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Turkey tips: Carry a broom or get a dog
By adamg on Wed, 10/18/2017 - 2:27pm
The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is out with some "tips for aggressive turkeys" (more specifically, how we can deal with them, not tips for turkeys looking to get ragier). Among them:
Don't let turkeys intimidate you. Residents can threaten a bold or aggressive turkey by making loud noises, swatting it with a broom, or spraying water from a hose. A leashed dog is also an effective deterrent.
Also, ditch your bird feeders and cover your windows and anything shiny: Turkeys love bird feeders; but hate the "turkeys" they think are menacing them when they see their reflections and will go after them because it turns out pecking orders are a thing when it comes to turkeys.
And never feed them. Not after midnight, not before midnight, never.
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Comments
Tips for Aggressive Turkeys?
Are these tips targeted towards Turkeys for Turkeys, or for Aggressive Turkeys on Turkeys. Where are the tips for humans to defeat Turkeys or Aggressive Turkeys.
Will there be tips on defeating the greatest Turkeys of all?! The Brookline Turkeys! Why hasn't the U.S. gone to war with these Turkeys?
*places tin foil hat on*
Are these tips targeted
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
We cannot be defeated any more than you can defeat the rising sun. We are a force of nature.
Secretary Mattis 'went native' and is an honorary member of the rafter. Secretary Tillerson is more concerned with possible geopolitical conflict with the central Asian country 'borrowing' our good name. That Bannon fellow thinks we are another random nativist or animal welfare activist group. And finally, President Trump threatened to "make gravy great again" on Twitter thinking we had something to do with the annual political prisoner pardon scheduled for November 23rd.
We like to look at shiny things, thank you for donning appropriate attire to amuse us.
Interesting reading
I did not know that young turkeys stay with their mothers for 4-5 months. My few urban encounters have been with adult turkeys, and I don't think I've seen photos featuring a mom turkey with her young?
Try Fillipello Park in Watertown
All summer there was a mated pair with their chicks following them around. I haven't seen them since school started, though.
Turkey tips
I saw a guy get thrown out of the Quiet Man for asking for turkey tips.
Dogs?
My 90-lb dog is afraid of the turkeys and they totally know it.
dogs...
my 85 lbs pitbull does not act as a deterrent to the turkeys in my neighborhood. they are completely unfazed by him. he, being alarmingly friendly, always wants to go up to them, but i know that would end with his face pecked bloody, so i steer him away from them.
Neither does my
4000 pound sedan, driven at 35MPH. Vicious hellbirds fear nothing. Next up: steel-toed boots.
uh
Yeah, no, it's not.
Umbrella!
I keep one of those small fold-up umbrellas in the door of my car; the one encounter I had with a turkey, I opened it up and Mr. Tom ran away.
Also easier to carry than a broom, and you can take it into stores, unlike a dog.
Bike
Works on geese, too. Ride right through and they just move aside. No idea why.
I had a goose not move enough
I had a goose not move enough out of the way to avoid my foot over by the Kayak Rentals in Allston.
Thankfully I was wearing my Steal Toe shoes.a
Dogs are the best defense
This spring we had a crew of turkeys making our yard into their strutting ground. After learning that the birds become territorial, then aggressive, over time, we started to scare them off. Repeatedly charging them with a stick moved them along, but slowly, and they always returned. But our neighbors have a dog. Wow, bringing him, leashed, toward the turkeys sent them flying, literally, for the rooftops. I knew they were avians, but not with wings that could get them to the peak of two story house and the upper branches of trees. But they did, and that settled it. They have not been back since.
Wild turkeys can fly
They just really, really don't like to.
Oversized Competing Tom Call
My friend put a speaker on his porch and played Tom noises when they came around. It was hilarious how well it worked on both the males and females when he pushed up the volume a little!
Just call me Quint
Y'all know me. Know how I earn a livin'. I'll catch this bird for you, but it ain't gonna be easy. Bad fish. Not like going down the pond chasin' bluegills and tommycods. This shark, swallow you whole. Little shakin', little tenderizin', an' down you go. And we gotta do it quick, that'll bring back your tourists, put all your businesses on a payin' basis. But it's not gonna be pleasant. I value my neck a lot more than three thousand bucks, chief. I'll find him for three, but I'll catch him, and kill him, for ten. But you've gotta make up your minds. If you want to stay alive, then ante up. If you want to play it cheap, be on welfare the whole winter. I don't want no volunteers, I don't want no mates, there's just too many captains on this island. $10,000 for me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.