Turkey Talk for 2014

[SilkieSensation]

True...  My goats are little fattys. The don't eat bark and that's probably why.

Part II:

I had a hawk attack last week. The DH called to see if I wanted him to turn any of my birds out before he left for work. I was getting off work in about a hour and told him "Sure tun the bantam out..."  When I got home and walked around the house I thought it was odd that all of them were in the coop and duck house...    They I saw the demon hawk take off out of the side yard with one of my d'Uccle.  Poor little roo has sacrificed his self to save a hen who was hiding in brush right beside were the hawk was.  I was freaked out and haven't let any of the birds out to free range all week because no one was here to protect and watch over them.  Yesterday I was home all day so I opened the barn up (turkeys, goats, and LF chickens.)  I watched over them until they had eat and then went about their business.  I think that is the reason that I have never had a problem with hawks. The LF flock forage in the woods and brush and the bantam stay out in the open.

I have my kids old Little Tykes toddler swing and Picnic Table set out in the back yard for the goats to climb on. The chickens to take cover in it in the rain or sun for shade.  I have a friend who works for the electrical Co and he is going to bring me one of those giant spools.

I would say that their color made the d'Uccle more visible to the hawk as well he was Porcelain and the hen was white. Most of my LF flock are dark in color except for a few orange and they seem to stay in the brushy areas.

Hawks wont bother adult Turkeys will they?  I was thinking if the hawk comes back I would need to separate the goats and turkeys so they didn't have to stay in the barn locked up.

I would think the turkeys would be too big for a hawk. Poults are another story.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: If it grows a goat will eat it. I would suggest leaning a pallet or chunk of osb over a couple cement block or similarly sized rocks for chicken cover. If you have goats any shrubs are likely to be stripped clean & not provide much cover.

Quote: We have sheep so I get it-- having plenty for the goats/ sheep to eat is helpful to prefent the bushes from b eing completely stripped; as wella s moving them from section to section. Which is why I have like the electric netting in the p ast as it is easy to move.

I 'd love to have a variety of bushes. Poison IVy is already here-- it can go! But more blueberries, rapsberry thicket, other suggestions?

 

[SilkieSensation]

That's

 

Thanks Silkie, I don't have any goats. I was trying to suggest something for Arielle's chickens.

We have sheep so I get it-- having plenty for the goats/ sheep to eat is helpful to prefent the bushes from b eing completely stripped; as wella s moving them from section to section. Which is why I have like the electric netting in the p ast as it is easy to move.

I 'd love to have a variety of bushes. Poison IVy is already here-- it can go! But more blueberries, rapsberry thicket, other suggestions?

Not sure if the sheep eat the thorny stuff or not but it sure doesn't last long with the goats around. That's the first thing mine go for even before the grain bowl.

 

[Arielle]

My chickens often skip the grain bowl and head for hte lawn; the turkeys however head right for the pellets!!

 

[Penny Hen]

I am mostly fenced in with 5 foot horse fencing, and over the years the coyotes have learned to pass thru and leave the sheep and horses alone. Nothing like a mare that is alert and charges toard the howling coyote, or my own dog.

I am adding electric fencing to the outside perimeter to extend the area beyond the horses, and plan to have electric netting for inside. I also wonder if the birds would benefit from having places to hide and get out of reach. . . looking at new styles of integrated management I hear you about our own dogs. I kept my dogs penned ( HUGE pen) and when I let them out I was pleasantly surprized that the chicken killers did not even notice the birds much-- yet kill what ever landed in their pen.

I have decided on Buckeye as my heritage breed--as I have a few possible human resources to help me learn them. ANd a project "breed" called Konza where I am a little more free to mess up!! lol

Well the reason the dog will kill inside his pen and not out is because the pen is HIS territory. Outside is not his and he is visiting so he must put on his company manners. It goes back to wolf instincts and one pack not hunting on another packs turf unless hunger drives them to do it and then it starts a turf war.

 

[Penny Hen]

That's
Not sure if the sheep eat the thorny stuff or not but it sure doesn't last long with the goats around. That's the first thing mine go for even before the grain bowl.

That sometimes depends on your breed of sheep as well as their life experience. Icelandics, Shetlands, Soay and Jacobs eat more like goats naturally. Some of the more "civilized" sheep can be taught to eat browse slowly because their gut has to adjust. I have yet to see any sheep though refuse any leaves from the rose family or the thorned berry family. It is like sheep crack. If you raise roses fence them well or you can kiss them goodbye.

