Just let them out to free range on the grass and they tried to fly

[IrishBoy]

so overt the last week mum has let the two turkey's out to peck at the grass , they love it .. but after about a minute they will flap their wings and i will have to chase tem back into their little enclosure because they fly about 20 feet away and i am afraid they will never come back .. plus they have not yet met the chickens but have seen them ...
and today i seen the black turkey strut about a zillion times and change colour .. while the white one was being pecked on the head.... maybe he was trying to mate ? .......

my question is shoud i cut the wing featers or what to stop them flying away !

 

[jenjscott]

Mine did the same thing, but they never went anywhere, If your yard is big enough, it is probably not a problem. They never get too far from the feeder. I have about 3 acres clearing in hardwood timberland, and they never stray outside of the yard. The only thing about clipping their wings is that if something gets after them, flight is the only way they can escape.

 

[pdpatch]

Since we experience a couple of events where the ours disappeared for a little while, we only let them out supervised. One of the first things they do is run around some flapping there wings then take off flying. They don't go far, maybe 50 feet or so.

After they get that get that first little bit of exercise done, they usually don't do much flying. Except to the tops of the Coops and vehicles. They spend more time wandering around to see what they can find to eat.

If they start to get to far away from there Coop and Pen we heard them back.

We don't clip any wings, just keep an eye on them when they are out.

When turkey's are moved to new coops and pens they should be kept in them for at least a week. This lets them get use to there "Home" . Then you can start with supervised free ranging. The access to Grasses, Forbes, and insects improves the taste of the meat, or at least in my opinion.

Tom

 

[ozark hen]

I have six turkeys and we live in the middle of unfenced 82 acres. They all free range and they run and exercise their wings but go no where. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

 

[chickenannie]

Try letting them out an hour before sunset. They don't want to roam as far then. Then feed or treats at their coop as it gets dark, at their pen. It will teach them to keep coming back. If you want to extend the hours you can increase it bit by bit, but always give them feed before it gets dark... they will learn you are "home". The flying is probably just a bit of stretching once they get out into the open space.

My little baby turkey poults now follow me around when they see me. It took about a week or so, but in the morning I would always feed them and now when they see me in the morning, they think "treats!" and they come running and go with me until I set their treat down. This will gradually wear off if you have no treats for them (just like training a dog!). But it might help you to establish these patterns in order to round them up and train them to be herded and follow you.

How much room do you have for them to roam?