Rescuing a turkey?!?!

[cassie]

In your mind, your turkey did not view your husband as a rival but that does not mean that is what was going on in his mind. Prior to witnessing the death of the other turkey, it is entirely possible that he considered that turkey to be higher in the pecking order than your husband. He probably viewed the culling of the other turkey as an attempt by your husband to move up in the pecking order and wants to make sure to put your husband in his place. Personally if I had a turkey attack me and jump on my back, he would lose his head over the incident as soon as I could get the water up to 160°F for the scalding process.

Turkeys that have not been imprinted will not let you walk right up to them and start touching them unless they have been conditioned to as adults which takes a lot of work to accomplish.

I really should let this lie, but it is unlikely the old turkey considered the young one to be higher on the pecking order than he was. My tom was a mature bird and weighed over fifty pounds. The one my husband butchered was just a few months old and dressed out about twelve.

I had that turkey from the time he was a few days old and I did something with him daily. However, he did not seem to view me as another turkey. He did not interact with me the way he interacted with his hens and the other turkeys. If I wanted him for some reason I had to go to him. He did not come to me (unless I had a feed bucket) but he didn't try to run away either.

I may be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that imprinting takes place very shortly after hatching, probably within a few hours. My turkey was probably almost a week old when I got him.

 

[R2elk]

I really should let this lie, but it is unlikely the old turkey considered the young one to be higher on the pecking order than he was. My tom was a mature bird and weighed over fifty pounds. The one my husband butchered was just a few months old and dressed out about twelve.

I had that turkey from the time he was a few days old and I did something with him daily. However, he did not seem to view me as another turkey. He did not interact with me the way he interacted with his hens and the other turkeys. If I wanted him for some reason I had to go to him. He did not come to me (unless I had a feed bucket) but he didn't try to run away either.

I may be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that imprinting takes place very shortly after hatching, probably within a few hours. My turkey was probably almost a week old when I got him.

What I said is that your tom considered the young one to be higher on the pecking order than your husband. By your husband removing that turkey, your husband moved up on the pecking order so your tom was making sure that your husband knew that your tom is at the top of the pecking order.

Turkeys imprint very easily and it does not have to happen in the first few hours.

 

[memphis]

I have two imprinted turkey hens. Both were adults when I got them. I did not raise them. R2elk is right....doesnt take much to get them to imprint. I do not have a tom. Both girls are wonderful pets. They are heritage bred. If I had a herd of turkeys, I'd go the same route as R2elk & avoid imprinting. But with just the two girls, it works out for me.
I also agree with R2elk that your Tom's hatred of your husband probably stems from pecking order issues. Heck...he may even consider you as one of "his" girls...hence, he's become a husband hater.

 

[cassie]

I have two imprinted turkey hens. Both were adults when I got them. I did not raise them. R2elk is right....doesnt take much to get them to imprint. I do not have a tom. Both girls are wonderful pets. They are heritage bred. If I had a herd of turkeys, I'd go the same route as R2elk & avoid imprinting. But with just the two girls, it works out for me.
I also agree with R2elk that your Tom's hatred of your husband probably stems from pecking order issues. Heck...he may even consider you as one of "his" girls...hence, he's become a husband hater.

You may be right, but it seems to me that if my turkey considered me to be one of his hens he would have approached me, strutted around me, and showed off to me like he did with his hens, but he never did do that. As for my husband, the turkeys could see him when he was out working in the yard but he didn't feed them, care for them, or interact with them. They totally ignored each other until that fateful day. Actually, I thought the whole thing was pretty funny, but then I wasn't the one getting nailed.

 

[Noellereagan]

I have 7 BBB turkeys as pets. I’m learning as I go and they’re about seven months old. With exersize and the right diet balance they do fine in my experience. Especially hens which seem to live longer because they’re smaller. Nothing is impossible. If you rescue one and it only makes it a little while- even if it’s hard on you- a little while in a good home treated with love is a win for the bird in my book. Good luck and bless your heart.

 

[Noellereagan]

I disagree with this post 100% I rescued a BBB a couple of years ago. When i first rescued her she was horribly overweight. But with years of regular exercise and a proper diet she's just as healthy as my heritage Turks. She's my oldest turkey as well, she'll be 6 years old soon. This picture was taken a few weeks ago of her.View attachment 1562670

Awesome !

 

[1goose2ducks]

Thank you so much I agree with you Noellereagan 100% one more thing we feed our flock of ducks geese and chickens purina flock raiser crumbles mixed with scratch. Can turkeys eat the flock raiser to because the bag has a turkey on it.

 

[R2elk]

Thank you so much I agree with you Noellereagan 100% one more thing we feed our flock of ducks geese and chickens purina flock raiser crumbles mixed with scratch. Can turkeys eat the flock raiser to because the bag has a turkey on it.

Adult turkeys can do well on a quality flock raiser. I would not mix scratch with anything. Scratch was designed as a treat to be thrown on the ground to get the poultry scratching around on the ground. Scratch is a low protein and high fat treat. By mixing it with the flock raiser which has a balanced feed in it, you are diminishing the quality of the flock raiser. Use scratch for what it is meant for and consider it a treat that should be limited in availability.

 

[Noellereagan]

Thank you so much I agree with you Noellereagan 100% one more thing we feed our flock of ducks geese and chickens purina flock raiser crumbles mixed with scratch. Can turkeys eat the flock raiser to because the bag has a turkey on it.

I just spoke to a lady that had just lost a BBB that was FOURTEEN! And a TOM! I asked if she was sure if it wasn’t a heritage standard bronze or wild variation. She was. Insists it was a BBB. So you never know. I know it’s kind of hard to believe but she swears that’s the right variation and she had him all of his life. So you never know! I was told a lady on here had a BBW hen that lived until nine too! So it’s possible to get these guys to live a nice long healthy life. I’m not sure if I mentioned it in my last post- and others may disagree with me- but this works for me- since I have had issues in the past with sore legs from getting off roosts, I kept lowering the roosts. They’re in a very, very secure building with a concrete floor and unless I leave the door open (which would never happen) nothing is getting in. That’s of note because obviously height of roost helps with predator safety to a degree. Anyway, my roosts started off about 4 feet off the ground and then to about two and a half feet and now they’re getting moved to about one foot off the ground. Let’s face it- these guys are big and clumsy. They don’t need the added irritation of sore or broken legs. I have all but the coops with my hens moved this low and the boys are doing good. I’m sure they hate it but it’s best for them. I also put together two 2x4s for them to stand on. They’re just so clutzy. And they seem to be navigating this safely.

 

[Patricia90]

Hi There! My name is Patricia, I'm a journalist with a media group called SWNS. We write for major publications including Fox, ABC, New York Post, USA Today, CNN, Mail Online, Inside Edition and others.
I came across your conversation on this forum and I wondered if anyone has rescued a Turkey who was destined for the oven? We would love to cover the story if so. We pay contributors for video and photos. My email is [email protected] or you can visit https://us.talktothepress.com/