BackYardTurkeys??? What My Neighbor Found - Pics

[Nifty-Chicken]

Monday I was outside and my neighbor (who I've known since I was a kid and who has graciously put up with our chickens, duck, and a bad stint with sheep) said, "You're not raising turkeys now are you?"

I thought it was a joke so I replied that I hadn't. Turns out that they had a hen in their backyard!?!?

Not a huge deal for most people, but I'm in a pretty suburban area. Lots of houses, busy roads, a 5 lane freeway, etc. There are some regional park / open areas a couple miles away, but we've never seen turkeys in our backyards!

How far do wild turkeys fly? This one would have had to either fly a few miles or do a lot of yard jumping to get from where it lives to our neighbor's yard. Any ideas why it was out and about?

 

[Cara]

It is breeding season for wild turkeys (now and the fall). Perhaps it's looking for a mate.

 

[citalk2much]

Wild turkeys are great flyers LOL
I live almost in downtown Grand Rapids and I have them in my yard all the time. They are losing habitat so fast poor things. Animal control called me last summer needing a place to store a "domestic" turkey found right down town when they got here it was a really mad wild turkey and two well run, best animal control officers LOL after I got done laughing at the poor guys I housed it and released it a couple days later in the country.

 

[TexasVet]

That would be my guess too. Turkeys are social birds, so if she was feeling lonely it would be natural to settle in with a flock of chickens for awhile.

My silly turkey hen sleeps up in the oak tree all night, but in the morning runs 'round and 'round the chicken yard, trying to get in. I have to go open the gate, step back 4 paces, then close the gate behind us before letting the hens out of the coop.

Kathy in Texas

 

[monarc23]

You'd love it here Nifty, right down the road this guy feeds the wild flocks, and theres probably 30 turkeys in total....they feed in his yard, then fly across the road in a huge mass of black blurr to the mountain on the other side that is nothingbut a steep cliff to roost in the trees then they fly back across in the morning eat and wander up the mt that side

 

[ivan3]

They can cover a little over a mile at up to 45mph, though they prefer to gang up and hoof it.

I got a laugh out of Cali.DNR info. (using an open umbrella to keep the aggessive ones at bay). Nice addition to the neighborhood!

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/turkey.html

 

[sandspoultry]

Our wilds around here range pretty far, we see them in the fields here and there, there is alot of stream bottom for them to travel thru and most of it is surrounded by fields. The farmers in our area all grow grain - winter wheat, soybeans, corn in rotation so there is plenty to feed on. Yours could have gotten seperated from the rest of the flock or is an escapee.

Steve in NC

 

[lil'chickies]

My grandmom lives on an older street in town that has these huge pecan trees all up and down it. They have a pet flock that hangs around there, and as the trucks and cars run over pecans, the turkeys come in and chow down! Some of them feed them too. One time there was about 40 of them. Then they go back behind the houses and roost in the live oaks back there. It's funny watching cars come through there and slam on their brakes to avoid hitting them. They are usually speeding so it would serve them right to lose a windshield! They can really damage a vehicle.

Everyone else is right that they can go quite a ways flying. But usually they do short bursts and run the rest.

 

[First To Hatch]

Was coming home from school it was a 4 lane road next to a plaza everyone stopped their car to let this turkey run across the road.

 

[playswithfowl]

We had a turkey that hung out in our back yard for about a month and ate bird feed from feeders, and one day we left the back door into the laundry room open and the fool bird came into our laundry room! Well we did not know it was in the house and my mom accidently let the dogs into the the laundry room; these are bird dogs that we use to hunt BIRDS.

Well... They went straight for the turkey, feathers were everywhere! The turkey was fine but what a mess.