my turkeys climb into trucks

[chickenannie]

My free-range turkeys are soooo friendly it gets them in trouble... They greet any and all visitors who drive to my farm by running after their car as they drive in. But today I got scared because a municipal employee parked his pickup along our farm lane, and then when he walked back to his truck my 6 turkeys got all excited and ran after him chirping and 2 of them hopped INTO the bed of his pickup as he was slowly backing out.

I know it sounds like they were trying to stowaway, but really, they have the happiest life here, and I wonder how I can prevent them from doing this anymore. I hadn't worried about it previously because it was only those of us living here that it happened to, and we just chase the turkeys out of the cab. This guy didn't even know they were back there, happily pecking at his shiny storage boxes. I had to tell him to wait while I chased them out!

 

[cgjsmith]

ROFL I have no idea what to tell you the picture I get in my mind is just so funny!!!

C

 

[hencackle]

You need a video of that on YouTube! That is hysterical!

 

[chickenannie]

It is hilarious, I agree. I'm just used to it, but you should see how it affects visitors to my farm. They LOVE my friendly turkeys by the time they leave. I'm a one-woman crusade for free-range poultry....

I tried to post a picture but couldn't. Can someone tell me how? I tried the instructions for photobucket and registered for it, but couldn't get the image to show up on my post.

 

[ivan3]

How old are your turks? Ours were just as friendly (downright intrusively social) until they were over a year old. Do you have to put rugs on the hood/roof of your cars to keep them from scratching them up?

Ours are much less pestiferous with strangers and their vehicles, now. If we're talking with the meter readers they'll hang around to find out what's going on, but if we're inside and someone comes around back the toms stand fast and gobble like they mean it, and the hens whoot and wander toward them - but stay out of reach. They don't go near the road anymore.

Ours have been taught to avoid `perching' on the luggage rack of the jeep, and to use their shed for roosting (too many predators here to leave `em out). They galumph back to their run, every evening that we're here to range `em, and go into their shed. All we have to do is close the door.

But, as another member here who shares her yard with turks observed: They can be "big troublemaking monkey birds". Just consistently let `em know what you want them to do. Ours can pretty much tell if we know the person who's here (hang around close), or if we're tense or unsure (hang around side of house). I think turkeys can `read' this sort of thing in a `turkish' sort of fashion.

Photobucket quick and dirty (for windows): below shot in photobucket click L mouse button once on IMGtag (this copies link to your clipboard), then post your message and press CTRL and V at the same time to copy the link into post (then hit preview and your shot should appear).

 

[chickenannie]

Hmmm, that's interesting. I wonder if they'll change as they get older. They're about 7 and a half months old. Occasionally they do roost on our cars which is really annoying to say the least. The rug is a good idea. Mostly they sleep at the top of our big tree, but when the wind or cold is bad they sleep near my porch which provides more shelter.

Do you have problems with your turkeys wandering?

Today my turkeys wandered over to the large Friday market across the road and got into big trouble. I got a message at 7 am that they were hanging around looking hungrily at the vendors booths and the Amishman's bakery items. A group of guys apparently chased them back across the creek (and my tom and one hen came home freezing, bedraggled and shivering) from being chased?pushed? into the creek and swimming across. I went over to rescue the last hen as soon as I found out but I was mad about the them getting soaked on a 20 degree F day. Three others flew across the creek to get home.

But I *couldn't* get mad because my turkeys had ranged out of bounds onto their property. I'm not sure what to do because I could certainly pen them up but I don't have the skills to build a pen big enough for them. Apparently they've been going over to the market grounds every couple of days without my knowing it. They always come home, but they'll run after any human they see even if the person is over at the market. I live on 40 acres which i thought was big enough, but maybe not...

Any advice?

Actually the people over there love them and take pictures of them, etc., but I don't want them to be a nuisance. but it really sucks that I would have to pen them up in a small space just because they visit the market twice a week and beg. It's their own fault but they have no consciousness about it, they'll just wonder why they can't run around anymore. My 40 free-range chickens and guineas have no problem sticking around.

 

[chickenannie]

OK, I think I did the posting pic thing finally. Here are my turkeys a few weeks ago checking out a visitor to the farm...

 

[ivan3]

Ours will be three yrs old in June, so they're a bit more sedate, at seven months I was having to climb up on the roof and bring down the hens during thunderstorms (devils!). The only serious wandering, as yours get older, will be the hens going off to set up nests (and they can be very sneaky about it), the toms like to stick around.

We don't have folks close to us so the curiosity/let's go visit factor doesn't come into play. We have a run for our four that isn't huge, but they don't get on one another's nerves and will sometimes just hang around in the run even if the gate is open. You might consider a pen given your turks already widening circle of `friends?'

I'd probably be more worried about someone stealing `em (our neighbor's big Bourbon Tom simply vanished from their front lawn last yr.- stayed in their front lawn near the road).

Good luck!

John

P.S. Nice turks!