Wild Turkeys

[Raymond]

I have seen some people with turkeys running around their yard and they look similar to the wild turkeys you have in Ontario. I have bought and raised white turkeys before from a farmers coop business here in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. He buys the chicks from Quebec and has them shipped here for us to buy, we raise them for the meat. Are the wings clipped at the factory on these birds so they cannot fly? They also sell the ones that look like the wild turkeys, I wonder if they are wild turkeys that are raised in the factory by the farmers? If that was the case, why couldn't a person raise a half a dozen and oops they escaped into the woods on my property? Any help and knowledge out there?
Raymond

[MADMAX2]

I have heard that the wild looking ones do not do well in the wild they look the same but genetically they are not programmed for wild survival.
Rumor here in Ont is the wild looking ones were released in a couple of locations but never were able to survive before wild ones were brought up from Michigan 287 birds. (trade for 50 moose and 100 ruffed grouse)and released in 1984 and in 1987 64 birds were harvested now thanks to hunter's,OFAH,NWTF we have them everywhere but my freezer,but that will change this weekend

[Mr. Dynamite]

When I took the turkey course here in ON they said that before live trapping wild birds from MI they had tried everything else - including pen raising wild ones and releasing them when they were older, but they would not go back wild enough to survive. They had to have wild ones brought in that were born and raised wild.

They showed freeze frame shots of how they captured the turkeys in MI - air cannons throwing nets over bait sites. The grain on the ground would be covered in turkeys, but as soon as the cannon began to fire - even before the net was out, there were already birds reacting to it, turning and running away. Each time, if they were successful, they would only catch just a few. I was amazed at how quickly turkeys could respond to danger!

[one shot scott]

That was the interesting part of the turkey course, the history of it all. My hats off to the men and women who reintroduced them here and made it possible to enjoy a turkey season. It's the one reason I didn't mind spending money to take another hunting course

I wish I had a pet Tom like RJ! my bro in law has one named Harley. Very neat pets, but wouldnt survive a night out in the wild

[catcher]

The ones that you are talking about that you see at a farmers house are by no means wild. They are probably bronze back or some other similar domestic bird. Those birds are breed for their meat and are double breasted and can not fly or at least not far. The wild birds are single breasted and beleive me they are hard wired to be wild and good luck having one as a pet. I guy down our road found a nest after the mother got put through a hay bind and he incubated the eggs and hatched them out. And these birds you could not get close to . And he hand raise them for awhile untill they would try to scratch his eyes out at about two weeks old. After that you could not get close to the pen without them absolutely trying to destroy the place trying to get away from you. I never did find out what he did with them. I have raised bronze back turkeys before and it is hard to tell them apart from the wild. But if you released domestic birds they would get wiped out pretty quick there instict to survive is not there.

[Raymond]

Thanks to all of you folks for the info. So much for that idea of populating my back woods with a few. But I have another idea, I could always raise a few and let them run around the yard in the daytime. My house lot size is one acre not counting my back woods.I could harvest them with my crossbow. We raise a dozen meat hens every year and this year I think I will use my crossbow instead of chopping their heads off. It will give me some practice with my bow on raised turkeys.
Raymond

[Raymond]

Is there still ruffed grouse in Ontario? Do you folks in Ontario use any type of a call for ruffed grouse? I have never heard of any call in Nova Scotia for ruffed grouse. Was there always wild turkeys in Ontario, and if so, what wiped them out?
Thanks,
Raymond

[Dereck]

Our ancestors wiped them out by the early 1900's easy food that told everyone where they were at night and the morning most were taken from the roost from what I have heard.

[chaser]

Lot's of Ruffies in the north and they are generally very easy to hunt once you find them. They're not used to humans and therefore aren't that scared of us. No calls needed, just hop off your quad, leave it running and shoot yourself a yummy chicken. At least that's my experience. They're alot more skitterish in southern Ontario though, a very different hunt.

Chaser