EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I know what you mean about looking fake. Mine are strutting around the barn right now, and when the sun hits them just right, the color is just amazing!!!!
OP
gsganzer
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Eddie, What breed are your turkeys? We have two Broad Breasted Bronze toms, Tom Selleck and Tom Cruise. We had a third tom, named Tom Brady, but he got killed. Ours are pretty friendly and follow us around the yard. But they're dumb as heck. I'm constantly rescuing them from some predicament they get themselves in. They get themselves stuck in some of the strangest places.
The rancher gets some pretty cool birds at some auctions. He has a Royal Palm tom and two hens. We call that tom, "Tommy Tutone", because he's just black and white.
The Royal Palm are really beautiful birds.
The rancher gets some pretty cool birds at some auctions. He has a Royal Palm tom and two hens. We call that tom, "Tommy Tutone", because he's just black and white.
The Royal Palm are really beautiful birds.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
We started with a pair of Narragansett turkeys. She laid eggs, sat on them, then abandoned them. We're not sure if she doesn't sit long enough, or if she realizes they are not going to hatch because he didn't fertilize them. I'm guessing they are getting close to being ten years old.
Last year, a buddy of mine in CA sent us some turkey eggs from his place. He as Red Bourbons, but there are also wild Rio Grande turkeys in his area that mate with his domestic birds. One in the video looks like he's almost pure Rio Grande. The other looks like Red Bourbon, or mixed. We're not sure. There is also a hen that looks more like the Red Bourbon. We only had three hatch out of a dozen eggs. We're going to get more eggs in the Spring and see what happens.
My buddies name is Allan, so we named all three of them Allan. It's kind of confusing, but for me, it's also a lot of fun. Allan, Allan and Allan!!
Last year, a buddy of mine in CA sent us some turkey eggs from his place. He as Red Bourbons, but there are also wild Rio Grande turkeys in his area that mate with his domestic birds. One in the video looks like he's almost pure Rio Grande. The other looks like Red Bourbon, or mixed. We're not sure. There is also a hen that looks more like the Red Bourbon. We only had three hatch out of a dozen eggs. We're going to get more eggs in the Spring and see what happens.
My buddies name is Allan, so we named all three of them Allan. It's kind of confusing, but for me, it's also a lot of fun. Allan, Allan and Allan!!
ultrarunner
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Lots of Turkeys in the SF Bay Area even sightings in urban areas.
After the Turkey invasion the coyote population boomed.
A few of my brothers friends hunt turkey and deer on the farm which is sandwiched between city limit and tens of thousands of acres parkland..
After the Turkey invasion the coyote population boomed.
A few of my brothers friends hunt turkey and deer on the farm which is sandwiched between city limit and tens of thousands of acres parkland..
MossRoad
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Cracks me up that there will be 3-4 tom's strutting their stuff and 20-30 hens ignoring them completely. 
MossRoad
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We let our neighbor hunt our vacant property. He says there are lots of turkey in deer season and lots of deer in turkey season. 
But, he always manages to get some of each.
But, he always manages to get some of each.
ponytug
Super Member
For about 51 weeks a year...Cracks me up that there will be 3-4 tom's strutting their stuff and 20-30 hens ignoring them completely.
We have flocks of hens and Tom's that are resident about nine months of the year. The turkeys are ok flyers, and will often glide hundreds of feet from our place downhill when spooked. They often roost 60-80' up, almost above the house in some big trees. For whatever reason, the great horned owls use one of the adjacent trees for their nightly pre-hunt psych up hooting sessions. Doesn't seem to bother the turkeys. The coyotes basically never get a turkey. I think we have found turkey feathers once in twenty years or so, and that could easily have been old age or disease.
During peak rainy season, the turkeys drift away and head down the hill somewhere. I suspect that they hear hanging out along the creeks, where they are roosting and foraging.
All the best,
Peter
Torvy
Super Member
I was confused, because I've seen wild turkeys here and we're only about an hour or so north of Tyler. Not on our land, but in more open areas nearby.
I saw this article about the efforts to restore them.
agrilifetoday.tamu.edu
I saw this article about the efforts to restore them.
Wild turkeys are strutting into spring - AgriLife Today
More Texans may encounter turkeys this spring thanks to collaboration by Texas A&M AgriLife and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
agrilifetoday.tamu.edu
MossRoad
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Almost every year, when I bush hog along the highway that fronts our remote property, I'll blast a dead turkey carcass. Feathers everywhere. Usually the only thing recognizable is something like this....For about 51 weeks a year...
We have flocks of hens and Tom's that are resident about nine months of the year. The turkeys are ok flyers, and will often glide hundreds of feet from our place downhill when spooked. They often roost 60-80' up, almost above the house in some big trees. For whatever reason, the great horned owls use one of the adjacent trees for their nightly pre-hunt psych up hooting sessions. Doesn't seem to bother the turkeys. The coyotes basically never get a turkey. I think we have found turkey feathers once in twenty years or so, and that could easily have been old age or disease.
During peak rainy season, the turkeys drift away and head down the hill somewhere. I suspect that they hear hanging out along the creeks, where they are roosting and foraging.
All the best,
Peter
ponytug
Super Member
Yikes! Early on here, I brush mowed a pair of turkey nests. No birds, just a few eggs, so I moved my mowing times and it hasn't been an issue. The few dead turkeys that I have found in the open space nearby look as if something exploded, though the tail seems to be generally intact for whatever reason.
For perspective, deer carcasses go from live to skeletons with a few thin patches of pink in twelve hours or so. Perhaps the odd hoof with a tiny flap of skin. It is a fully stocked ecosystem around here and everything plays a part.
I am still smiling over @gsganzer's original photo. I've seen the local ones flake out on roosts midday, but never on the ground.
All the best,
Peter
For perspective, deer carcasses go from live to skeletons with a few thin patches of pink in twelve hours or so. Perhaps the odd hoof with a tiny flap of skin. It is a fully stocked ecosystem around here and everything plays a part.
I am still smiling over @gsganzer's original photo. I've seen the local ones flake out on roosts midday, but never on the ground.
All the best,
Peter
