turkeys?

[Lunabear1988]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, I wasn’t sure which board it belonged in.

The place I keep my horse just bought some baby turkeys. They already have gosh probably 50 chickens and a few roosters. Some of the roosters are highly aggressive and have attacked people. Thankfully they stay near the coop so I just avoid that area.

Now I’m wondering about these turkeys. I know wild turkeys are very aggressive. But are domestic and hand raised ones easier to deal with? How far is their range (I’m assuming they won’t keep the turkeys contained.) The farm is only about 10 or 15 acres.

The barn has lots of children around for lessons, including my kid. I’d love to hear if domestic turkeys can be docile.

[Scribbler]

I think with poultry as with dogs and even bears, it works to stand up tall and look confident and be the aggressor. No squealing and running. Also teach your child not to mess with the livestock that isn’t yours. No playing with the chickens or teasing the roosters.

That said, I think domestic turkeys are relatively dopey given their size. They are not like geese or swans.

[Simkie]

Production turkey–broad breasted white and broad breasted bronze, the ones are generally available at farm and feed stores–are like meat chickens. They’re bred to grow quickly and grow large and be butchered. The boys certainly can be aggressive, but it’s not likely they’ll all be awful. And unless they’re butchered on time, they’ll get too big, and mostly get unhealthy and gradually die of heart attacks and broken legs. So probably won’t be around forever :-/

I agree that avoiding stuff that doesn’t belong to you is a good idea, but standing tall and being confident with a bird that’s trying to get snorty is a great way to make them come at you. If you’re not willing to follow up with proving you’re not to be messed with, probably best to just not be near them.

[monalisa]

I personally would not want any of my horses near chickens or turkeys. There is a large bird flu outbreak right now in SC. The poultry industry keeps this stuff very quiet. The bird flu has not jumped to humans yet in the US but it has done so in China with a 60 percent mortality rate. I quit eating chicken and turkey - how they are raised in large closed barns is beyond inhumane. I realize this is not a CAFO you are talking about but the bird flu is going to get much worse over time. I would not want anything I own near them.

[LittleMare]

In my experience with domestic turkeys, they are more aggressive towards each other than humans. Granted we raise ours for meat so we don’t socialize them extremely well because I don’t want to be friends with something I have to slaughter. This means they are somewhat fearful of humans still and might keep them a bit more respectful. Ours range about an acre, by their own choice, I don’t think they’d wander off of 10-15 acres. But we only have 12-15 at a time, one breeding pair and babies that are growing up to eating size. They do poop, large amounts, in inconvenient places. And the poop sticks to shoes, much worse than horse poop, but better than dog poop.

[candyappy]

Wild turkeys are not aggressive that I know of ( ours aren’t). I raised a few turkeys at one farm we had and the only problem I had was keeping them contained. They scared the horses to death when they fanned their feathers out and strutted around.

The danger would be in the individual horses reaction to them when they are big. We ate ours thankfully.

[SonnysMom]

There are wild turkeys at the farm I board my horse at. One time the flock was thinking about walking in the main aisle. It was pretty easy to discourage them. Once I walked down the aisle and out the end door they moved on. They hang out in the fields with the horses. I have never seen signs of them being aggressive.

[equest]

A previous barn I boarded at had a Tom turkey for a while. He was not aggressive, and the horses did not seem to mind him. We have wild turkeys on the neighboring property where I like to hack. I have not had any issue with them. They seem rather shy and head off into the woods when they see us.

[TheHunterKid90]

I have never found turkeys (wild or domestic) to be aggressive.
the wild turkeys at our place know when the outside horsed are fed and they wait to clean up the bits of grain left behind by the horses.
I have raised approximately 40 domestic turkeys. Some purchased, others hatched in my home. The ones I purchased already grown tended to be more stand offish of people. They would come socialize for food but otherwise preferred to do their own thing. The ones I hatched were extremely friendly…eat from your hand, pick them up and pet them, stand at the glass porch door and gobble until I came out to feed them.
Enjoy the new critters! (I am not a rooster fan either!!!)

[streamline]

We had two pet turkeys were I boarded my retired horse. They were super chill. Lived with a bunch of chickens. One went missing and the other got ran over.

[Lunabear1988]

Thanks guys! Obviously I have no experience with turkeys! And I have been stalked and chased by the barn rooster who’s aggressive, so I was worried a turkey might be bigger and worse!

The owners definitely won’t be eating the turkeys. They will just be pets.

My kiddo is extremely well behaved and pretty afraid of the roosters and such so she won’t mess with a turkey! I just wasn’t sure if it would be like a rooster, where they stalk you and attack from behind. I would not be okay with that!

I guess we will see how it goes. I’m assuming they grow pretty quickly?

[Simkie]

@Lunabear1988

The owners definitely won’t be eating the turkeys. They will just be pets.

The bummer there is the broad breasted turkeys aren’t bred for longevity. They’re bred for fast growth and huuuuuge breast muscles, which is not very compatible with long life spans

[Lunabear1988]

@Simkie I could see that… I think they were an impulse buy. They bought some guinea fowl chicks too and have a huge growing flock of chickens.

I just board there and stay on the other side of the farm :yes:”‹”‹”‹”‹

[Fellbutbackup]

Wild turkeys make odd sounds, gobble loudly in response to sounds, puff up, attack their own reflections, and fly. They fly very well. They may spook a horse but are not aggressive the way peacocks are. If you walk toward them confidently they definitely start to bail on foot slowly. If you pick up the pace they will run and fly away. I have not had a chance to chase them on horseback yet. My horse is kind of worried about them so that will be our next game.

Domestic ones might be more aggressive because they are less afraid of humans but I have no experience there. If their wings are clipped they might also be more aggressive.

[Huntin_Pony]

Fellbutbackup - Be careful following grounded turkeys. Sometimes it’s a hen leading you away from her brood hiding in the grass. Guess what happens if you ride through the brood and they scatter from underneath your horse?!

Been there done that - thud.

[ThreeFigs]

Ugh. Guinea fowl. I’d worry more about those things. Very noisy!

[Lunabear1988]

@ThreeFigs yes noisy and they go everywhere! But at least I’m not worried about getting attacked by them 😂

[Pep_n_Ann]

I have a young broad breasted white turkey destined for the freezer. It is super mellow. The mellowest of all my birds (50ish, mostly chickens with a couple of ducks) I do remember as a child being terrified of the neighbors tom turkey. He would chase me around and attack. I don’t know what kind of turkey it was though.

[Seagram]

Turkeys are not aggressive at all. If anything, they are too dumb! I’ve been raising meat turkeys for a while, and they follow me around like I’m the master turkey! They are so amusing and funny! Guineas are too terrified of anything and everything to be aggressive as well, but they are super loud.

[Lunabear1988]

@Seagram I’m glad to hear that! Whew!!

Yes I had Guineas as a kid. They were funny and a little annoying. Better than a mean rooster though :winkgrin: