Turkey farming has been a staple of the Rydersowl household with many tasty omlettes and sandwiches feeding the ever constant quest for humours, However recently a dark shadow has fallen over my humble hobby. One day I checked the coop to see how my charges were doing only to find one of my two males DEAD.
Panicked, I immediately checked the perimeter defenses and checked for evidence. Could someone be some brazen as to enter my domain with a crime most foul on the mind? Could it be Salem is being stalked by a terrifying turkey throttler?
The mystery unsolved, I had a quiet burial for Javier Bardem Jr. and ventured into the dark coniferous in search of more hens and a new male to help my other one keep all the ladies in check, as is my policy. Fast forward 2 days and the same nefarious lightning had struck. Another turkey: DEAD.
At this juncture I had kept watch, ever vigilant of the possibility of a turkey troll lurking in the shadows of the nearby forest waiting for my guard to be down, having coworkers and friends check in on my stock now and then. So with the possibility of a human perpetrator ruled out, only one logical conclusion is left no matter how illogical.
The male turkeys are killing each other.
Before you jump to your non-turkey homicide conclusions consider that I have taken many steps in deductive reasoning as well as many preventative measures to keep this from happening:
1. I removed a male turkey for 6 days and the killings stopped. Within two days of adding a DIFFERENT male back in he was dead.
2. After trying to remove a male again one of my poults turned into a male. He was promptly killed on sight it seems as he was gone when I returned from foraging later that day. I noticed that sometimes the young turkey will win out on the fight though too and then I have lost a veteran of the coop.
3. I have tried taking the ladies away but that only seems to make them angrier.
4. I have kept them on my person for the day but they both died. Admittedly, I should have seen this one coming.
5. I started feeding them nothing but other turkeys or just meat in general. This had no effect other than to seem to make them breed more frequently, which bothered me.
6. I have tried surrounding one of the males with ladies fully aware that I am wasting egg space but hoping that the allure of turkey love will win over bloodlust. Alas, as pictured, it was not to be.
7. I have now moved the females to a separate coop and only grant the males visitation based on good behavior. I will update with the results of this once there has been a killing or it has won out over the violence.
I'd ask for more ideas but at this juncture I am lost. So I merely post this as a cautionary tale in Salem's history. My turkeys were one of the best parts of my day and they are in disarray. Yes I could leave just one male in the coop but I refuse to let them dictate the terms of their service. I can only sit and wait, and hope that whatever Mad turkey disease has gripped my homestead passes or is resolved in the next patch. Hopefully the latter. And hopefully really soon.
