Releasing turkeys
12-13-2013, 07:25 AM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 64
Releasing turkeys
I've thought about this and don't know how we'll it would work. And I'll start off saying I'm not looking for legal advice. But could you buy turkey poults (ex: royal palm) raise them, and "release" them. Then in a few years maybe have an "albino" turkey breed big enough to hunt. What do y'all have to say?
12-13-2013, 07:49 AM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
I'd say you blew it when you made the statement that you weren't looking for legal advice because in most states what you're asking wouldn't be legal for various reasons even if they would do quite well, which they might. The wild turkey may be the best thing that has ever been transplanted in the US with fantastic results throughout most of the country where birds have been released.
Last edited by Topgun 3006; 12-13-2013 at 07:52 AM.
12-13-2013, 07:03 PM
#4
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Indy
Posts: 728
Couple of issues besides the law. The biggest being the raised turkeys would become easy prey for the predators out there. They are not trained to be safe. There is a book called Illuminations in the Flat Woods, By Joe Hutto. He raised wild turkey poults, but was able to imprint them and not exposed them more than he had too to humans. The birds did well enough, but he lost a bunch of them too. There are disease issues too, where a raised tame bird may carry something a wild bird isn't used too and now you have zero turkeys instead of the white on.
01-21-2014, 12:17 PM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location:
Posts: 250
Texas Parks and Wildlife has tried releasing wild Rio Grandes into areas that didn't normally have turkeys, but the results weren't all that good. This was years ago though, they were trapped and relocated.
Turning a farm raised turkey into the wild is just feeding the Fox and Bobcat population.
Turning a farm raised turkey into the wild is just feeding the Fox and Bobcat population.
01-26-2014, 05:25 AM
#9
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Hatton, Alabama
Posts: 520
You know how much hate mail you could get? IF you were to release birds in the wild you are potentially adding disease that isn't known in the wild populations plus any tame birds that survive could breed with any wild birds in the area.
Please don't.
Please don't.
