Coyote attack in the middle of the day.

[BlindLemonChicken]

I can usually attribute it to hunters.

I wonder how good they taste. I’m sure it depends what they’re eating but I’m not sure I like turkey enough to deal with all that and then end up with a skinny, gamey-tasting thing

 

[Toad9000]

I wonder how good they taste. I’m sure it depends what they’re eating but I’m not sure I like turkey enough to deal with all that and then end up with a skinny, gamey-tasting thing

I don't like store bought turkey at all, very bland and flavorless. In fact, I only have it at Thanksgiving cause of tradition. I could just as easily skip it. But I love wild turkey. Not really sure how to describe it. Its still turkey flavor, but way less watered down than a farm bird. Plus nothing is cooler than getting out before dawn and getting to hear those guys go nuts in the woods. And when you call one in and spot the bronze iridesent feathers and blue head of some crazy new world dinosaur strutting right towards you, looking for you. Holy cow, what a rush.

The only thing I would caution about wild turkey meat is that its more susceptible to drying out than a farm bird and the legs are very tough and tendon filled. But if you're a decent cook you oughta be able to make something delicious out of both. Bonus points for offal eaters too. The heart, liver, and testes all make excellent fair. The gizzard goes to my dog, but I just don't like gizzards in general.

 

[MROO]

If there’s anything worse than a house chicken it’s a house trash panda. I can’t even imagine. Did it use a litter box?

Yes, they'll use a litter box ... then play in it. Our rescue used a one while little (bottle-baby,) but quickly followed the dogs' lead once she could escape her enclosure. She was never that sort of problem indoors ... but got into literally everything else!
I do NOT recommend them as pets. Eventually, they either return to the wild or live in a feral limbo between wild and domesticated. Either way, they "live wild" but are not intimidated by or afraid of dogs and humans. That's a dangerous reality that rarely ends well for anyone!

 

[McChooky]

This isn’t a question so go ahead and move it if I’m posting in the wrong forum, I’m just so frustrated and need to say something about this.

I haven’t lost a bird to a predator in nearly six years and today, while my birds were free ranging, that streak was broken. They hadn’t even been out for more than thirty minutes when a coyote jumped the six foot fence around my yard and took off with my splash Marans. I was in the barn when it happened but didn’t hear anything because I was in the tack room which has a loud portable ac unit for my barn cat. It wasn’t until I went out and saw feathers everywhere that I realized something had happened and checked the cameras.

I’m completely in shock because although I know coyotes aren’t nocturnal animals, I’ve still never considered them a daytime threat. I really had thought my birds were pretty safe in free ranging from everything except hawks and I was wrong.

The worst part about this really is that I know he’ll eventually be back, and while I trust my birds are all safe in their runs, my barn cat obviously isn’t safe to be roaming free. The issue is that it’s going to be super hot this week and the barn traps heat so locking him up in here feels cruel. At the same time I can’t take the risk so I guess supervised outside time is going to become the norm for him for a while

This really is just not how I was hoping this week would start so any words of support would be greatly appreciated as I sit with this

Free ranging can improve the quality of our chickens lives but it does come at a price.Not everyone is willing to make the sacrifice. Wishing you the best!