Turkey dies of broken heart

[Gigis Farm]

We had a tom and hen turkey...we processed the tom for thanksgiving saving the hen for Christmas. 5 days after the tom was gone the hen was found dead in her usual sleeping area. she seemingly had quit eating and drinking. we penned them up at night and they free ranged during the day. there were no signs of injury or illness. we have other birds (duck, hens & guinea) they are in adjacent but separate pens. Has anyone else experienced something like this? The turkeys were delightful to raise...and we want to try again next year. Wanting to learn from our mistakes.

 

[ivan3]

Welcome to BYC. I'd want to see the results of a complete necroscopy of the hen before entertaining that sort of hypothesis. However, they are very social creatures of habit. They do, `in a `turkish' sense, have their highs & lows (`happy dancing' or `moping' around for a week after losing a sparring match). Years ago, I had to put down a BBB jake that had lost the ability to walk. I used a .22, out-of-sight of the rest of the turks. Even so, the next three days, when let out to free range, the flock immediately walked out behind the garden where their `buddy' had been put down and wandered to and fro trying to figure it out. This was odd, as they never bothered to reconnoiter those locations (at about the same distance from run) where I'd used the .22 to retire raccoons and opossums. They do possess a pretty good memory (they can remember what goes where & remember to check): Whether those `memories' can trigger associations that result in a `limbic' `deflation' unto death?

 

[retlaw]

My tom died from black head last year and i just happen to be right beside him when he did his final kick.
The three hens were about twenty feet away at the moment he died they all started to make a butch of funny noises.
They knew.

 

[kuntrygirl]

We had a tom and hen turkey...we processed the tom for thanksgiving saving the hen for Christmas.  5 days after the tom was gone the hen was found dead in her usual sleeping area.  she seemingly had quit eating and drinking.  we penned them up at night and they free ranged during the day.  there were no signs of injury or illness.  we have other birds (duck, hens & guinea) they are in adjacent but separate pens.  Has anyone else experienced something like this?  The turkeys were delightful to raise...and we want to try again next year.  Wanting to learn from our mistakes.

WOW! Sorry to hear that.

My tom died from black head last year and i just happen to be right beside him when he did his final kick.
The three hens were about twenty feet away at the moment he died they all started to make a butch of funny noises.
They knew.

WOW!