womanwhohunts Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 I decided that to really figure out what turkeys really do was to raise some myself and see how and what they did as they grew up.I hatched 14 eggs in a incubator last spring and now have 5 gobblers and 4 hens.They are the coolest birds I have ever had.They are wild and part-wild birds.Two toms are white and will probably be the first 2 I cull.I saw these 2 toms strutting the day they hatched.I thought at first they were just acting funny but after watching them awhile longer I determined they did indeed start strutting when only a few days old.I know this is not the same as really wild tukeys but the sounds they make and the way they relate to each other is.They follow me everwhere I go "talking" to me if I don't put them up.And I have to keep them up part time to keep them from wondering to far or the dogs getting them.I've even had owls trying to catch them.they've even learned to run or fly to their shelter when the dogs bark a certain way.Its like they think its a warning call for them to hide.I had 2 real wild turkeys raise their little ones in the pasture with my horses last spring and I could hear them up here at the house and I know they could hear my turkeys down there.When the hens left the young ones this past fall they came really close to the house I think looking for mine that they could hear.They finally went on off in the woods,I guess they didn't find what they were looking for.My toms /jakes are starting to shock gobble now and will gobble at anything they hear.I wondering whats gonna happen when my hens get ready to breed.I'll be keeping them up so there's no chance of them getting with the real wilds ones or vice versa.I set up a decoy in the yard to see what happened and while they were interested they would not get close to it.kinda makes me think the decoys will only work when the gobblers are really love sick.Don't know yet but it has been a blast raiseing these critters and I hope what we've learned will help when we hit the woods in about 2 wks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntn4bucks Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Re: My turkey experiment...... Have you ever read the book Illumination in the Flatwoods by Joe Hutto? It is an amazing book in which the author incubates two dozen wild-turkey eggs with the intentions of human-imprinting and raising the hatchlings. The original book was written in 1995 but there is a reprint out right now that's less than $15. It's definitely a book that all turkey hunters should read and one that I highly recommend. People that don't even hunt would enjoy the book as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobblegobblebang Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: My turkey experiment...... They are cool and so cute when there little. They also teast good with sage nut dressing. lol Lee, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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