Today,with hubby away, I was a little late in feeding and letting turkeys out, one hen 4 toms. One tom just beat up the hen severely (they were mating--now i know the wisdom of "aprons"). I didn't know what to do, separated her from them, and brought her to the house. she's still alive 4 hours later, but i don't know for how long. i applied some helichrysum and lavender essential oils to her back, where the flesh had been torn out (helichrysum stops bleeding and clots blood). I poured water on her wounds, she is resting quietly. I put her in an apple box, she fits in there. I will let her sleep in the house tonight. I think if she makes it throught the night, she'll live. I can't bear the thought of slaughtering her, and don't know how--husband did this! Anyway, any thoughts of what might help her to live, any poultices, or homemade remedies would be greatly appreciated. jeannie

-- jeannie (mmp@theofficenet.com), May 12, 2001

Answers

well, sad to report, the turkey hen has died. we have her eggs though. the attack was brutal and our combination of 4 toms and one hen was not right. should've been the other way around. anyway, live and learn. the other solution was to have an "apron" for the hen while mating. apparently, the tom is quite vicious while mating. oh well! I guess i needed to learn that lesson.

-- jeannie (mmp@theofficenet.com), May 13, 2001.

hard lesson, sorry for your loss. Never new turkeys could be so agressive. Learn something new every day.

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), May 15, 2001.

Tom Turkeys can be extremely vicious. They have attacked people, especially children. They use their "spurs" to rip & tear with, & they can leave bruises with those wings. When I was about 4 years old, my Grandmother chased her old Tom, who was chasing me, and rung his neck. We had the best Roasted Turkey Dinner the next night!

-- Barbara B. (hilbilytwo@aol.com), May 22, 2001.

Jeannie! That old dude won't get any easier to live with, I'm afraid. While I don't like to kill stock prematurely---I think Barb had the right idea--ROAST TOM TURK! Matt.24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), May 22, 2001.

glad to report the hen lives on...learned a valuable lesson...4 toms and one hen is not a good combo. also that the hen needs an "apron". our banty hen hatched out 6 turkey eggs, so our hen is living on thru her eggs. life goes on...as for the tom, well, i can't wait til he's in the oven...getting bigger by the day! Thanks for all of your kind words, people! jeannie

-- jeannie (mmp@theofficenet.com), June 21, 2001.