 

[Penny Hen]

I would think the turkeys would be too big for a hawk. Poults are another story.

I have to tell you this story of an internet aquaintence of mine who is a shepherd as well as having chickens. She has a llama as a guard animal for her sheep. The sheep and the llama and the chickens are all in the field when an eagle dives in and picks up a fat hen. The hen is struggling and screeching and making it difficult for the eagle to gain altitude. The llama herded the sheep into the shelter and then went after the eagle. But the eagle had gained enough height that even with the llama rearing up and pawing the air put him just out of reach. So the llama pulled out his last weapon and spit at the eagle catching him in the head. The eagle lost his grip on the hen and she fluttered to the ground and made it to safety. The eagle had to go find dinner elsewhere.

Oh, and about electric fences: This is borrowed from another shepherd who lived out West. She puts aluminum strips on her electric fence and smears peanut butter on to bait them. When the coyotes (or other wild preditors) lick the peanut butter they get a full shock of the fence without their thick coats being able to insulate them. They don't challenge her fences after that.

 

[Sydney Acres]

True... My goats are little fattys. The don't eat bark and that's probably why.

Part II:

I had a hawk attack last week. The DH called to see if I wanted him to turn any of my birds out before he left for work. I was getting off work in about a hour and told him "Sure tun the bantam out..." When I got home and walked around the house I thought it was odd that all of them were in the coop and duck house... They I saw the demon hawk take off out of the side yard with one of my d'Uccle. Poor little roo has sacrificed his self to save a hen who was hiding in brush right beside were the hawk was. I was freaked out and haven't let any of the birds out to free range all week because no one was here to protect and watch over them. Yesterday I was home all day so I opened the barn up (turkeys, goats, and LF chickens.) I watched over them until they had eat and then went about their business. I think that is the reason that I have never had a problem with hawks. The LF flock forage in the woods and brush and the bantam stay out in the open.

I have my kids old Little Tykes toddler swing and Picnic Table set out in the back yard for the goats to climb on. The chickens to take cover in it in the rain or sun for shade. I have a friend who works for the electrical Co and he is going to bring me one of those giant spools.

I would say that their color made the d'Uccle more visible to the hawk as well he was Porcelain and the hen was white. Most of my LF flock are dark in color except for a few orange and they seem to stay in the brushy areas.

Hawks wont bother adult Turkeys will they? I was thinking if the hawk comes back I would need to separate the goats and turkeys so they didn't have to stay in the barn locked up.

K Epp,
I'm so sorry about your little d'Uccle rooster. He was very brave, and knew his job was to protect his hen.

You've got some pretty big hawk species in north GA, but I think most adult turkeys are too big for most hawks. But the juveniles could be attacked. Or a hungry raptor could get desperate and injure a bird that it can't carry off. Do you have eagles where you live? When I lived east of Atlanta there was an eagle (not sure which species) that fished in a nearby pond about 2 months every year. Never bothered the chickens but really scared them. I'm currently about 80 miles north of Seattle, and there's tons of bald eagles around here. I've had a few eagle attacks on my LF chickens, but so far no fatalities. I've never had a hawk attack on the LF chickens, but I know many people that have. This last week there has been an eagle that perches on top of a 100 foot shore pine near my turkey yard and just watches them for a few hours a day while its mate flies from tree to tree and complains. So far nothing has happened, but they're not hungry. There's plenty of fish in a nearby lake, and these are mature birds with good hunting skills. My biggest problem is with the young eagles. They're not experienced enough to know what is appropriate prey and what isn't, so sometimes they try for prey that is too large and cause injury. (I once saw a young eagle on the ground with its head down, "sneaking up" on a group of yearling calves in a pasture. The two eagle parents were on the ground about 100 feet away looking on. I swear they were shaking their heads in dismay.)

In addition to having pine and fir trees that spread their branches wide and close to the ground, I've planted lots of umbrella-shaped plants for the birds to hide under. It started as an accident -- my husband loves clumping bamboo, so he planted lots of it around the property. When those areas became free-range chicken and turkey yards, the clumps were about 6 years old and arched beautifully at the periphery. I crawled under them one day to look for a lost bird, and couldn't believe the space. There's plenty of room for them to stand up and move around, but total protection from flying predators. I later got a beautiful weeping birch tree and let the branches hang to the ground. It's a chicken playground underneath. But with goats, they'd probably eat the bamboo and the weeping birch. Not sure if they'd eat fir or pine trees though. Either way, it's not a short term solution. The trees would take years before they'd be big enough to offer any protection, and you'd need to fence them off from the birds and goats until that time. Otherwise, the lower branches would be damaged when the trees are small and not be around to protect the birds later.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Oh, and about electric fences: This is borrowed from another shepherd who lived out West. She puts aluminum strips on her electric fence and smears peanut butter on to bait them. When the coyotes (or other wild preditors) lick the peanut butter they get a full shock of the fence without their thick coats being able to insulate them. They don't challenge her fences after that.

