Is it a good idea to keep turkeys around fruit trees or growing pumpkin?

[wilderbirds]

Guaranteed that anytime you are open to the public, you better have good liability insurance.

I gave you a link showing what turkeys will do to growing pumpkins.

There are plenty of posts in this forum telling of turkey attacks on people. I met one fellow years ago who was getting a tom from me. He had scars on both sides of his face. He was bent over fixing a hole in his fence. His human imprinted tom jumped on his head trying to breed him and ended up by raking both sides of his face with his feet.

The places you speak of do have problems with people and animal interactions. They don't publicize these attacks. They do have liability insurance because they do get sued.

Thank you for the link I am leaning moreso towards apple orchard now since that seems more promising and if expanding can block off a small patch for the pumpkins while theyre growing til theyre near harvest if that will help bring in more people in. I can open it up to the turkeys in the fall so its no big deal if they eat them as they need to be fed either way but itll be a fun experiment none the less. Im thinking of blogging it as more of an experiment the first go round. Liability insurance was already a given but im asking about turkeys here not legality or business though im sure many of you are business owners thats not the point of this forum. I dont want to talk about that side with you only turkeys and orchards. Do you own your own business and care to share it? Im sure theres a place for that. That is some information ill keep in mind but im not convinced its impossible to keep to keep 1 male in a flock of hens even if it means he must be taken to an avian vet 2 hours away to be castrated so he can live more peacefully with the others. I believe theres a will theres a way for just about everything. Negativity dosnt deter me as I find the most negative are either defensive afraid of change and differing mindset or given up on their own dreams and self soothing by doing the same to others so im wary of people who try to squash all ideas lol

 

[wilderbirds]

Alot of people, even grown men, don't know how to interact with turkeys. I had a visitor kick my most FRIENDLY male turkey because the turkey got too close and he (the visitor) felt intimidated. The turkey was strutting over to say hi to new stranger, ended up getting kicked in the chest. My turkey responded with a flying kick at the man's face. Unfortunately I had to cull the turkey, even though the turkey did nothing wrong.

Yikes. Id hope people visiting a sanctuary would be more respectful. I think I need to get them to sign in and have a guide present.

 

[wilderbirds]

I grow apple trees, pumpkins, and turkeys. My turkeys don't bother the pumpkins or apples. I also grow berries and corn, and the turkeys prefer to eat those. You can grow a lot of trees on 5 acres. 20 turkeys won't make big difference in your harvest.

My domestic heritage turkey hens can fly to the top of a 60 foot oak tree hopping from one branch to the next. Then they glide down 1/4 mile away. I don't have hens anymore because predators killed them all over this past year. Now I only have tom turkeys.

Ah thank you! Thats so good to hear! You know my gut told me itd be fine but feels better to ask. Im sure theres a way to figure it out with the turkeys apples and pumpkins as you did. I wonder what I should do to keep predators away. Im still planning atm.

 

[SarahGfa]

Ah thank you! Thats so good to hear! You know my gut told me itd be fine but feels better to ask. Im sure theres a way to figure it out with the turkeys apples and pumpkins as you did. I wonder what I should do to keep predators away. Im still planning atm.

If you have a guard dog that will help. the hard part is making the turkey hens stay in the protected areas. I still haven't figured out a solution, other than locking them in a covered pen 24/7. IMO that defeats the purpose of having turkeys.

 

[Molpet]

Negativity dosnt deter me as I find the most negative are either defensive afraid of change and differing mindset or given up on their own dreams and self soothing by doing the same to others so im wary of people who try to squash all ideas lol

I'm for sharing past experiences so people can be aware of likely problems.
I always feel bad when I could have told someone the issues ahead of time and didn't.

 

[HeritageFan]

If you have a guard dog that will help. the hard part is making the turkey hens stay in the protected areas. I still haven't figured out a solution, other than locking them in a covered pen 24/7. IMO that defeats the purpose of having turkeys.

