Yesterday there was a large flock of turkeys in my yard. I thought it was kind of ironic since I was headed across the street to help unload 50 frozen turkeys for the food pantry. I came to the conclusion they were also headed that way to pay their final respects, thus completing the full circle of life!

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      That's a good one.

 

 

I would like to think that if I was give a sample of each I could tell a difference.  I would love to be able to try this.

I would like to think that if I was give a sample of each I could tell a difference.  I would love to be able to try this.

Based on my limited experience (2x), I think you could pick out the wild from the store bought rather easily.

 

In some locations turkeys have now become an invasive species and cannot be shot.  I have seen this in communities in NE

They're horrible animals.  They're just dinosaurs—an anachronism.  They walk around eating everything they encounter.  They destroy the nests and eat the eggs and chicks of ground-nesting upland game birds. 

I have a friend who has hundreds on his ranch.  They get into the livestock feed bunks and poop in there.  His cattle eat it and get a serious illness.  He welcomes anyone who wants to shoot a barrel full of them.  He says the Game Warden, who grew up on a ranch, looks the other way.

Run over every one you see on the roads.

They're horrible animals.  They're just dinosaurs—an anachronism.  They walk around eating everything they encounter.  They destroy the nests and eat the eggs and chicks of ground-nesting upland game birds. 

I have a friend who has hundreds on his ranch.  They get into the livestock feed bunks and poop in there.  His cattle eat it and get a serious illness.  He welcomes anyone who wants to shoot a barrel full of them.  He says the Game Warden, who grew up on a ranch, looks the other way.

Run over every one you see on the roads.

Perfectly stated.

It is kind of funny.  I grew up in western Maryland and went wild turkey hunting every Fall from middle school through high school.  It seemed like they didn't exist.  I never saw one. That was in the late 60's.  My brother still lives there and he sees them all the time.  Here in northern California hardly a week goes by without seeing them in my yard.

This article explains why turkeys are so prevalent now:
https://www.newamericanjournal.net/2020/11/wild-turkeys-make-a-comeback-in-north-america/
Wild turkeys were almost hunted into extinction.  There were only around 30,000 of them left in the country by the early 1900s.  Conservation efforts started in the 1970s have brought the population back to 7 million nationwide. 

 

Thanks for posting the link.  I had no idea they had gotten that low in numbers.