I was out deer hunting on tuesday this week, and came across a dead Tom, about 20lbs, 11 1/2 in. beard, 1 1/8 in spurs. He was laying on his back, as I rolled him over, all of his back feathers were torn off, and all the meat was gone off the back. Never saw this before, and thought that if it were a yote, why didn't he eat the rest of him? There was a trail of feathers for about 15 yards like a fight was on. Later in the day, my local game officer stopped in to say hi, and I showed it to him. He said it was more than likely an Owl. Anybody else here seen this. I was told that Owls often take turkeys right off the roost at night. Seems alittle far fetched if you ask me. any thoughts?
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I think your local game officer is playing tricks, or he is a sadistic mutilator of game!!!Owls, sure. Heard of it, never seen it though. I have had a golden eagle that swoops in from time to time and will wreack havoc on the turkeys, especially the chicks...Go figure.
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I am reminded everyday that life is too precious by my best friend, Lt. Ken Ballard, who lost his life while serving in Iraq. He fought for our freedom, to do what we do, and how we do it. Hunt till you drop!
Ok while I believe the owls would go after poults, we are talking about a 20 lb. bird here. No owl is coming after a grown gobbler. I came across a similar thing last year in the middle of a field. IT was a gobbler's carcass dead maybe a week. It was away from roads so no one poached it.Feathers everywhere, like a fight had happened. I can't imagine a yote or bobcat sneaking up on a grown turkey in a field, so my theory was that 1. It was injured and couldn't get away 2. It died of disease or starvation or something natural and was then eatin 3. Was caught in the woods or somewhere a yote could ambush, and brought out there to eat.
Like your carcass, mine was eatin on strangley as well. One leg was entirely gone, meat to foot. And, one breat was gone while the other had not been touched. One could never be sure, but thats just my opinion. You can throw the owl theory out the window though. No owl would attack a turkey it could never dream of carrying anywhere to feed on.
Cant say for sure,but I have seen redtails(hawk)swoop down on full grown birds before and actually hit them throwin feathers everywhere,a young turkey wouldn't stand a chance!I have seen a great horned decemate my huntin partners chickens AND guinnae hens!A coyote is a whole different story they definately can and will kill adult birds if they can cathem!![:@]
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Wholelottagobble, you are saying a coyote can't get a turkey in a open field. Out here in Cali, the yotes wreck havoc on our wild turkey populations, especially in the central Cali canyons and coast area. In addition, chick survival is limited as well when those dogs come around. It is one thing to see a dead Tom, but worse when you see a dead hen that was ready to lay that was torn apart, no disease, no mite or parasite visual, just a torn apart turkey with yote tracks all around. And in this case and many cases to boot, the hen did not die of natural causes. I tend to keep to the point records on the beautiful birds.
Like I said before, birds of prey, if hungry enough and desperate, can inflict damage and take down a "FULL GROWN TURKEY". Oh ya, quote me on that. Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, and Red Tails have taken a turkey down. I have even seen an injured turkey being ground summited by turkey vultures. So, if there is a will, there is a way.
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I am reminded everyday that life is too precious by my best friend, Lt. Ken Ballard, who lost his life while serving in Iraq. He fought for our freedom, to do what we do, and how we do it. Hunt till you drop!
its easy to tell if it was a yote that killed the bird. If there is signs of a fight then the Gobbler would be short tail feathers and a number of them. I came across the same thing a couple years back. Seen a few yotes in the same place as I hunted birds and came across one ina simler faction , but with not one tail feather, most of them. Yotes hit most birds from behind first.
The Great Horned Owl is all most the same size as a gobbler and at most times will take a head attack first, once the gobbler is on the ground they like to head for the inside parts as the heart and liver of the bird. The back is the easyest route to the inside body cavity...BT
Ok while all of you have your own opinions, I have seen video footage of a hen turkey beat the crap out of a hawk that tried to swoop in on her poults. She took off and accelerated faster than the hawk and actually knocked it down out of the air and pummeled it on the ground. I haven't been all around the country so I can't speak for the whole country...but around here, no owl or hawk takes down a grown tom unless perhaps it was injured. Also there is nothing in this world that sneaks up on a tom turkey in a field and attacks it unless its invisible. Turkeys are almost never entirely alone so thats usually more than 2 eyes looking out and nothing gets past a turkeys eyes.
Dead Tom
