Turkey Talk for 2014

[piglett]

Quote:
a double fence could also keep them apart leave 6 feet between fences or put up a solid wood fence

 

[SilkieSensation]

I have realized that I have a problem. What the heck do you guys use to scald your turkeys? My biggest pot is 12 quarts. I have not seen any bigger. And as far as your set up, do you guys have your pot over a fire (what I do for chickens), or something else?

I scalded my BBW in the bathtub last year. My water heater is set as high as it will go so water is already about 150-160F when it comes out of the tap. I just dumped in a huge pan of boiling water with it & dunked her. Carried her back outside in a 5 gallon bucket to be plucked so she wouldn't drip through the house. Of course, I bleached the tub both before & after her swim.

I just use what's available.

 

[R2elk]

Quote:
The solid fence is the key. If they can't see each other they won't fight through the fence.

For Gevshiba, you may have better cooperation from the local animal control than you will get from the G&F Dept.

 

[Penny Hen]

I love this! Im going to have to take a look around TSC now. Roughly how much does it cost?

Including shipping I remember it being around $40 to $50 dollars.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
My blue slate hen is obviously larger than my RP hen of the same age, and with the 7-8 month age difference I think it would be even more obvious.

 

[Sydney Acres]

I usually only do one turkey at a time, so a food-grade five gallon bucket works fine for me. Of course I have to carry water from the stove--two large soup pots worth is enough for one turkey in the bucket. I'm going to have to look into that contraption of Penny Hen's.

Any concerns about getting plastic buckets or tubs that hot, not from a melting standpoint, but from a chemicals leaching out standpoint???

 

[popsicle]

Don't worry, that method isn't one I'd consider. I also don't want to poach him. I'm limited on what I can try, because it's the neighbor's property. I might try the flags first, since it's easy. I will call someone if I can't run him off myself, but we really hate having the Corp of Engineer people coming around.

Why would the Army Corps of Engineers come for a wildlife issue? You don't have to fill a wetland to deter turkeys.

Maybe try going to your local hunting paraphernalia store and pick up some coyote urine?

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
Oh, I forgot coyote urine was commercially available. I like that option. It's the same principle as going to the zoo to get cougar poop, but a lot easier. That combined with a visual barrier would have a lot better chance of success than just one thing by itself.

 

[popsicle]

Any concerns about getting plastic buckets or tubs that hot, not from a melting standpoint, but from a chemicals leaching out standpoint???

I did think about that when I first decided to use the bucket, but I'm honestly not that concerned. First, I don't dump in boiling water, so I don't know how much 150F-ish water would leach. Second, I use food-grade buckets that were never used for anything else. Third, the birds are in there just long enough to loosen feathers; I don't brine, marinate, store, cook, etc in plastic. I would think there would be more leaching from something acidic stored in plastic for days/weeks/months--say, lemonade from the convenience store.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
Good points. And now that I think about it, the dill pickles that go on hamburgers at fast food restaurants are stored in those buckets, and they're pickled in acidic vinegar and stored for months. Plus you can always put the bird into cold water immediately afterwards. I've never done it that way, but saw a thread on butchering chickens that recommended a swish in hot water to loosen the feathers, then a swish in cold water immediately afterwards to decrease the likelihood of the skin tearing while the bird is being hand plucked. I don't know if it works, but was going to try it next time. That would help rinse off any minute amount of chemical leaching, if any existed in the first place.

Are those 5 gallon buckets really big enough? I know the birds have lots of feathers so appear larger than they actually are, but I look at my big tom, then I look at a 5 gallon bucket, and it looks like it would be a really tight squeeze! Do you have to do the head end first, then turn it around and do the tail end and the drumsticks?