Wild turkey friend?

[Logar]

So we have been having a young wild turkey, under twice the size of my 20 week old pullets, that has been visiting my yard every few days for a couple weeks now. My dad first saw it eating off the ground next to one of my bird feeders getting all of the fallen bits, then my mom saw it talking to my chickens through the run fence and just now when I was free ranging I went to check on them and saw it standing right next to them foraging! I love seeing the turkey as it is super cute but is it a good idea? I just find it strange that it isn’t with other turkeys but choosing to be around chickens. The chickens don’t mind and the turkey clearly doesn’t so will there be an issue?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

My parents have an entire flock of wild turkeys that come visit them and eat the bird seed they put in the feeder. It's a whole flock though. Not sure why a tom would be alone but then I don't know much about turkeys. The only problem I can see is wild birds spreading disease which is kind of hard to prevent anyway. I'm sure someone who knows more about turkeys will chime in I just wanted to say my parents haven't had any issues with it. Their chickens are in a run so they don't actually mix with the turkeys.

 

[ChicNmom]

I had one this spring that would drop by in the afternoon for dinner. She got pretty close to the chickens and would get within a few feet of me, especially if I had scratch grain for her. I figure she had a nest in the woods and my yard was a good food source.

 

[Buckeye Amy]

I WISH we had wild turkeys here! We had a random chukar show up this spring for a week, and I've had pheasants visit in the fall in the past. I would be concerned about the spread of viruses, especially this year when avian flu has been a problem.

*edited to correct the spelling of "chukar"!

 

[Susan Skylark]

We had one in town here that hung out at the park, he eventually got mean chasing people and attacking old ladies. Don’t feed him from your hand (if he loses his fear of people that is a bad thing). If your hens are free ranging I don’t see how this bird is any more likely to pass on disease than other wild birds they are in contact with. I had a friend lose her peacock, the neighbor saw it six months later running with a turkey flock, definitely social birds!

 

[Logar]

We had one in town here that hung out at the park, he eventually got mean chasing people and attacking old ladies. Don’t feed him from your hand (if he loses his fear of people that is a bad thing). If your hens are free ranging I don’t see how this bird is any more likely to pass on disease than other wild birds they are in contact with. I had a friend lose her peacock, the neighbor saw it six months later running with a turkey flock, definitely social birds!

Do hens tend to get as mean as Toms? I am 90% sure it is a hen, but I only have got a couple seconds view of it from 50 feet before it ran off. It doesn’t seem to be loosing fear in humans or my dogs, just seems to have taken a liking to the chicks. Thanks for the heads up though. And that is crazy! Don’t seem to be very discriminatory birds lol

 

[CHlCKEN]

I have a wild flock and whenever their numbers start to thin they hang much closer to my birds. Its possible your turkey friend has lost it’s own pals and is looking for a new flock.