Ideal self-sufficient Turkey?

[Arielle]

I live adjacent to a large hunting area--the hunters try to use my drive way for access. I politely ask them to use the appropriate parking lot.

My birds stay home. A wild hen kept visiting over the spring and summer, hopefully she found a group to live with. We see many groups crossing the roads in our area. My birds do not leave with the wild turkeys. Food is here; roosts are here.

You will need to make the best decision for your area. What are the rules for firing a gun near a house in your area? My animals are kept close to the house during hunting season as a precaution. While most hunters are thoughtful and law abiding, it only takes one jerk to create a problem.

I also have dogs--very helpful. One treed a hunter--sort of--dog off in woods barked "NOt on my property" DH called the dog, ' Hunter, Hunter, come. " THen DH saw the dog at the base of a tree with a hunter on a tree stand. Made for a very awkward situation. Technically the hunter was on public land, just a few feet over the stone wall where our land ended. Dog did not know his property stopped there. LOL

If you know you have a poacher, I would try to keep animals home. My turkeys do roost out side, but they stay close to home. GL

 

[FourPawz]

Someone on the duck forum just had an entire pond full of obviously domestic ducks shot by "hunters" (more like irresponsible slobs with guns).

So yes, you have to be careful about some "hunters" of the type who are irresponsible slobs with guns. They don't have to mistake your pet turkeys for wild turkeys. they will shoot them just because they are alive and in their gun sights..

Those same slobs shoot cows and horses and metal street signs that say "deer crossing".

The majority of hunters are super responsible. It's just those few idiots and you never know when they might come around. Your neighbor who is a poacher is stealing game from the public and I wouldn't put it past a poacher to steal livestock from a private party.

That's terrible about the ducks. What on earth is wrong with people who would do such a thing? I agree, essentially all of the hunters we're friends with are decent people. Unfortunately, we don't know all the ones who are right around us. When you look at a wild turkey, our domestics are different. I pray they're different enough for people to know the difference.

 

[FourPawz]

I live adjacent to a large hunting area--the hunters try to use my drive way for access. I politely ask them to use the appropriate parking lot.

My birds stay home. Food is here; roosts are here.

You will need to make the best decision for your area. What are the rules for firing a gun near a house in your area? My animals are kept close to the house during hunting season as a precaution. While most hunters are thoughtful and law abiding, it only takes one jerk to create a problem.

If you know you have a poacher, I would try to keep animals home. My turkeys do roost out side, but they stay close to home. GL

Thanks for your reply. It's reassuring. There are laws about firing near homes, but frankly, I do not ever take that for granted during deer season. I've heard shots that were way to close for comfort. I have an orange vest the dog in my avatar wears at that time, and she's in a securely fenced area.

I would really like to give my birds more freedom. They like to forage of course, and they're far more fun to watch when they're out.

My husband has a '70's vintage car that is his baby. One late afternoon this summer the birds were out. Our garage door was open, and the light was on. As dusk came, I noticed the turkeys looking toward the garage. The jake launched himself into the air and flew into the garage, bouncing off the trunk of my hubby's prize muscle car! He about died! I'm doubled over laughing and he's charging after the poor turkey! He caught the poor idiot as the bird slid off the car and hauled him back up to the pen. I just wish I'd had a video camera!

 

[PurpleEast]

Does anyone else worry about clueless human hunters taking a Bourbon Red, for example? There are quite a few wild turkeys around here. One of my distant neighbors is a known poacher (he's bragged to others about his full freezer). I've only got a pair of Bourbon Reds and my husband insists they stay penned due to hunters, because, being turkeys, they resist efforts to pen them up for the night.

Have any of you ever lost a bird to a hunter? Are we being paranoid?

