My Little Troublemakers

[Coops Dad]

I have three young Red Bourbon turkeys which refuse to go into the tractor shed at the end of the day even though they have several roosts of varying heights that were set up specifically for them. Every evening, I have to either shoo them into the shed (20' x 30' with a 14' roof, open ended on the 20' side facing south) or pick them up one-by-one and move them into a roost inside. This is my sixth hatch of heritage turkeys but the first group that would rather spend the night on top of the gate instead of inside the shed with their chicken hatchmates. I do a 50/50 incubation mix of chickens and turkeys, partly so the chicks can teach the poults how to eat, drink and scratch, and partly to socialize them into being members of the main flock.

Rebellious little red birds, they are aloof and skittish around people- a first for me. Every other turkey I've ever had has been overly social and almost doglike in their interactions with folks. These little guys are like ghosts, curious but keeping clumps of brush and grass between them and me; just near enough to keep an eye on what I'm doing yet far enough to dart away if they feel encroached upon.

 

[Tonyroo]

There behavior sounds like a wild turkey.

 

[N F C]

That's interesting how different they are from your previous turkeys.

 

[Coops Dad]

That's interesting how different they are from your previous turkeys.

I got the eggs from the same people who still have the same breed stock, and I raised them in the same brooder,same food, same level of interaction... and these three are just different. They also don't care at all about the chickens they hatched with (American Bresse rooster over RIR hens put in a week after the turkey eggs began incubation) which is also different from my prior poults. The prior poults were attached to their hatchmates and, by extension, to the flock as if born to it; these guys are clearly 100% not citizens. When it's time to process them, I'll have to catch them after dark and pen them overnight to keep from having to chase them over the entire county.