Turkey Control ?

Just took on a vineyard that gets an influx of wild turkey. And of course being sophisticated Silicon Valley Turkeys, they only feed on the Barbera, not the Merlot or Syrah. The question is how to discourage them, with out shooting.

Will nets work against larger stronger birds?

Are fruit zone sufficient, or do I need drapes?

They make some pretty good air rifles these days. Silent and limited range to that they don’t go far after the target. Turkey soup is GOOD!

The only effective solution I’ve ever heard of elimination of the problem. Another issue is turkeys, like geese, will establish themselves in an area and raise generations of problems that won’t go away.

Canine Support ?

I get flocks moving through the vineyard. I had always heard they ate grapes, but I never see it. Every time I’m watching, their heads are poking around the ground, and they’ve never shown any interest in anything at cordon height. So, I leave them alone.

The ones here most certainly do eat grapes. There were several in the small vineyard in my yard. I yelled at them wildly but they would not leave. So, out I came with my bolt action 22 mag. Shoot one in the neck. The crop of the bird was full of grapes so that it was probably 35-40% grapes by wt. It was a youngster, and delicious.

On the bright side, it appears that they remember as they have not been back in the yard.

HA!

I’m not defending a vineyard but I do have a condo that attracts nesting pigeons.

For a 1 or 2 month period every other year I have to kill a couple before the flock re-learns that my unit is dangerous.

Turkeys are waaaaay smarter than pigeons. If they are eating your grapes, my guess is that 1 or 2 pots of turkey soup will solve your problem for years.

Turkeys are a problem in the eastern US and they know how to selectively pluck grapes off the vines. Everyday they seem to travel across our property with only slight changes in direction and with a minor time shift…never in the same place at the same time. We do eat ours every chance we get. However the following side nets from Dubois Agrinovation are a considered good deterrent… http://www.duboisag.com/en/sidewall-net-against-birds-hail-and-wind-4534.html . Ask for a sample to see for yourself. These nets are the closest weave(1/4") and strength I’ve seen yet. …Gary

[quote="Patrick Friel
Turkeys are waaaaay smarter than pigeons.[/quote]
You always hear that turkeys are smart from people who hunt them, but when they are flushed, they run frantically along the deer fence looking for a way out before it dawns on the stupid SOBs that they flew in in the first place and could just as easily fly out. I’m not sure I believe that they are all that wily.

This, a good bird dog will make it very unpleasant of them.
Once the dog learns its job they can even find and eat any on site eggs.
We have 3 dogs on site and even if they get on the property they never make it to the vineyard.
or … lead poising then soup.

Great story, Andrew.

This all reminds me of my brother, who successfully deterred crows from resting in the trees in front of my mother’s house with a good sling shot. He took out one big crow and the rest found other resting spots. He claimed that he always felt he got dirty looks from crows in the area after that, though.

(Andrew – I do still want to get some of your arneis, but was just too busy this spring to get around to ordering before it got hot. Save a couple of bottles for me!)

Not as far-fetched as it might sound! It’s been shown, mainly by John Marzluff’s group at University of Washington, that crows can recognize human faces and even transmit information about dangerous human faces to other crows. Amazing animals.

John,

I will save you a few bottles of the 2012 Arneis. Once it starts to cool off, I will ship them.

New Pinots too, if you like.

Cheers!

I can vouch for this. My wife took to feeding the local crows crackers or leftover bread. They learned to come out of the trees for handouts only when they saw her face, not mine.

As for the turkey problem, if you don’t feel comfortable shooting them yourself, I imagine soliciting the local hunters would find some volunteers. Its my understanding most hunters struggle to find hunting grounds here in California, and many pay for the right.

This past month my turkey flock went from 20 to 30. They have become so accustomed to me that I can buzz by them in the tractor and they don’t flinch…EnoViti: Turkeys vs. Tractor …Gary

Call the police: Poultry Slam 2011 - This American Life

(Act two)

That is a target rich environment.

Turkeys will chase vehicles, some sort of pecking order thing (especially vehicles moving away from the flock).

-Al

Benito Dusi would put old melons and vegies at the edge of his vineyard for the raccoons and turkeys. He told me they would snack on the leftovers and leave the grapes alone.

We have considered hunters and several have asked for the right but my business partners wife is a vet and it won’t go over well. We are going to try what a vineyard in NY did last harvest. Get one or two of those car dealership dancing blow up things. Apparently they are the best for bird guard as well. They just don’t like irregular movement. Hoping they will work for the turkeys too.