Silkie2005
Crowing
In 2009 I decided to get some turkeys. I managed to purchase a male and female bronze pair. They were just about mature adults when I got them but weren't fully grown quite yet. I named the male turkey Brian and the female turkey Brenda. Brenda didn't seem to lay eggs at all except when she was going broody and then she would lay around 20 eggs and sit on them. I thought this was a little unusual but I hadn't bought them for the eggs I had just got them for fun.
As time went on, Brian began to become more and more aggressive and by 2010 I had to have him locked up in a cage because otherwise he would attack guests and family members and even me. He had definitely become a nasty bird. Brenda on the other hand was lovely and was rather shy which 3made a change to her grumpy boyfriend!
Brian and Brenda in May 2010.
Brian close up. Taken in August 2010.
Brian's attitude just got worse and worse and by 2012 I had to have him locked up in an old pig pen and section off some room for him to walk around outside. He has become so vicious that he was attacking me everyday when I opened up his pen. He truly was an evil birdie! Brenda even started to get fed up of Brian and his terrible mood and she started to distance her self from him and fly over the fence for a couple of hours peace from him. In March 2012 Brenda went broody on a clutch of 10 eggs. I hoped that they were fertilised but I want sure, I couldn't remember the last time I had seen her and Brian together for a long period of time!
After a few weeks of waiting only one eggs hatched the baby was very small and I hardly got to see it when it was young because Brenda was so protective of it. Within a few months it became apparent that the chick was a male, so I named him Brian II. Hopefully new Brian won't be as mean as his father!
Brian I chasing some poor piglets around. Taken in July 2012.
Brian I eyeing up the horse! Taken in March 2013.
By 2013, Brenda was spending most of her time away from Brian so I decided to get her a female turkey friend. I managed to get a little year old hen which I named Beryl. They loved each other's company and would walk around with each other all day and leave the grotto box Brian behind in his pen. He had even started to attack Brenda which wasn't too pleasing! Beryl also became Brian II's new girlfriend as he was now looking for a female but didn't have one because Brian I would always scream and gobble at him when he went near Brenda even though he was locked up and couldn't get to her himself!
Brian I and Beryl together in April 2013.
Brian I in April 2013 wandering around looking for his next victim!
Unfortunately by September 2013, I had had enough of Brian attacking me and he had even drawn blood on numerous occasions! I put him in an old chicken coop. I didn't need to keep Brian I anymore because his son, Brain II was now mature and would be able to fertilise all turkey eggs so I didn't need to put up with the harassment every day given to me by Brian I.
Brian I in seclusion. Taken in September 2013.
I dispatched Brian I in November 2013. He was aged around 4 years old. He had also started to limp recently so I think he was going to depart soon anyway.
Brian II had now adopted both Brenda (his mother) and Beryl as his new girlfriends and was strutting his stuff for her around the yard.
Brian II and Brenda. Taken in November 2013.
Brian II strutting his stuff for the ladies. Taken in January 2014.
In 2014 Beryl went broody on a clutch of eggs and after weeks of waiting she hatched a little white poult. She wasn't really a very good mum and would leave it on it's own for a few hours at a time. After a while, it became obvious that it was a boy, so I named it Brian III (why not). He grew up to be a very weedy and small little thing and didn't resemble his father or grandfather in anyway. Thankfully, unlike his predecessors he was very nervous and wasn't a rotten egg. Sadly, Brian II has now become even more mean than Brian I and is horrible to all living things that aren't his two ladies (at least he doesn't pick on them!).
To my utter shock, in April 2014 Beryl died she had been killed by a fox. She was only 2 years old so I was really upset. Brenda, Brian II and Brian III all seemed to miss her.
Brian II in April 2014.
Brian II and Brenda in May 2014.
Brian II and Brenda in October 2014.
Brian II terrorising people. Taken in November 2014.
Close up of Brian II. Taken in December 2014.
The only place Brian II is safe is behind bars! Taken in May 2015.
Brian II suddenly died in June 2015 for some unknown reason, he was fine the day before and when I went to let him and the rest of the turkeys out he was dead in his pig pen! He was around 3 years old and will be greatly missed by the other turkeys!
Brian III and Brenda with their new friends, Bobby and Berlinda. Taken in June 2015.
Brian III in June 2015.
Brian III and Berlinda in July 2015.
Brian III in August 2015.