I've always wondered about this - we're smack dab in a cornfield/wooded rural area. I trust most people's judgement when hunting; as a hunter myself, I've seen many more good than bad. I can only hope the birds will hang close to our property and not wander into fields that are adjacent to us. Narragansetts bear a striking resemblance to Smokey Grey wild turkeys (Is there a correlation, I wonder???). I would think others are more discernible to hunters, except for Black Spanish unless fanned. The chances that someone encounters our turkeys during season and actually shoots... I'd think would be incredibly slim, but there's always a chance.

 

[frank53061]

I think that every ones situation is different according there location my situation has changed over the last 20 years at first there were 5 to 10 family's in a 2 to 3 squire mile area and now there is around 100.
coyotes were a problem at first I had heard that people were loosing small dogs to the packs.
Now with all the people that have moved into the area with there trash the coyotes have for the most part moved off but now the possums and coons are running ramp id so its a trade off of one predator for 2 more.
I think for those who are wanting to allow there Turkeys to live free and forage with no confinement at all is great but I think its a crap shoot that would not work in my situation with out a great lose of my Fowl.
This happened with my Chickens one time I lost 10 layers in one night to a coon when I allowed them to roost else were unsecured.
Remember coons and possums spend a lot of time in trees and are nocturnal and were do turkeys roost if not in a coop.
Coyotes are also nocturnal as well and were do Turkey Hens roost when its nesting season on the ground.
I also believe when a predators finds one meal they continue to use the same area for hunting for more.

These are just my thoughts and experiences I am sharing.

 

[Igetchicks]

I know nothing about Nauggies, but I do free range Holland White turkeys in the country on 5 acres. I thought I enjoyed my chickens and ducks, but I love heritage turkeys !! I think if you can raise white turkeys, a more camouflaged turkey would have a better chance with predators. I do have a few suggestions, you can take or leave, of course. I would suggest you give them an enclosed roosting area they can go into at night to protect them at night, and close the up in it for a few days so that they get used to putting themselves away at night and then you just have to close and secure the door. Also do not put them on the ground until they are 6 weeks old and start to roost, keeping them out of any dampness or cold for the first 6 to 8 weeks, as they are susetable to a chill !

You say to keep them off the ground for six weeks. Does that mean just grass or what. I'm planning on putting them in a large feeding trough. If that considered off the ground? There will be wood shavings and or straw on the bottom of it. It's all metal and my first time with turkeys and I want to get it right.

 

[Marty1876]

I've kept midget whites and bourben reds. Both are able to fly up pretty good, which is a real lifesaver for the free range bird. Mine have evaded preditors that took my large turkeys. Oh, and midget whites eat a little less, but taste really great. My roost in trees at night. Be sure to feed them where they can escape up or onto something quickly.

 

[Celie]

Ah, I figured as much. Well, the turkeys would have the option of roosting in a coop or barn, or even the trees around the house. Do raccoons harass them? We haven't had an issue within coyotes yet, but I hear them often at night. During the day we've got a pair of red-tails that like to keep the chickens in check. Do you think 10 week old turkeys are too big for a hawk?

Yeah, unfortunately it's always a possibility that there will be losses, I just want to best prepare for that while allowing them to naturally forage/live if they so choose.

Yes, If the raccoons can reach them, they will even grab them inside a cage and bite their heads off, like they do chickens, and leave the bodies, if they can't pull it out. Coons and possums are cruel and not just in it for food. They can even open simple latches! If 10 week poults are still small enough for a hawk to carry, he will. The other day one killed a hen and a rooster. They could not carry off the chickens, so they started eating it, until my dogs saw them. Bad birds come from the sky. But it was too late, the first thing a bird goes for is the throat. The pups got a chicken dinner that night!

I didn't even consider Black Spanish. I'll have to read up on them. I trust the instincts of most turkeys (heck, during wild turkey season, you see exactly why they're so elusive). I'm just wondering if it's always inherent. Like the batch of chickens I got this year run/chase at my dog and scoff at my cats. They don't seem to be scared of most things, aside from hawks, lol. They're more apt to approach danger than run. I'd rather my turkeys were a bit more savvy.

