We got a call from a neighbor today who said, “All of your chickens are dead.” We rushed over to the old house to find that our chickens were all fine but all four of our beautiful Sweetgrass turkeys had been slaughtered by raccoons. I won’t go into detail but it looked as if Romeo died fighting for his girls. The carnage was unbelievable. Here is the last picture I took of my sweet turkeys.
I will not attempt to raise turkeys again. They are just too fragile as babies and too stubborn as adults. They will not go into a coop at night and because of that, they are vulnerable to predators. I enjoyed mine for 6 months and that will have to do. I will miss them so much. Everyday Romeo strutted his stuff for me and I loved it. So sad.
Dianne R says
Oooo- this is shocking and sad news. I never knew turkeys could be so personable. I am so sorry.
Mary says
Thanks Dianne. It was really sad. I just loved those silly creatures. After losing them, my contractor told me that the way to keep them safe is to build a tall roost that they can fly up to. Put it up on tall metal poles that the raccoons can’t climb! I wish I had known about that sooner. I am gun shy now about ever getting turkeys again.
Mary says
Thanks Molly. We have really been fortunate to have suffered very few losses in four years of raising poultry. It would be easier if they were meanies but they were honestly the sweetest creatures. I had to pet and pay attention to each one of them and they followed me like puppies. I will miss them terribly.
Molly says
Very Sorry Mary… My heart goes out to you. Molly