The predators - keeping them at bay

You can tell which side the turkeys were on, it gets more fertilizer

Raising turkeys on pasture is more natural for them.  They get to peck for bugs, take a dust bath, and forage for greens.  One of the greatest challenges with raising turkeys on pasture are predators.  I'll spare you the gory details, but you can actually tell what kind of animal has attacked a turkey by the injuries. If you want to know more specifics, you can ask us.  For now we want to focus on keeping the turkeys safe. To accomplish this we have installed several different items around the pasture.  A 6 foot high fence deters most land predators.  However, a bobcat or fischer cat may climb the wooden post and have a feast. A coyote or fox may dig under the fence.  We have installed 2 strands of electric fence outside the 6 foot fence. One strand is just a few inches above the ground, the other about 2 feet up. This helps deter both the climbers and the diggers.  Additionally, to keep predators from digging under the fence, we bury the wire about 8" below the surface. It is also helpful to bend the wire so that the underground portion runs outward from the pen.  This confuses the digging predator because they are less likely to back away from the fence to start digging.    Another helpful item is a radio. We keep a radio in the pasture on a talk station. Something about the human voice keeps many predators from approaching.

Aerial predators can also be a problem.  Hawks will hunt during the day, and owls hunt at night.  While we don't cover our large pastures for the adult birds (knock on wood, we haven't had a problem) we do have a cover for the outside pen attached to the nursery.  We allow the young poults to go out of the nursery at 3 weeks old, and move them back inside in the evening. We have had a coopers hawk sitting on top trying to figure out how he was going to get a young poult.  In the adult pasture, we reseed the pasture in the spring with a variety of plants like millet, oat, rye, and sunflower. the tall plants provide shade from the heat, visual protection from aerial predators, as well as house bugs for them to eat. They soon eat most of the vegetation, and by then, are too big for a hawk or owl.

Dogs can be a deterrent, but can also be the predator.  We researched breeds and determined a doberman was what we wanted as a predator deterrent.  They are very smart, loyal, and friendly.  Still,  Lexi definitely knows the difference between a friend and foe, and is not afraid to drive off unwelcome visitors. ​

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