Turkeys in the vineyard?

[Engteacher]

Do turkeys pasture okay in a vineyard or will they eat all the fruit? We have about 1/2 acre of grapes and would love the fertilizing and pest control provided by free ranging turkeys, but don't want to sacrifice our yield.

I've looked on line, but I haven't found if turkeys and grapes "get along." Thanks!

 

[MissPrissy]

They will eat the grapes and the bugs and the leaves if they take a notion. Turkeys are good foragers. Mine eat everything high and low. You could put them out during non-fruiting seasons and let them range.

 

[Engteacher]

I sort of thought so. They'd probably eat the buds, too. That means they need to range somewhere else from early May to late September. On the bright side, they'd probably scarf down the ones that drop on the ground before our dog would. Silly dog doesn't know how toxic grapes are to her. This fall we had her on leash for two months because she'd go for the grapes. *sigh*

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[TarzantheChickenMan]

my birds ate all the tomatoes they could get their beaks on
i would assume the grape would suffer the same fate

 

[melody123]

I've heard that berry farmers used to put geese in their fields to eat the grass. Some grape farmers have been known to put minature sheep in with their grapes to eat the low leaves.

With turkeys, their might be a problem with them roosting wherever they want. Plus they can jump up to eat food. But if it's a large vineyard and only 1 or 2 turkeys, then it shouldn't be a problem. But if it's only a few plants and a hungry turkey, then I would be wary.

 

[Engteacher]

We have about 125 vines on about 1/4 acre. You can see the pictures here: http://tinyurl.com/m2h2gg

I think we might just try it after harvest next fall. That way the turkeys can clean up the windfall and dropped grapes before our dog eats them. Grapes are toxic to dogs, but our Chessie doesn't understand that. We'll let you know how that works.

 

[chickenannie]

I have a small arbor of Concord grapes and the turkeys enjoyed hanging out under there (it was cool and shady) in the hot summer, but I think they ate the grapes!! Or else it was the possum that someone saw climbing around in the arbor one day.