I received a call very early yesterday from a friend of
mine, George, down in southern Arizona
Although we had talked on the phone often, the last time I
actually saw him was a couple of years ago and he only had about 50 turkeys. He
had expanded his flock and as of yesterday had close to 250 birds and was
looking for some free help getting those birds off to the processor. A turkey
flock isn’t big compared to big growers but turkeys are only a small piece of
George’s operation. George said we could get pick out any bird we wanted if we
could help. Since George only raises organic stock, it seemed a great way to
get a free Thanksgiving turkey and a day away from our place at the same time.
Over the years, I have been involved with rounding up and
working almost every type of farm or ranch livestock one could imagine but I
have to admit that although we have raised a few turkeys over the years, I have
never been on a turkey roundup. If nothing else, I figured there should be able
to get a good story out of the experience. I sure got that one right.
By the time we rolled through the gate at George’s farm my
clock said it was already 7:30 AM. For most folks that may not seem late but
for us, a good chunk of the morning is already gone by that time. Anyway, after
some pleasantries, George took us out to where the turkeys were kept. I thought
they would all be in a pen and all we would have to do is scoot them into cages
or something to take to the processor. Turned out, George Free Ranged his flock
during the day in a 2 ½ acre fenced in space on his farm.
I’ve had considerable experience with working with large
flocks of chickens but my experience with large flocks of turkeys is almost not
existent. A dozen or so turkeys at any one time was about my limit. As such, I
thought it best to let George be our guide this day. That was the best decision
I made all day. It turns out that all my experience with large flocks of
chickens would have been of no value anyway.
George explained that the first thing we needed to do was
get all the turkeys into a smaller pen adjacent to the large field they were
currently in. That make sense I thought. If turkeys are anything like chickens,
all we had to do is get behind them and kind of shoo them on ahead of us. First
lesson, Turkeys Can Run Petty Fast & Turkeys Don’t Shoo!.
The wife and I spent 15 minutes doing this when I looked
over at George about 200 feet away from us and realized he was laughing his
head off. That really should have been my first clue that this wasn’t going to
work the way I thought.
Once George had quit laughing enough for me to ask him “OK,
Now What!” he gave me a big grin and let out a whistle. Within a minute we
could see running across the field this four legged critter that just barely
resembled a dog. George went to great lengths introducing “Pepper” to us.
Pepper was a mix of somewhere between 50 and 100 other breeds of dog and looked
like it. A really nice and friendly, but kind of mangy looking dog.
George explained that Pepper was a Turkey Dog. Now I know
about Sheep Dogs, Cattle Dogs and other types of working livestock dogs, even
my grandmother had a dog that helped her work her geese, but that was the first
time I had ever heard of an actual Turkey Dog. That is except in the deli at
the grocery store.
With a couple of whistles and a few hand gestures from George,
Pepper had all those turkeys rounded up in the corner of the field where the
smaller pen was. I don’t think the turkeys were really too happy about it but
both George and Pepper seemed very pleased.
If you are working cattle, hogs, sheep, goats or even
chickens, usually if you can channel them down a narrow shoot you can move them
along pretty well. Lesson Number Two. Turkeys
Now of all the farm livestock one might have, I generally
consider chickens to be, well lets say, not the sharpest crayon in the box. Turns
out, a flock of turkeys are worse. I guess since they are raised for meat, God
didn’t think it was necessary to include much of a brain in the creation
process.
Normally when one has to move poultry any great distance,
they are placed in cages. It’s not only easier on the birds but on everyone
concerned – except the turkeys. That was what we had to do. Put about 250
turkeys in cages. Lesson Number Three. This one I already knew but had
forgotten for some reason. Turkeys
It took the three of us almost four hours to cage those birds
and getting them stacked in George’s truck. The entire experience was really
kind of fun for us. Not so much for the turkeys but for us we enjoyed helping
George out. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be but it was still
fun non the less. It was also a learning experience. I am now positive that I
will never raise a large flock of turkeys.
Just as we were getting ready to head back to our place,
George ask me which turkey we wanted. A rather mischievous thought flashed
through my mind. “Should I tell George I wanted the bottom one on the front of
truck bed? – I think not. I like George.
