Broomstick Method for culling turkey?

[SarahGfa]

Yes... I am looking for something quick and failproof that won't cause the bird to suffer. I usually use broomstick for chickens so I was wondering if anyone has done it for turkeys.

I don't have loppers but I can buy one if that's the most humane way to do it. Should I get anvil loppers or bypass loppers?

 

[Bo Garrett]

Cervical disarticulation is the most humane method but very difficult on mature birds. Whatever way you choose and no matter how mean he is, chose the least painful and most humane way. Removal of the head is the best, a meat cleaver and chopping block would probably work best as hatchets/axes can be heavy and difficult to maneuver with one hand while holding the bird still with the other hand.

Blessings,

Bo

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Cervical disarticulation is the most humane method but very difficult on mature birds. Whatever way you choose and no matter how mean he is, chose the least painful and most humane way. Removal of the head is the best, a meat cleaver and chopping block would probably work best as hatchets/axes can be heavy and difficult to maneuver with one hand while holding the bird still with the other hand.

Blessings,

Bo

A small hatchet is very light and quit easy to move with one hand (I could since I was 10)

 

[cmobley]

Either a hatchet or if your able a .22 to the side of the head. If it had attacked my mama I'd just pull his head off but I'm a old school eye for an eye kinda fella.

 

[SarahGfa]

Either a hatchet or if your able a .22 to the side of the head. If it had attacked my mama I'd just pull his head off but I'm a old school eye for an eye kinda fella.

You are a good boy. If he was a rooster I would have chopped his head off in a minute, but the turkey has a good chance of taking my head off first.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Tell me about it, when I first got my tom I thought he would be like a roo....I was wrong. He is MANY times stronger then even my 13 lb Legshan!

 

[DarJones]

Reminds me of the time I needed to get on top of the house and didn't have a ladder. I grabbed a tom turkey by the legs with each hand and held on. First they flew me up into a huge old oak tree and I got a mouth full of acorns and oak leaves. Then they flew me over the pond and tried really hard to give me a bath. I needed a bath, but really! I held on for deer life until the deer said "Oh Deer" and decided hitching a ride on the turkey express was not a good idea. Finally they flew over the house and I dropped off on the peak of the roof. Just in time too, those turkeys were lining up to launch me into orbit!

Remind me sometime to tell you about the great turkey conspiracy.

 

[SarahGfa]

Reminds me of the time I needed to get on top of the house and didn't have a ladder. I grabbed a tom turkey by the legs with each hand and held on. First they flew me up into a huge old oak tree and I got a mouth full of acorns and oak leaves. Then they flew me over the pond and tried really hard to give me a bath. I needed a bath, but really! I held on for deer life until the deer said "Oh Deer" and decided hitching a ride on the turkey express was not a good idea. Finally they flew over the house and I dropped off on the peak of the roof. Just in time too, those turkeys were lining up to launch me into orbit!

Remind me sometime to tell you about the great turkey conspiracy.

I can sympathise... Seriously, my turkey is still alive. We set up an L-shaped corral about 2 feet wide at the very end. I herded him in with a stick and a fishing net, and thought I had him cornered. Just as I was about to grab him, the 50 pound turkey launched himself 6 feet in the air. It felt like one of those slow-motion action scenes from a kung fu movie... He literally levitated over my head and landed on the outside of the fence. Then he disappeared into some oak trees and I didn't see him for a couple days.
This morning he was back in the yard. I went outside to refill the feeders, and he strutted up and delivered a flying roundhouse kick to my chest. I tried to take an assertive step forward and he did it again. And again. so, I threw my hands up and left.

Maybe I'll just let the turkey have the yard, if he wants it so bad. I was going to plant some corn in that space, but I can always buy corn at the supermarket instead. I read that turkeys live for up to 5 years, so we are already 20% of the way there.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Most turkeys have a life span of 7-12 years.

 

[SarahGfa]

Most turkeys have a life span of 7-12 years.

Drat, that is a long time . My boyfriend said that Tom turkeys are only aggressive during mating season, and if I wait a couple months the turkey will go back to being his old docile self again. Is that true? He refuses to help kill the turkey. I think they are conspiring to give me high blood pressure.