Again, I ask myself why we raise turkeys. I tried to upload a video, but my internet connection is too slow or I don't have the technological know-how to figure it out. I will try to get it uploaded anyway sometime soon. The back story is that one evening last week the turkeys did not put themselves back into the barn through the door that goes into their pen. Instead, they went in the front door, and made themselves at home in the barn (but outside their pen). Naturally, the birds feel safer the higher up they are and, as shown in the photo above, a couple of them found their way on the window sill 30 feet off the ground (this barn is a restored hay barn and is about three stories tall). After some serious persuasion, we realized that the birds were better off to fend for themselves. We covered the majority of the hay on the ground (we have a haymow for this year's cutting, but last year's extra was thrown on some pallets on the ground floor) with a tarp so that turkey crap (for lack of a better word) wouldn't fall on it. The following morning, they are still roaming the barn, but when I returned from work, I found that my darling husband had somehow gotten them all back into their pen (they were probably hungry) where they were safely ensconced. I don't think we've let them out since.
The turkeys are growing though, which is the good news. They have (un)gracefully passed through their adolescent stage and actually look like turkeys. The toms are starting to negotiate their alpha status, but everyone seems to be getting along in general. We will send some off in time for the Thanksgiving rush, although we will probably keep some of the smaller hens around a little longer.
Have a great week!
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