Insurance in case of turkey damage

[dreamingbig]

When we moved into our new house and spoke with our insurance guy, he suggested carrying some liability in case the turkeys caused an accident. Does anyone else do this? We did. And my husband found the Tom at the side of te road this morning and the hen in the road. He shooed them back in the yard and I got them back in their very very large fenced enclosure.but I am worried about them. Is there anyway to keep them in the fenced area?

 

[Scottingitup]

How high of a fence? 5' is what I have and 6' is often recommended. Your best bet would be to clip the primary flight feathers on one wing of each bird. Toms won't usually jump fences though ..

I do not carry any extra insurance for the birds.

 

[dreamingbig]

They have an entire acre fenced with 6-ft fencing. Tom and hen are outside the enclosure every morning. It is a wooded site and they roost up much higher than the fencing. I am considering chopping down their roosting tree which is close to the fencing so that maybe they won't fly out. I have watched then hen fly from the ground both in and out of the enclosure. I was very concerned that she was in te road this morning.

 

[brandislee]

I don't carry any extra insurance either, although that wouldn't be a bad idea (and I can't imagine it would raise your premium much, but IDK). I hate the idea of my birds causing an accident, but I do let them free range and so far they stay away from the road because it's paved and they don't like pavement (I think a gravel road would be a lot more of a draw because they would want to scratch in it and peck for grit). Clipping their primaries works really well- you only have to do one side usually. I know it sounds a little scary and I was intimidated the first time, but I had two chickens that I moved to a new pen and I wanted to keep them in a for a few weeks until they accepted that pen as "home" but they just kept jumping out. So I just grabbed a pair of utility scissors and did it, and it is SO easy. I'm sure there are tutorials w/ pics and videos, but essentially you just spread their wing and take off the longer feathers almost to the fleshy part of the wing. Easy peasy. And if one wing doesn't deter them, you can clip the other as well. They even grow back, but by then they often forget about trying to jump out!

 

[flocksalot]

We live right on a major US highway. My turkeys will go peck rocks at the side of the road on occasion if they have no grit, but normally they stay away. All our birds are free ranged. Chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. I've had people stop to tell me my birds are beside the road, and once someone was walking past and my turkeys decided to follow them. There I was trying to shoo them out of the road saying "Bad turkey, naughty turkey go home!"

On a whole though we don't have any real issues with it. I do know someone that keeps getting tickets for her geese in the road though. I guess we taught them when they were young enough to stay off the road, so it hasn't been an issue. Now watch the little boogers will be out I. The road and cause an accident.

 

[dreamingbig]

Thanks for the info everyone. It was only an extra $20 per year for insurance so I feel better just paying it. I am scared about clipping wings since I haven't even touched the turkeys yet. (We moved in one week ago and the turkeys came with the house. Tom is rather intimidating strutting and making the loud gobbles and funny drumming noise. Then someone who used to raise turkeys warned me that he might attack since it is mating season and now I am a bit nervous. I am not even sure how to catch them! Youtube videos for sure. The previous owners said sometimes people would stop their cars to take pictures of the turkeys when they were out!

 

[kacklinkelly]

Don't know much about turkeys, but am thinking that if you at least clip the hens flight feathers on one
side, she may stay put or low enough and he will want to be with her so he will also stay. At least that's
my theory. I clipped the flight feathers of my chickens on one side only (keeps them off balance) had
never done it before. Watched a few youtube videos and it worked out just fine. Did it by myself. It will likely take two
people and perhaps a towel to do this to a turkey hen who is not used to you or being handled. I
probably wouldn't try the tom for a long while.

 

[brandislee]

Go in and do it at night, when they're pretty unresponsive. And wear gloves and long sleeves because they may still peck, and it will make you feel more confident. I always wear gloves and long sleeves when I have to catch a rooster, even in the heat of the summer. It really doesn't hurt that bad to get pecked, but just having that extra little bit of protection keeps me from being hesitant.

 

[Celie]

If you cover an animal's eyes with a towel, IMO, you can do just about anything. If they can't see you, they think you don't see them either. Just a little something I picked up, tending to rescue animal's wounds.

 

[flocksalot]

If you cover an animal's eyes with a towel, IMO, you can do just about anything. If they can't see you, they think you don't see them either. Just a little something I picked up, tending to rescue animal's wounds. 

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