theory turkeys know where their home is and almost always come back. So if one has their turkeys in at night so predators cannot get to them. Why spend the time or money for fencing them in? Is there a reason for fencing them in when they clearly can fly right over the fence/ So what is the fencing for?

turksinmaine said:

I was very curious with this question. In theory turkeys know where their home is and almost always come back. So if one has their turkeys in at night so predators cannot get to them. Why spend the time or money for fencing them in? Is there a reason for fencing them in when they clearly can fly right over the fence/ So what is the fencing for?

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One of the very important reasons for a fence is to keep a variety of predators out. I have lost a lot of poultry over the years because inconsiderate owners do not contain their pets (dogs). Fences if built properly can do a good job in containing turkeys on your own property. How important it is to keep your animals on your own property will be determined by your neighbors. The considerate thing to do is to keep your animals on your own property.

I have a 6' perimeter fence that my turkeys can easily fly over but they don't. The fence does not have an inviting top rail which helps to discourage them from perching on the fence. Prior to putting up this particular perimeter fence the most common cause of the turkeys getting out of the fenced area was by landing on the top rail of the previous fence and then hopping down on the wrong side of the fence.

Fences are also very necessary when raising multiple varieties of turkeys in order to keep the various types separate from each other.

Hi Bob -- what type fence do you now have? Welded wire or woven mesh of some sort? I know they hop over a 6 ft. dog eared board fence with ease.

kimberly35042 said:

Hi Bob -- what type fence do you now have? Welded wire or woven mesh of some sort? I know they hop over a 6 ft. dog eared board fence with ease.

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Because mine is 2"x4" welded wire there is no landing spot on top of the fence to encourage them to jump up there. A wooden fence would be very encouraging to them as a place to sit and of course 9 out of 10 times they will get down on the wrong side of the fence.

NICE! Thanks so much for sharing a picture and the info.

I would also say that turkeys won't always find their way back to the safety of their home. The Bourbon Reds I raised last year got out to free range almost every afternoon and several times they wandered pretty far and I had to go searching for them. I walked in larger and larger circles calling them and then they finally called back and I found them down in this gully, maybe a tenth of a mile from home. They seemed very happy to see me and followed me all the way back to the run. I also find that if I let them stay out too late they'd find alternate places to roost for the night, like up on the roof of the house. I'm sure they felt safe up there, but I think they are safer locked up in there secure coop for the night.

R2elk said:

One of the very important reasons for a fence is to keep a variety of predators out.

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I agree.
The fence is not to keep them in but the predators out.