Dead Tom
 

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?

RE: Dead Tom
 

Yep ! the Great Horned Owl is the hardest on them...BT

RE: Dead Tom
 

Hmmm... I've never heard of that before.

RE: Dead Tom
 

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.

RE: Dead Tom
 

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.

RE: Dead Tom
 

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!![:@]

RE: Dead Tom
 

that sucks

RE: Dead Tom
 

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.

RE: Dead Tom
 

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

RE: Dead Tom
 

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.

RE: Dead Tom
 

Wow, I've never heard of that. That is wierd.

RE: Dead Tom
 

So you are telling me that what I have seen and experienced myself and what others have experienced, are just opinions and not hard fact for you are the one that saw a video? Sounds like you are creating a high cloud for yourself to sit above everyone else. And believe me, that is not the way to go my friend.

RE: Dead Tom
 

Woa easy there Coyote Stalker...I don't want to argue about it. I am just saying that not every hawk and owl out there can take out a turkey at will. I've already said I haven't hunted all over the country so I cant speak for everywhere, but around here, owls and hawks don't kill grown turkeys and especially grown toms which are 50-60% bigger than a jake or hen.

The only reason that I find the owl/hawk theory hard to believe is this: First of all a grown tom turkey is bigger than the biggest hawk or owl by a lot. Second, I always thought that hawk/owls swooped in on there prey and caught it in there claws and took off and killed it at a place of their choosing. Obviously no bird could fly off with a tom turkey. Next, a turkey isn't just going to lay down and die for an owl or hawk, So we are talking a 20-25 lb bird that loses a fight to a bird like a hawk or owl that might weigh what 10-12 lbs soaking wet??? I dunno about you but my money is on the long-spurred gobbler everytime.

With that said...that is just my opinion and is really only valid around here where I live. I don't know about across the country where the owls/hawks may be on steroids or something. Theres no reason to jump on me like that. When I said "opinions" I was referring to what happened to the turkey in the original post. Not commenting on anything you'd seen with your own eyes. You took my comments way out of context and didn't apply them to the reason this post was started which was to find out everyon'e "opinion." Chill out Coyote

RE: Dead Tom
 

I was commenting with no scorn, so I am chill. I was commenting on your claim, and there was nothing taken out of context. So when I see a pair of red tails pretty much shred the head of a "grown Tom" or hen, and when I see personally on my property that one of the two resident golden eagles actually grab a gobbler and pin it to the ground with little fight, then they must be on steroids..... Got it...lol and I guess that would be my experience, not just my opinion right? No harm no foul, but next time don't generalize your opinion as the nationwide fact.

RE: Dead Tom
 

I've seen a barred owl take a 9 week old poult. I've seen a red shouldered hawk try to take a 10 week old poult and didn't finish the job.

Hal

RE: Dead Tom
 

Coyote-

Are u just choosing to read part of my posts and ignore the rest??? How many times in my last 2 posts did I say I didn't know how things worked around the country. So why say I made my opinions "a nationwide fact?" Read moron...

RE: Dead Tom
 

Now it gets ugly. Too bad for you though, sounds like you can't take criticism. Don't get your strawberry shortcake panties in a bunch. All in here are brotherin, even if some can't take a little debate. Happy Holidays anyways, moron.