Turkey Tracks: Wild Turkeys and Chicken Bedding

Turkey Tracks:  March 6, 2013

Wild Turkeys and Chicken Bedding

With all the snow, I’ve had wild turkeys around the house a lot this winter.

There has been a group of males, from five to seven in number, almost every day.  They are hungry.

There was so much snow that I had to put discarded chicken bedding in piles on top of the snow several times this winter.   The snow was just too deep for me to carry the pails further into the edge of the woods where I have a passive compost pile.

That bedding is filled with food that the chickens have “billed out” of their dish.  And, you know what else.

I cleaned out the coop a few days back, and the turkeys were ecstatic.  They will pick at the bedding until there it is pretty much all gone, even the wood shavings.

I took this video this morning.  It isn’t great as the turkeys start to leave the moment they see me.  But, you’ll get some idea.  And you can see how often the snow does not hold their weight.  You will hear my chickens fussing in the background.

Later, the hens came, and the males came with them.  One male spent quite a lot of time fully displaying all his charms.  I will try to get a picture of that one of these days.  It’s actually pretty spectacular.  My knitting group was fascinated, especially with the way the tom’s head turned bright, cobalt blue.

Author: louisaenright

I am passionate about whole, nutrient-dense foods, developing local markets, and strengthening communities. View all posts by louisaenright