I have no problem clipping wings but with these guys I've done it twice already in two months! Both wings. I can't afford to lose a turkey to the neighbors dogs if they go through the hedge and over the fence. I am surrounded on three sides with neighbors with dogs. I don't care what they look like with clipped wings. I am raising turkeys to eat. If I was raising them to show, they would be under lock and key in a more secure flight pen. They are very smart. It is only when they are babies they lack survival instincts. You can almost see the wheels turning in their heads as they study the fence and their surroundings. I am loving owning them and studying their behavior.Mumsy - I'd forgotten you had Blue Slate also. I can't keep my turkeys in. I think this week end we'll clip 1 wing on each as they were out next to the road yesterday. Every night at dusk we have to get them off the fence and put them in the coop.
They love getting up on the fence and clean each other as well as themselves.
This makes DH cringe as he is the caretaker of the pool. Thankfully this is now a rare occurnce.
My 2 slates came from a hatchery and it turns out they are male and female. Would they be brother and sister as well? Untill recently, I didn't have any experience hatching my own.
Is your house close to the road?My only means of Japanese Beetle control has been hand picking them off the plants everynight. They seem to really like my Raspberry plants.
DH and I don't like clipping their wings either but we've lost 2 chickens in the last couple months getting hit by cars and last fall Rosie followed DH up in the woods during deer season. He carried her down out of the woods and at Christmas 3 of the jakes went across the road into the woods there. DH, again went after them and he fell down the hill into the road. Although we feel bad about doing it it's the only way we can have them.BTW, I have pictures somewhere of Rosie on top of our house roof. The other turkeys would walk around on the ground following her walking around looking up at her. Very funny.
I'll leave that to you I'll stick w/ my dubias!!!!!!! Junebugs scare the beejeeses out of me!!!!!!! One will put me in a fetal position screaming for Gary (my husband) to get rid of it in 0.2 seconds flat. I pick up my dubias bare handed, get up close and personal w/ all kinds f spiders and snakes to take their pics but junebugs scare me to death
You mean they didn't climb up there? (Sorry, just could not resist)
Yep... They sure can fly. They used to sleep on the roof of our previous two story barn.
Got TWO first eggs today. My EE X Dorking and my Production Red both laid their first egg on the same day... and both were fertile (not that I'll be hatching any - these are eatin' eggs).
(From left to right: SFH, EE X Dorking, Silkie X Bantam Cochin, PR)
