We have an investigation underway on the Farm at the moment. And the reason why is because we’ve lost 3 turkeys to predators over the past couple of weeks.
We could chalk this up to a string of back luck. But you know, that we know better than to assume that.
It’s unusual for us to lose birds at this stage. As you’ve heard us mention before, turkeys are incredibly fragile during those first few weeks of life. But when they get to be this old (they’re getting ready for Thanksgiving), they’re usually tough as nails.
I bet you’ve heard stories about foxes getting into chicken coops and picking off the chickens left and right. And you could be on the right track, here.
Foxes are a known threat in these parts. But, it’s been quite rare for them to attack our flocks, in part because our birds are always living within the bounds of electrified fences. And those electrified fences are HOT – hot enough to deter just about anything on 4 legs.
We’ve heard many farmers tell tales of aerial predators tampering with their flocks. And with this in mind, an ambitious hawk or owl could certainly be the culprit here. But this, until maybe now, has been a very rare occurrence on our farm, too. And 3 times in a couple weeks, seems odd.
We don’t have the mystery solved just yet. But we’re getting busy today, installing a trail camera on the fence lines and setting up a few “catch and release” traps so we can try to identify the offender. The real question will be what, if anything, do we do from there.
If the universe hears our pleas, hopefully nothing…
Your Farmers,
Jenney & Greg
PS – Rest assured, if you’re counting on us for a turkey this year. We budget for scenarios like this and have plenty (and I mean plenty!) of turkeys set aside for everyone who has placed an order with us. Even with this loss, we should even have plenty for the waitlist as well!
PS – In addition to the Farm Tour happening this weekend, we have lots in the way of delicious organic meats available at the Farm Store. Click HERE to shop and reserve your groceries for the week.