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Smokey Grey Gobbler

This is neat and I thought I would share a few pics.

Kris Duerson
www.rapidriverknifeworks.com

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

That is cool... but can you tell me what those paper-like pieces are hanging out from behind his tail?

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

Thats for taxidermy purposes blazing. They put them around feathers to keep them in place while the bird is still drying. That is a neat mount! I got one that color a few years ago, but it didnt have a beard like that.

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

where was this turkey killed?

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

I've never seen one like that before. Very cool looking bird.

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

;)While the turkey is very neat I noticed one in a pen down the road so I stopped and asked them about it. It is called a Royal Palm. You can look up these on the internet. Dont get me wrong if I saw it out in the woods it would get the same treatment as any other turkey. They do make a beautiful mount!!

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

I was getting ready to say that the turkey had some domestic or was a domestic that escaped. Nice bird.

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

I understand that years ago pretty much evey farm had turkeys thet they would round up and take to market each fall for the annual turkey feast. These were domestic birds with a variety of mixxed genetics. The farms kept specific ones for breeders but let most of the poults and hens loose for the summer. Each farmer had a different looking bird so you could tell them apart. Then everyone participated in the round-up. Lets not forget that unlike most domesticated animals these turkeys are only a couple hundred years removed from true wild birds. My bet is some of the wierd color variations are from some of these domestic traits being in the new wid bird genetics. Anyway it's from an article in the paper about getting old fashioned farm raised free range turkeys for thanksgiving and the history of the turkey farmers before it became big business. Correct me if I'm wrong please!

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

domestic birds will not survive in the wild it is a proven fact. Awesome bird.

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

The side toes on the feet look funny dont they?

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

Quote:

ORIGINAL: TurkeyStalker

domestic birds will not survive in the wild it is a proven fact. Awesome bird.

There's a bird around my house that's half/half. He survives. He's alot bigger than the wild turkeys. Is a male. Is mostly white with some black in him. And he has no beard.

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

I didn't mean to suggest he's a domestic bird but he may have some of the genetics which will often be expressed as color variations

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

If he doesn't have any domestic genes in him then why does he have such short legs?

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

I'd say that is it, Royal Palm

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

Those are some beautiful turkeys. Actually Ridge Runner, domestic turkeys will not survive in the wild. They are usually easily taken by preditors. They don't have the survival instincts of wild turkeys. Often they cannot fly, so that is a death warrant in the wild. A domestic turkey will even drown itself in the rain. They will look skyward while it's raining and actually drown by opening their mouths. Sounds silly but it's true. There may be an exception or two, but in just about every case a domestic turkey released in the wild has perished, by means other than hunters. I know a person who released 10 or 12 domestic turkeys in the wild. None made it. It's against the law anyway. They don't want an inferior cross breed to take over. That would spell doom to turkeys in an area.

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

Quote:

ORIGINAL: superstrutter

A domestic turkey will even drown itself in the rain. They will look skyward while it's raining and actually drown by opening their mouths. Sounds silly but it's true.

Sorry, butthat's false: http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/turkey.htm

Quote:

Original: http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/turkey.htm

Claim: Domesticated turkeys are so lacking in intelligence that they will look up at falling rain until they drown.
Status: False.
Origins:First

of all, this belief as described is based upon a couple of false premises:
[ul][*]Turkeys do not look up in order to "see" rain. Turkeys, like most birds, do not have binocular vision (i.e., the ability to focus both eyes on the same object); they have eyes set on opposite sides of their heads, a feature which gives them a greater field of vision and thus enables them more effectively spot potential predators. (On the other hand, birds of prey such as the owl need to be able to focus on their targets, and they therefore have both eyes set in the front of their heads to provide binocular vision at the cost of a more limited field of vision.) The notion that a turkey trying to see something above its field of vision would tilt its head backward is an anthropomorphization -- a turkey's eyes point sideways, so even if a turkey tilted its head backward, it would still be looking to its sides, not up. A turkey attempting to look at something above the plane of its normal field of vision will tilt its head sideways (not up) in order to bring one eye to bear on whatever it's trying to see. [*]The notion that a "dumb" animal would be fascinated by something as mundane as rain is another anthropomorphization. The concept of "fascination" requires a level of intelligence that even the smartest turkeys do not possess. Animals of this order react to a phenomenon such as rain in one of two very simple ways: If they don't mind it, they ignore it (as ducks do); if they don't like it, they seek shelter from it. [/ul]

...
Sources:

Dunbar, Maria. "Nurturing Keeps 'Em Hustling."
The Indianapolis Star. 18 April 1997 (p. N1).

Jones, Rebecca. "Storms Bring out the Turkey in Turkeys."
The Denver Rocky Mountain News. 16 January 1998 (p. D2).

Tunstall, Jim. "Time to Face Facts."
The Tampa Tribune. 29 March 1999 (Baylife; p. 1).

RE: Smokey Grey Gobbler

Do you work at Rapid River Knife? I have a cabin in Rapid River and stop into the shop often...