Turkeys



Our rafter of turkeys.

 Last year, I tried to raise our own Thanksgiving turkeys.  We made it through the brooder box and out into the pen.  But Grandpa's dog got in the coop and killed all of them in one "fowl" game (sorry, I couldn't help myself).

So I decided to try it again this year.  Grandpa still has his dog, but I made sure that my pen was much more secure and I let those turkeys grow pretty big before I let them anywhere that a dog might be able to get to them.  A tough dog might go after these turkeys still, but not Grandpa's.  The turkeys are as tall as he is.

Bob (I think).

We haven't named any of the turkeys.  Except for one.  Bob.  Now I'm not sure that I call the same turkey Bob every time, but Bob is an aggressive little cuss.  He zeros in on your fingers and boy, you'd better be quick or it's gonna pinch.  Even when he was smaller, he had a thing for hands.  I always made sure to put the waterer in quickly while distracting the turkeys with food in another area of the pen.  They have pretty sharp beaks.

Well, the boys wanted me to let the turkeys free range.  I guess since almost all of the animals on our farm are allowed to roam around, the kids figure that's the way it should be.  I had been in the pen with the turkeys lots of times and while they are strangely curious about everything you do, they never (not even Bob) seemed to truly "attack."  So today I let them out.  Technically, I just opened the door to their pen.  It took them about two hours to actually come out.  I know people say that chickens aren't very smart, but turkeys make them look like scholars.

Maybe this one is Bob
* note the sharp beak *

 We have five Broad-Breasted Bronze turkeys.  I think it may end up that we only have one female, which works fine for me as these are all destined for freezer camp and the males grow larger than the females.  Once the turkeys had figured out how to get out of their pen, they spent awhile roaming up and down the fence-line of their former digs.  The only time that they varied from this, was when I would come over to check on them.  Then I had a posse that would gather around my legs.  I kept my hands in my pockets, but even so, they were a little menacing as a group.

Eventually, the turkey gang made it around the whole barnyard.  They even followed me all the way out to the horse pasture at feeding time.  They never attacked, but Bob went after my hand a couple of times.  I picked him up by his feet and talked to him about his inappropriate behavior.  I don't think it was the most effective course of discipline for a turkey, but it felt good.  The turkeys spent all of the time that they could hovering around me.  They ignored the goats and the other birds, but when I would walk out, I was instantly surrounded. 

This is a full grown bronze...ours are
not this large (yet).

I'm not sure if I will keep them out through the summer.  It is somewhat unnerving to be encircled by turkeys while you're trying to do your evening chores.  And while they are surprisingly heavy (I'd guess at least 10 pounds a piece), they won't be hard to catch to put back.  All I have to do is pull my hands out of my pockets and reach down (quickly).