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Oct & Nov 07 - Bloody Turkeys! Christmas Is Too Good For 'Em The 4 remaining turkeys were practically under lock and key in a bid to keep them safe.
Regretably, we also had to inform people that we couldn't fulfill their Christmas order - we now knew how Bernard Matthews was feeling!
We had moved the turkeys from the large enclosure with the pond to the original Chicken Hilton on the veggie plot at the rear of the house.
Whilst there was less room for them, we felt that they'd be safer, fatten up quicker and be well away from the stoat.
Unfortunately, the turkeys didn't agree and they went on hunger strike!!! Have you ever heard of anything so bloody ridiculous?!
They were just like stroppy teenagers and kicking off 'cos they couldn't have their own way! They honestly didn't eat a thing we gave them!
Eventually they worked it out for themselves - fly up 6 feet (yes - turkeys can fly!!!), perch on the frame or shed roof, then fly down the other side to the paradise of the veggie patch!
This went on for some time - every morning we would wake up and find the turkeys helping themselves to a butternut squash or swede!
Nothing we did to contain them worked - so, we moved them back down to the larger pound and thought that as they'd discovered what their wings were for, then they could roost in the trees at night and be safe from the stoat.
But no - they decided it was much more fun sitting on the roof of Chicken Hilton and ruining the veggie patch. So, they found their way back!
During November they absolutely desocrated the veggie plot. The small amount we had left after the blight, pigeons and mice they decided to finish off!
In the end, we just left them to it and resigned ourselves to the fact that we had no veg (other than parsnips and pumpkins) remaining. Plus, it was vital that the turkeys remained safe, happy and put on weight.
Not satisfied with their role in the garden, the turkeys tried to climb the hierachy ladder and improve their pecking order! They frequently roosted on the kitchen windowsill (we have an "upside down" house), played 'tag' on top of the polytunnel (with the associated rips!), flew on top of the car where they scratched it before crapping all over it!
They emptied every flower pot (24 of them) of their spring bulbs, ate the winter pansies and regularly entered the garage to empty the dogs' food bowls.
If that's not enough, the larger male often bullied our small labrador, Tilly and when we threw a stick for our German Shepard Indie, it was the turkey that chased after it!!!
The final straw came one day when Tracey went out into the garden and couldn't find the turkeys anywhere. With the onset of winter (albeit still mild), a lot of the hedgrerows surrounding our house had started to die back and so it was clear to see that they were definately not in our garden.
Tracey was convinced that she could still hear them as they do have a distinctive voice (nice to listen to when you know that they're not being destructive!)
Dan joined Tracey in the search over the back fence into the neighbouring field at which point Sherlock Dan realised that the turkeys were 50 foot up in an oak tree!!!
At this point we knew that they had to go - otherwise we could lose them entirely.
So next day, Dan slaughtered, plucked, gutted and froze 'em.
Imagine our disappointment when we realised that despite their free range organic lifestyle, they had not gained anywhere near the amount of weight that their predecessors had in 2006.
In fact, they were little more than an overgrown chicken at just 11lb!!!
It was a huge let down but luckily for us, our friends Dale & Andrew stepped into the breach again and provided us with a wonderfully plump turkey for Christmas.
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