Went to check on Thor and found a teeny tiny turtle...American Elegans..red earred slider...about the size of a quarter! Looking thru my animal library for my book on turtles and ponds, I re-discovered one of my favorite books and have to share it for those of you who have turkeys.
Illumination in the Flatwoods: A Season with the Wild Turkey by Joe Hutto He is a nationally known naturalist and wildlife artist in the Florida Flatwoods area and his book documents an experiment raising two clutches of wild turkeys with the idea of human imprinting them and raising them. His experiment is well documented in diary form and reads well...it is humorus and a wonderful insight into the behaviors of the wild turkey. His illustrations and photos are wonderful. He is changed by this experiment and admits "wondering who imprinted whom".
I bought the book because we bought some land several years ago where turkeys were abundant. Two different clutches were almost destroyed by a tractor and bulldozer. The eggs that survived were given to me to try to hatch...nothing like being thrown to the wolves! The State wildlife folks said as long as the birds were released back onto our own property, we were okay to try. Of 8 eggs, 4 hatched resulting in two hens and two toms. Huttos book was very helpful in understanding what these beautiful wild birds needed to be reintroduced into the wild. While we didn't go to the extreme sacrifice Hutto did in prepping his birds, we did successfully release three of the four. Tom was blinded in one eye and was raised with the chickens when the vet said he would not survive in the wild. When 18 month old Tom began challenging our 4 year old nephew - strutting, booming and turning blue and charging...etc., he was put down.