Brian III playing in the wendy house with his grandmother (Brenda) watching on. Taken in April 2016.
All was going well until June 2016 when Brenda, the matriarch of the whole farm yard was killed by a fox. She was 7 years old but was still very healthy and active. I will miss her deeply as she was the original female turkey and was the one who started this all off. Her death was not in vain though because her descendants live on till this very day. Poor Brian is lost without Brenda and spends most of his time sitting now. He seems to have developed this weird white foam in his eyes. I will have to try and track down a new Brenda for him!
Brian III looking depressed about Brenda. Taken in June 2016.
Brian III in with the rabbits. Taken in July 2016.
I bought a female white turkey in July 2016 for Brian III to be amigos with. I named her Brenda II. She seems to be very lovely and reminds me a lot of the original Brenda! Brian seems to have cheered up a lot and is not so droopy all the time. Soon after I bought her (only two or three months) Brenda II went broody. She hatched out again only one poult which AGAIN turned out to be male so I named him Brian IV. It must be something to do with the way I am housing them when they are broody that means that we are having all male offspring. To this day I have never produced a female chick!
Brian and Jessie, an unlikely friendship. Taken in August 2016.
Brian III in September 2016.
Brian III in December 2016.
Brian III in March 2017.
In April 2017 I bought two female turkeys which I named Brenda III and Brenda IV (of course!). I got them because Brian III and Brian IV were getting angry about having to share Brenda II. The two new Brenda's are just normal turkey colours and seem to be friendly enough. Brian IV seems to have taken after his father in being friendly and not after the first two Brian's in being vicious!
We have Brenda III in the front left, Brian III (white) and Brian IV in the back left and Brenda II (white) and Brenda IV (bronze) in the right. Taken in April 2017.
Brenda III and Brian IV. Taken in April 2017.
Brian III and Brian IV. Taken in April 2017.
Brenda II (at the front) and the of the flock in the background. Taken in April 2017.
Brenda II was killed by May 2017 by a fox after she went broody in a hedge and wouldn't left me move her into the coop. She was fine for about a week and then at around 3am in the morning I heard a blood curling scream. By the time I ran downstairs and got outside she was gone. All that was left of her was a load of her feather and blood everywhere. All her eggs had been smashed in the struggle. I was gutted because she was such a beautiful bird.
Brian III, Brian IV, Brenda III and Brenda IV. Taken in May 2017.
In July 2017 Brenda III went broody and hatched some chicks. Unfortunately, she started to attack them and killed all but one of them. I managed to rescue the lone survivor of the massacre. The lone chick wouldn't eat anything and was clearly stressed and confused about why it was separated from it's mother and why it had been attacked by her! The only thing it would sat were maggots! Nothing else. JUST MAGGOTS. Because of this I named him Maggot. Maggot even grew up to be white which was funny. Brian IV is definitely the father because Brian III had become so weak that he couldn't do the deed anymore. Within a few weeks of Maggot being born Brian III died. He was 3 years old. I will miss his because he was such a lovely bird and was very loving towards his family.
Maggot in August 2017.
Maggot in September 2017.
Maggot under his heat lamp in September 2017.
Maggot in his new big pen. Taken in September 2017.
Maggot in October 2017.
Brian IV, Brenda III and Brenda IV in October 2017.
Maggot meeting his family for the first time since he was born! Taken in October 2017.
Maggot and the rest of the flock in December 2017.
Maggot and his family in December 2017.
Maggot and Brian IV in January 2018.
Maggot, Brian IV and the two Brenda's in January 2018.
To may dismay, Maggot has become a grumpy birdie and tries to attack me every day! I will have to just keep him locked him up for now so that he can't attack guests or me. I wish they could just all be friendly. In April 2018, Brenda IV went broody and hatched some eggs that belonged to her and Brenda III. Two of the eggs were Brian IV's and two of the eggs were Maggot's they all hatched and I had four poults! But guess what. THEY WERE ALL MALE! I named Maggot's two sons Maggot II and Maggot III because they looked like him. I named Brian IV's two sons Brian V and Brian VI because they looked like him. I had to move the four juveniles into a field with my chickens because they were constantly fighting with their father (Maggot) and grandfather (Brian IV). The four new males all seem friendly and haven't taken after Maggot in his grumpy attitude. This means that Maggot II and Maggot III are the great great great grandsons of Brian I and Brenda I!!!
Merry Christmas Turkeys! Taken in December 2018.