What a great idea! I'm going to try that. Thank you for posting it.

 

[SilkieSensation]

 
True...  My goats are little fattys. The don't eat bark and that's probably why.

Part II:

I had a hawk attack last week. The DH called to see if I wanted him to turn any of my birds out before he left for work. I was getting off work in about a hour and told him "Sure tun the bantam out..."  When I got home and walked around the house I thought it was odd that all of them were in the coop and duck house...    They I saw the demon hawk take off out of the side yard with one of my d'Uccle.  Poor little roo has sacrificed his self to save a hen who was hiding in brush right beside were the hawk was.  I was freaked out and haven't let any of the birds out to free range all week because no one was here to protect and watch over them.  Yesterday I was home all day so I opened the barn up (turkeys, goats, and LF chickens.)  I watched over them until they had eat and then went about their business.  I think that is the reason that I have never had a problem with hawks. The LF flock forage in the woods and brush and the bantam stay out in the open.

I have my kids old Little Tykes toddler swing and Picnic Table set out in the back yard for the goats to climb on. The chickens to take cover in it in the rain or sun for shade.  I have a friend who works for the electrical Co and he is going to bring me one of those giant spools.

I would say that their color made the d'Uccle more visible to the hawk as well he was Porcelain and the hen was white. Most of my LF flock are dark in color except for a few orange and they seem to stay in the brushy areas.

Hawks wont bother adult Turkeys will they?  I was thinking if the hawk comes back I would need to separate the goats and turkeys so they didn't have to stay in the barn locked up.

K Epp,
I'm so sorry about your little d'Uccle rooster.  He was very brave, and knew his job was to protect his hen.

You've got some pretty big hawk species in north GA, but I think most adult turkeys are too big for most hawks.  But the juveniles could be attacked.  Or a hungry raptor could get desperate and injure a bird that it can't carry off.   Do you have eagles where you live?  When I lived east of Atlanta there was an eagle (not sure which species) that fished in a nearby pond about 2 months every year.  Never bothered the chickens but really scared them.  I'm currently about 80 miles north of Seattle, and there's tons of bald eagles around here.  I've had a few eagle attacks on my LF chickens, but so far no fatalities.  I've never had a hawk attack on the LF chickens, but I know many people that have.  This last week there has been an eagle that perches on top of a 100 foot shore pine near my turkey yard and just watches them for a few hours a day while its mate flies from tree to tree and complains.  So far nothing has happened, but they're not hungry.  There's plenty of fish in a nearby lake, and these are mature birds with good hunting skills.  My biggest problem is with the young eagles.  They're not experienced enough to know what is appropriate prey and what isn't, so sometimes they try for prey that is too large and cause injury. (I once saw a young eagle on the ground with its head down, "sneaking up" on a group of yearling calves in a pasture.  The two eagle parents were on the ground about 100 feet away looking on.  I swear they were shaking their heads in dismay.)

In addition to having pine and fir trees that spread their branches wide and close to the ground, I've planted lots of umbrella-shaped plants for the birds to hide under.  It started as an accident -- my husband loves clumping bamboo, so he planted lots of it around the property.  When those areas became free-range chicken and turkey yards, the clumps were about 6 years old and arched beautifully at the periphery.  I crawled under them one day to look for a lost bird, and couldn't believe the space.  There's plenty of room for them to stand up and move around, but total protection from flying predators.  I later got a beautiful weeping birch tree and let the branches hang to the ground.  It's a chicken playground underneath.  But with goats, they'd probably eat the bamboo and the weeping birch.  Not sure if they'd eat fir or pine trees though.   Either way, it's not a short term solution.  The trees would take years before they'd be big enough to offer any protection, and you'd need to fence them off from the birds and goats until that time.  Otherwise, the lower branches would be damaged when the trees are small and not be around to protect the birds later.

My goats love pine. Pine trees definitely are NOT safe from goats.