Broomstick Method for culling turkey?

[B-Goock]

When I was saving money as a young teen a local turkey farmer had me do chores for cash. In a turkey barn with hundreds of turkey jerks.
Daily we had to walk through looking for turkeys that needed culled. We carried a square edged stick with a carved round handle. Think MLB homerun attempt. Neck or head. Healthy birds you just use it to keep them off of yah.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

He will mellow down some, after breeding season.

 

[Bo Garrett]

Nope, once mean always mean, breeding season or not! I have raised them for 40+ years never had one go from mean to gentle yet. My preferred corrective action is a .22 caliber aimed right about the wing bow, drops them like a sack of potatoes. Holding an axe or hatchet in one hand while trying to hold a 30 lb. tom in the other is not something I would recommend for anyone, too much room for error. Cervical disarticulation is the best method but the bird has to be pretty young to accomplish this feat and usually they do not display aggressiveness until they have reached a fairly mature size.
There are two choices, either learn to deal with the aggressive nature or eliminate the problem.

Bo

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Nope, once mean always mean, breeding season or not! I have raised them for 40+ years never had one go from mean to gentle yet. My preferred corrective action is a .22 caliber aimed right about the wing bow, drops them like a sack of potatoes. Holding an axe or hatchet in one hand while trying to hold a 30 lb. tom in the other is not something I would recommend for anyone, too much room for error. Cervical disarticulation is the best method but the bird has to be pretty young to accomplish this feat and usually they do not display aggressiveness until they have reached a fairly mature size.
There are two choices, either learn to deal with the aggressive nature or eliminate the problem.

Bo

We have a royal palm tom that has become aggressive with the younger ones, we would just chase him round flipping him over by his legs. He learned quick.

 

[WallacetheKhakiCampbell]

Yeah I would suggest catching it at night when its roosting. Then keep it for 24 hours without food so its crop and intestines are clean. Then use the stump and axe method and decapitate as quickly as possible. Lots of flapping but it will be dead before it knows what happened -painless-.

 

[WallacetheKhakiCampbell]

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.

JEEZ! Thats insane. If your really not allowed firearms are you allowed an air rifle. I quick shot to the head with enough fps would do it. Maybe you can design some type of trap to catch him

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

A 50 lbs turkey can run that fast...right?

 

[SarahGfa]

A 50 lbs turkey can run that fast...right?

I never actually weighed him (as if I can get him to sit on a scale??). So 50 lbs is a guess. He looks fatter every time I see him.

The problem is our perimeter fencing. We use electric fence and the tallest wire is about 42". It keeps the predators out, but is low enough so the turkey can jump over if he really wants to. When I chase him he just hops out and I am stuck going the long way round.

 

[RiverOtter]

Daily we had to walk through looking for turkeys that needed culled. We carried a square edged stick with a carved round handle. Think MLB homerun attempt. Neck or head. Healthy birds you just use it to keep them off of yah.

Yup. I am a small person. Turkeys and geese are a lot of bird to wrangle one-handed, and this is the method I was taught.
Baseball bat, aim for the head and swing for the fences like Babe Ruth. You'll either miss clean and no harm done or kill instantly.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Yup. I am a small person. Turkeys and geese are a lot of bird to wrangle one-handed, and this is the method I was taught.
Baseball bat, aim for the head and swing for the fences like Babe Ruth. You'll either miss clean and no harm done or kill instantly.

I have heard of things like that done on fish, but never poultry. You learn somthing new every day!