run away turkeys????

[cowboyup]

hello all,
I have been toying with the idea of letting my two turkeys out 1 hen and a tom... however, im affraid im gonna let them out and i wont see them agan...
will they run away?
they have lived in their10x6 coop for over a month now.. but i no how dumb they can be.. and i also no they prefer to roost in the trees not in a coop.should i just get the idea out of my head and continue to drag my coop around my yard...or chance it and hope they stick around...

 

[bxrowley]

Won't be a problem. I had my poults for 2-3 weeks and let them out and they stick around. They learn where their shelter, food & water supply is and know it is 'home'. Let them out.

 

[PekinBantam]

Is your yard fenced? If yes you can let them out and give them a temporary wing clip (As a precautionary measure). If not you should monitor them when they are out for a week or so.

 

[PartyOnARoost]

Won't be a problem.  I had my poults for 2-3 weeks and let them out and they stick around.  They learn where their shelter, food & water supply is and know it is 'home'.  Let them out.

Totally agree

 

[aoxa]

Totally agree

x3

My two stick around and are Wild Turkeys! If they will, yours will.

 

[Frosty]

Since you know that they are a hen and a tom, I assume they are older turkeys? If that is the case, it's a lot different than letting poults out. If you decide to let them out, I would really only do it when you will be around to watch them. I don't think I would put feed out for them at this point, I would use the feed as an incentive to get them to go back in later. Once they are in the habit of going back in to roost I would leave food out for them. The other questions that I would have are: Do they have a roost in their coop? If not, they might not want to go back in. How close are you to a road? How is your predator load? If there are predators (including dogs) I would really hesitate to let them out and I would definately NOT clip their wings. I never clip wings on birds that will be loose, it can make the difference if they need to get away.

 

[ColbyNTX]

Since you know that they are a hen and a tom, I assume they are older turkeys? If that is the case, it's a lot different than letting poults out. If you decide to let them out, I would really only do it when you will be around to watch them. I don't think I would put feed out for them at this point, I would use the feed as an incentive to get them to go back in later. Once they are in the habit of going back in to roost I would leave food out for them. The other questions that I would have are: Do they have a roost in their coop? If not, they might not want to go back in. How close are you to a road? How is your predator load? If there are predators (including dogs) I would really hesitate to let them out and I would definately NOT clip their wings. I never clip wings on birds that will be loose, it can make the difference if they need to get away.

Yep, I also agree with no wing clipping! It really doesn't do much good on a heritage bird anyway. I never clipped any of mine because its their only defense. I have also seen turkeys with both wings clipped get up on a 6' fence.

 

[PekinBantam]

Yeah, if I was still in Canada I wouldn't think of clipping their wings... But if our neighbors here sees a runaway turkey on the beach, to them, it's fair game...

 

[aoxa]

Yeah, if I was still in Canada I wouldn't think of clipping their wings... But if our  neighbors here sees a runaway turkey on the beach, to them, it's fair game...

Hunting on the beach?! I can't even imagine!

 

[PekinBantam]

Not hunting... But the more comedic act of trying to catch them... They probably would tie it, overfeed it and kill/pluck/cook it. Especially passers by who don't know who they belong to...