Out of curiosity, have you tried clipping one wing on the hens, and possibly limbing up the low branches of the trees they like to hop up?
I clip one wing on my babies, usually need to do it twice... and keep them in a covered pen until they are a few months old. I may be wrong/ lucky, but it seems to teach them that they can’t get out. Even my hens tend to stay inside the 5’ perimeter fencing. There are many trees around my “free range” areas. But I have covered runs attached to my coops, and, in my open (not covered) areas, there are no branches within jumping height. They all want to go to their coops at the end of the day, and they are only out to roam when I’m around to keep an eye on everyone.

 

[SarahGfa]

Ah thank you! Thats so good to hear! You know my gut told me itd be fine but feels better to ask. Im sure theres a way to figure it out with the turkeys apples and pumpkins as you did. I wonder what I should do to keep predators away. Im still planning atm.

Pumpkin patches usually don't let people pick the pumpkin off the vine. The vines sprawl too much. You could also grow the pumpkins somewhere else and line them up for people to pick.

 

[SarahGfa]

Out of curiosity, have you tried clipping one wing on the hens, and possibly limbing up the low branches of the trees they like to hop up?
I clip one wing on my babies, usually need to do it twice... and keep them in a covered pen until they are a few months old. I may be wrong/ lucky, but it seems to teach them that they can’t get out. Even my hens tend to stay inside the 5’ perimeter fencing. There are many trees around my “free range” areas. But I have covered runs attached to my coops, and, in my open (not covered) areas, there are no branches within jumping height. They all want to go to their coops at the end of the day, and they are only out to roam when I’m around to keep an eye on everyone.

No, I don't like to clip wings. Just in case a predator shows up and they need to fly away. I don't trust my fence 100%.

My turkeys always went inside the shed to roost for most of their life. It's only during nesting season the hens escape to make nests, and get eaten by predators. If I get more hens I might lock them in covered pens during nesting season, but that is from March until October in my area.

 

[HeritageFan]

No, I don't like to clip wings. Just in case a predator shows up and they need to fly away. I don't trust my fence 100%.

My turkeys always went inside the shed to roost for most of their life. It's only during nesting season the hens escape to make nests, and get eaten by predators. If I get more hens I might lock them in covered pens during nesting season, but that is from March until October in my area.

If it helps.... my ducks and turkeys can still fly with a clipped wing. Not so much in a straight line/ where they want to go, but certainly well enough to get away from something chasing them....

Personally, I’d rather clip a wing so they stay inside my fences and have a lower likelihood of predation while inside the “ranging” pen, then leave them w the ability to leave the perimeter fencing where they have a much higher chance of meeting something that will likely win the fight...

I know many people disagree with that idea. Everyone has the right to keep their birds the way they think is best

I personally don’t think there is necessarily a “wrong” answer.
Everyone has to weigh the risks and benefits for themselves, and their flocks

 

[SarahGfa]

If it helps.... my ducks and turkeys can still fly with a clipped wing. Not so much in a straight line/ where they want to go, but certainly well enough to get away from something chasing them....

Personally, I’d rather clip a wing so they stay inside my fences and have a lower likelihood of predation while inside the “ranging” pen, then leave them w the ability to leave the perimeter fencing where they have a much higher chance of meeting something that will likely win the fight...

I know many people disagree with that idea. Everyone has the right to keep their birds the way they think is best

I personally don’t think there is necessarily a “wrong” answer.
Everyone has to weigh the risks and benefits for themselves, and their flocks

I don't know, my turkeys that were killed by predators all had two good wings but still could not manage to get away. I can't imagine they would have good odds with a clipped wing.

I don't know what the best way is... I used to be idealistic and think if I just provide them with food/water/nests they will stay close to home. Not good enough!

Sorry to go off topic! @wilderbirds , there is not much difference between domestic turkeys and wild turkeys. The heritage turkeys we have now were only domesticated recently, after 1492. Basically wild animals at heart.