The troubles of owning turkeys

[Myah1011]

The troubles of owning turkeys, does anyone else’s turkeys do this, it’s funny but like..

 

[R2elk]

The troubles of owning turkeys, does anyone else’s turkeys do this, it’s funny but like..

Mine don't do that because their roosts are outside in a location sheltered from the prevailing wind. If they decided to try to roost somewhere inappropriate, I would shoo them from that location before it was dark.

 

[PetMomKathy]

My 11 week-old turkeys have flown into trees when out free-ranging, but come down as soon as the rest of the flock (and I)walk away. I had an emergency out of state two weeks ago and my sister-in-law watched the farm. She was afraid to let the turkeys out because she didn't think she could get them back into their coop, so they were in for the entire six days that we were gone ( it is a large coop). They were so excited when we got home and let them out for over an hour that they have not given me any trouble at all going back to their coop since then. In fact, they figured out the routine pretty quickly (horses get fed first - grain in a bowl and then hay in the field), and by day three, they had put themselves away while I was putting out hay! I only feed them in the coop - morning and night - and let them out while I work, usually for about 3 hours. They do get dried mealworm treats when they come in for the night, and they know what the bag looks like. I am new to turkeys, but it seems to me that a routine works for turkeys. Alas, the turks are not yet three months old, so all of this good behavior may be horse feathers by mating season.

 

[Evadig]

My turkeys (two female heritage) are three months old this last Tuesday. They definitely do well on a routine (though I often need to herd them into their pen at night - they can’t be trusted to regularly put themselves to bed) and while they haven’t tried flying into the trees yet they love flying onto the pool! So hopefully yours will still be behaved at three months!

 

[PetMomKathy]

Mine have a pond. I am excavating (by hand) a very large tree root left from when the pond was dug in 2004. I am currently slow draining to expose enough to get a chain saw in well below water level. What does this have to do with turkeys, you ask? They seem to think that my digging is an invitation for them to investigate. Think: cat sitting on your newspaper or keyboard. I cannot do any "heavy" work involving the hatchet or big shovel with them around. And the trowel is a special invitation. I know that I am their "mother" and apparently my digging is something like a mother hen teaching her poults to scratch for food. They are out and about because I want them to free range (except at night) once they are full grown. Often they are exploring 50 - 100 feet away, but if they catch me digging, they run/fly over to join the fun!

 

[Evadig]

Mine follow me wherever I go - it’s cute, but can be annoying at times.