@ mamawolf554: And I also forgot about the springtime, derp! No doubt they'd wander off and make a nest - and boy we've got lots of thick briers and undergrowth. It'd be a nightmare trying to find a hen and her nest. Not to mention how susceptible they'd be to predators then!

Domestic turkeys are not as elusive as wild turkeys. I think that has been bred out of them, but they do not confront a predator like a goose will. I don't seem to be able to keep a gentle goose!

Does anyone else worry about clueless human hunters taking a Bourbon Red, for example? There are quite a few wild turkeys around here. One of my distant neighbors is a known poacher (he's bragged to others about his full freezer). I've only got a pair of Bourbon Reds and my husband insists they stay penned due to hunters, because, being turkeys, they resist efforts to pen them up for the night.

Have any of you ever lost a bird to a hunter? Are we being paranoid?

Surely a hunter can tell a Bourbon Red from a wild Turkey but there are some "Want to be" hunters that don't have the morals most hunters do, they are really just predators with 2 legs and a gun !!!

Thanks for your reply. It's reassuring. There are laws about firing near homes, but frankly, I do not ever take that for granted during deer season. I've heard shots that were way to close for comfort. I have an orange vest the dog in my avatar wears at that time, and she's in a securely fenced area.

I would really like to give my birds more freedom. They like to forage of course, and they're far more fun to watch when they're out.

My husband has a '70's vintage car that is his baby. One late afternoon this summer the birds were out. Our garage door was open, and the light was on. As dusk came, I noticed the turkeys looking toward the garage. The jake launched himself into the air and flew into the garage, bouncing off the trunk of my hubby's prize muscle car! He about died! I'm doubled over laughing and he's charging after the poor turkey! He caught the poor idiot as the bird slid off the car and hauled him back up to the pen. I just wish I'd had a video camera!

I wish you had a video camera, too !!!

I've kept midget whites and bourben reds. Both are able to fly up pretty good, which is a real lifesaver for the free range bird. Mine have evaded preditors that took my large turkeys. Oh, and midget whites eat a little less, but taste really great. My roost in trees at night. Be sure to feed them where they can escape up or onto something quickly.

Do you find your Midget Whites eat less and give you more meat, for the amount they eat? Aren't MW's about 12 # and BR's about 33# for full grown toms? Do MW's have big breasts, like the BBW's? I'm just curious? I have neither, just Holland Whites, but would like to.........

 

[Celie]

I mean you can't put them in a tractor type brooder, like you can do with chickens, because they are very susceptible to a chill. They cannot take a damp or drafty environment, while they are young. They will die overnight, suddenly. Ducks can go out, at a young age, chickens take a little longer, Turkey poults take 6 to 8 weeks, at least, depending on the weather!!!

 

[Arielle]

I've been thinking again about the self sufficnt turkey--- I don't think domestics have the same aptitude as the wilds. Recently I had two turkeys show up in my yard. I though they were drop offs and I was peeved. ANd deed to capture them asap before infecting my turkeys with who know what. I set up a dog crate, with a shute to gethem pushed into the crate. ANd as they walked calmly into the shute, they blast off into the sky, one up and OVER my hoouse, the second banked and landed in an old dead tree, then the other flew back to join his friend. Wild turkeys. Beautiful, great fliers. Allowed me with in 10 feet.

A good experience I think to convey they are similar but not the same. My turkeys trust people; my poults get chilled even at 3 months old with cold water, so they get warm water for a refill. I have always brooded in the house with a constant ambient temp and a heat lamp. Good for small numbers o nly.

At night we herd them into a pen about 30 minutes before sundown as that is the time they go to roost and we try to get them into a warmer, more protected area on the coldest nights, and during rain storms. I collect leaves in the fall to put down as bedding without roosts.

I continue to look for information on improving graze and browse.

Just wanted to add these experiences from over the last few months.