Maggot I, Brian IV, Brenda III and Brenda IV in February 2020.
Maggot II (white), Maggot III (white), Brian V (bronze) and Brian VI (bronze). Taken in February 2020.
As time went on, Brian began to become more and more aggressive and by 2010 I had to have him locked up in a cage because otherwise he would attack guests and family members and even me. He had definitely become a nasty bird. Brenda on the other hand was lovely and was rather shy which 3made a change to her grumpy boyfriend!
Brian and Brenda in May 2010.
Brian close up. Taken in August 2010.
Brian's attitude just got worse and worse and by 2012 I had to have him locked up in an old pig pen and section off some room for him to walk around outside. He has become so vicious that he was attacking me everyday when I opened up his pen. He truly was an evil birdie! Brenda even started to get fed up of Brian and his terrible mood and she started to distance her self from him and fly over the fence for a couple of hours peace from him. In March 2012 Brenda went broody on a clutch of 10 eggs. I hoped that they were fertilised but I want sure, I couldn't remember the last time I had seen her and Brian together for a long period of time!
After a few weeks of waiting only one eggs hatched the baby was very small and I hardly got to see it when it was young because Brenda was so protective of it. Within a few months it became apparent that the chick was a male, so I named him Brian II. Hopefully new Brian won't be as mean as his father!
Brian I chasing some poor piglets around. Taken in July 2012.
Brian I eyeing up the horse! Taken in March 2013.
By 2013, Brenda was spending most of her time away from Brian so I decided to get her a female turkey friend. I managed to get a little year old hen which I named Beryl. They loved each other's company and would walk around with each other all day and leave the grotto box Brian behind in his pen. He had even started to attack Brenda which wasn't too pleasing! Beryl also became Brian II's new girlfriend as he was now looking for a female but didn't have one because Brian I would always scream and gobble at him when he went near Brenda even though he was locked up and couldn't get to her himself!
Brian I and Beryl together in April 2013.
Brian I in April 2013 wandering around looking for his next victim!
Unfortunately by September 2013, I had had enough of Brian attacking me and he had even drawn blood on numerous occasions! I put him in an old chicken coop. I didn't need to keep Brian I anymore because his son, Brain II was now mature and would be able to fertilise all turkey eggs so I didn't need to put up with the harassment every day given to me by Brian I.
Brian I in seclusion. Taken in September 2013.
I dispatched Brian I in November 2013. He was aged around 4 years old. He had also started to limp recently so I think he was going to depart soon anyway.
Brian II had now adopted both Brenda (his mother) and Beryl as his new girlfriends and was strutting his stuff for her around the yard.Brian II and Brenda. Taken in November 2013.
Brian II strutting his stuff for the ladies. Taken in January 2014.
In 2014 Beryl went broody on a clutch of eggs and after weeks of waiting she hatched a little white poult. She wasn't really a very good mum and would leave it on it's own for a few hours at a time. After a while, it became obvious that it was a boy, so I named it Brian III (why not). He grew up to be a very weedy and small little thing and didn't resemble his father or grandfather in anyway. Thankfully, unlike his predecessors he was very nervous and wasn't a rotten egg. Sadly, Brian II has now become even more mean than Brian I and is horrible to all living things that aren't his two ladies (at least he doesn't pick on them!).
To my utter shock, in April 2014 Beryl died
she had been killed by a fox. She was only 2 years old so I was really upset. Brenda, Brian II and Brian III all seemed to miss her.Brian II in April 2014.
Brian II and Brenda in May 2014.
Brian II and Brenda in October 2014.
Brian II terrorising people. Taken in November 2014.
Close up of Brian II. Taken in December 2014.
The only place Brian II is safe is behind bars! Taken in May 2015.
Brian II suddenly died in June 2015 for some unknown reason, he was fine the day before and when I went to let him and the rest of the turkeys out he was dead in his pig pen! He was around 3 years old and will be greatly missed by the other turkeys!
Brian III and Brenda with their new friends, Bobby and Berlinda. Taken in June 2015.
Brian III in June 2015.
Brian III and Berlinda in July 2015.
Brian III in August 2015.
Brian III playing in the wendy house with his grandmother (Brenda) watching on. Taken in April 2016.
