Grey Turkey showed up at our house!

[shadylady23]

This turkey showed up at my house yesterday and made friends with my chickens! She even went into their coop and slept with them. I'm baffled! Had to share!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I read a few posts every year of domestic turkeys showing up on people's property. That's why I always recommend a fenced run for turkeys as they sometimes can wander and follow the wild turkeys. Looks to be a blue slate Tom. Perhaps someone will be looking for him.

 

[R2elk]

This turkey showed up at my house yesterday and made friends with my chickens! She even went into their coop and slept with them. I'm baffled! Had to share!

She is a He and will eventually cause problems with your chickens if allowed to stay. It appears to be a Blue Slate tom. I recommend trying to find the owner and if not possible then contact your local animal control.

A lone tom with a group of chickens will eventually try to breed the chickens. When that happens the usual result is flat chickens (i.e. - squished, dead). If you feel the need to keep him, you will need to get some turkey hens for him.

Good luck.

 

[shadylady23]

oh no! I thought it was a girl! How can you tell it's a boy? It doesn't have that thing that hangs from its chest....

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's got a snood, which is strangely black like it's been injured.

 

[shadylady23]

Oh boy. I feel bad for him. Are you definite it's a boy? Maybe my friend will take him if I can't find the owners. I feel bad though, won't someone just kill him and eat him?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's definitely a Tom. He looks mature too, so older than a year or two. Where his beard only he knows, but they can be pulled out. Being he's a blue slate someone may want him for more than eating.

 

[shadylady23]

The black stuff on his snood is starting to peel off. Like an old scab. I wonder how he got hurt. He's still hanging around. We asked the neighbors, (which even they are like a mile away) no one knows anyone with turkeys. So far he hasn't bothered anyone.

 

[shadylady23]

I wonder if someone pulled out his beard. Why would someone do that?

 

[R2elk]

The black stuff on his snood is starting to peel off. Like an old scab. I wonder how he got hurt. He's still hanging around. We asked the neighbors, (which even they are like a mile away) no one knows anyone with turkeys. So far he hasn't bothered anyone.

The most likely scenario is that his snood got severely injured in a fight with another tom. He lost and left or got kicked out of the flock.

Many hen turkeys seem to like to "trim" the beards of tom turkeys. Of course it could also have gotten damaged in the fight when his snood got injured.