Turkey Training !

The whole purpose of the turkey hoop house  in the pasture / orchard is to keep keep the turkeys away from our house and yard. Turkeys, when they are older, can make quite the mess on sidewalks, porches, outdoor furniture, etc. It is very important to the family to keep this flock out of our living areas. So we are working very hard to provide a comfortable, naturally appealing spot away from the house and train them to stay there.

The first time I let the turkeys out of the hoop house it ended in disaster. I watched them for maybe an hour and they happily roamed around the house and worm fence. When I decided things were save enough and left to do other things, they apparently took that opportunity to explore.  Returning a few hours later I counted only 27 birds. Hunter was coming out to help and ran across a roaming turkey behind the wood shop. He carried that one back to the house and we started searching around the shop area for the last missing one. Just then I saw Louie (our springer spaniel) run over to an open area and sit down with something grey in his mouth. That meant either he caught another squirrel or he found the missing turkey. He listened when I told him to "drop it" and my heart sank. Sure enough it was a young turkey. It was too late to save this one, so I did the appropriate discipline and buried the little bird. We are now down to 28 turkeys.

So, I decided to leave the birds locked inside the hoop house to get their "homing instinct" better trained. We have learned that birds will grow to see wherever they are kept as home if they stay long enough.  To keep the ground clean I would pull the hoop house ahead to expose clean ground every day. They birds liked this, as they would devour the new clover immediately on every move.

After another week, I tried again. At first I would let them out for only an hour or two at a time, while i watched. I also brought Louie with me to show him how to respect the turkeys. This served as good training for both the turkeys and Louie.   Louie learned that the turkeys were mine, and he was allowed to watch but not touch.

Every day I extended the time until yesterday they spent the entire day outside! They never went further than halfway across the orchard.  Occasionally a few would roam through the worm fence and check out the pasture, then come back.  I felt comfortable enough to hop on the tractor and mow down the tall grass in the orchard while Louie watched them pecking around. He did need several reminders but he never touched a bird.

Hopefully the birds are "homed in" on the hoop house enough now to allow them to be out almost constantly. For the next week I'll keep Louie with me during the daytime, in the house if we leave the farm, and by my side as I feed and care for them.  Hopefully peace will prevail at Little Sprouts Farm and the turkeys will enjoy the grass and sunshine of the pasture.

UPDATE: Yesterday the turkeys made it to the gate, and a couple went through. We had to herd them back to the worm fence. It's kinda funny that they actually went around the lamb shelter to the gate that I use to enter hte pasture... are they following me? can turkeys follow a scent?