All was going well until June 2016 when Brenda, the matriarch of the whole farm yard was killed by a fox. She was 7 years old but was still very healthy and active. I will miss her deeply as she was the original female turkey and was the one who started this all off. Her death was not in vain though because her descendants live on till this very day. Poor Brian is lost without Brenda and spends most of his time sitting now. He seems to have developed this weird white foam in his eyes. I will have to try and track down a new Brenda for him!
Brian III looking depressed about Brenda. Taken in June 2016.
Brian III in with the rabbits. Taken in July 2016.
I bought a female white turkey in July 2016 for Brian III to be amigos with. I named her Brenda II. She seems to be very lovely and reminds me a lot of the original Brenda! Brian seems to have cheered up a lot and is not so droopy all the time. Soon after I bought her (only two or three months) Brenda II went broody. She hatched out again only one poult which AGAIN turned out to be male so I named him Brian IV. It must be something to do with the way I am housing them when they are broody that means that we are having all male offspring. To this day I have never produced a female chick!
Brian and Jessie, an unlikely friendship. Taken in August 2016.
Brian III in September 2016.
Brian III in December 2016.
Brian III in March 2017.
In April 2017 I bought two female turkeys which I named Brenda III and Brenda IV (of course!). I got them because Brian III and Brian IV were getting angry about having to share Brenda II. The two new Brenda's are just normal turkey colours and seem to be friendly enough. Brian IV seems to have taken after his father in being friendly and not after the first two Brian's in being vicious!
We have Brenda III in the front left, Brian III (white) and Brian IV in the back left and Brenda II (white) and Brenda IV (bronze) in the right. Taken in April 2017.
Brenda III and Brian IV. Taken in April 2017.
Brian III and Brian IV. Taken in April 2017.
Brenda II (at the front) and the of the flock in the background. Taken in April 2017.
Brenda II was killed by May 2017 by a fox after she went broody in a hedge and wouldn't left me move her into the coop. She was fine for about a week and then at around 3am in the morning I heard a blood curling scream. By the time I ran downstairs and got outside she was gone. All that was left of her was a load of her feather and blood everywhere. All her eggs had been smashed in the struggle. I was gutted because she was such a beautiful bird.
Brian III, Brian IV, Brenda III and Brenda IV. Taken in May 2017.
In July 2017 Brenda III went broody and hatched some chicks. Unfortunately, she started to attack them and killed all but one of them. I managed to rescue the lone survivor of the massacre. The lone chick wouldn't eat anything and was clearly stressed and confused about why it was separated from it's mother and why it had been attacked by her! The only thing it would sat were maggots! Nothing else. JUST MAGGOTS. Because of this I named him Maggot. Maggot even grew up to be white which was funny. Brian IV is definitely the father because Brian III had become so weak that he couldn't do the deed anymore. Within a few weeks of Maggot being born Brian III died. He was 3 years old. I will miss his because he was such a lovely bird and was very loving towards his family.
Maggot in August 2017.
Maggot in September 2017.
Maggot under his heat lamp in September 2017.
Maggot in his new big pen. Taken in September 2017.
Maggot in October 2017.
Brian IV, Brenda III and Brenda IV in October 2017.
Maggot meeting his family for the first time since he was born! Taken in October 2017.
Maggot and the rest of the flock in December 2017.
Maggot and his family in December 2017.
Maggot and Brian IV in January 2018.
Maggot, Brian IV and the two Brenda's in January 2018.
To may dismay, Maggot has become a grumpy birdie and tries to attack me every day! I will have to just keep him locked him up for now so that he can't attack guests or me. I wish they could just all be friendly. In April 2018, Brenda IV went broody and hatched some eggs that belonged to her and Brenda III. Two of the eggs were Brian IV's and two of the eggs were Maggot's they all hatched and I had four poults! But guess what. THEY WERE ALL MALE! I named Maggot's two sons Maggot II and Maggot III because they looked like him. I named Brian IV's two sons Brian V and Brian VI because they looked like him. I had to move the four juveniles into a field with my chickens because they were constantly fighting with their father (Maggot) and grandfather (Brian IV). The four new males all seem friendly and haven't taken after Maggot in his grumpy attitude. This means that Maggot II and Maggot III are the great great great grandsons of Brian I and Brenda I!!!
Merry Christmas Turkeys! Taken in December 2018.
Maggot I, Brian IV, Brenda III and Brenda IV in February 2020.
Maggot II (white), Maggot III (white), Brian V (bronze) and Brian VI (bronze). Taken in February 2020.
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