Anyone ever been attacked by a turkey?

[lyingflatlander]

Alright, my own story. 4 years ago we bought a house on the edge of the suburbs that’s next to a dairy farm. We had noticed a hen turkey that was always around the neighborhood but would waltz through the back yard in her travels. Well for a week she would walk to the back with intent, in the late afternoon she would fly low to the ground just to land in the back. I should add the back 1/2 acre is wooded and borders a pasture. Well, one day I walk back there just aimlessly looking at the ground and walked up to a clump of blackberry bushes maybe 8 feet in diameter. Suddenly a bunch of little brown things scatter on the ground at the base of the blackberries. My mind registers mice, but within a second this angry hen turkey jumps up from the back of the bushes like a mean rooster chicken that doesn’t want you around his hens. She’s flapping at me head level with her feet in front of her trying to scare me off. Mind you she has caught me completely off guard, so I yell and swat at her but she’s out of reach. She hits the ground 4 or 5 times only to jump up again flapping and trying to gouge my eyes out. So here’s me yelling and swinging looking like a damn fool, until were about 20 feet from the chicks when she drops down and starts running through the lawn to the front yard. So now I’m mad as hell and running after her to ring her neck. We make it to the front before I realize I fell for her routine. So I walk back to the house through the open attached overhead garage door. Would you believe she walked up to the garage door and began to pace back and forth just outside the door looking for me? She then lost interest and ran to the back. I slowly followed and she was gone. Never to be seen again.

 

[GreenNDark Timber]

Not exactly attacked but I did have to go get stitches because of one a couple weeks ago. I took my 5 yr old son hunting with me for the first time and I killed a bird right off the roost. The shot was only 18 yds and with 3" #9 TSS he took it pretty hard. I walked over and he was stone dead and not moving at all. I was excited to show him to my son and grabbed him by the legs to hold him up.... and that's when he started to flop. He spun and his spur twisted in my glove and got tangles and I couldn't turn loose of him. His 1-3/8" spur dug into my hand and the more he flopped the more it cut / tore. I finally got the glove pulled off but not before the damage was done. I quickly wrapped my shirt around my hand so my son wouldn't see all the blood. After dropping my son off a home and getting the bird taken care of I made a quick trip to the local urgent care to get stitched up.

I've been hunting them for almost 25 yrs but that made me feel like it was my first time ever hunting them. The only plus is the scar on my hand looks like a perfect turkey track, so I'll always have a nice reminder of my son's first hunt....and my rookie move.

 

[TomAZ]

Just domestic turkeys as a kid. During the turkey rut they chased my ass all over…


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[Njtaxi]

Never been attacked by a turkey, but here in NJ they're on the news quite often for attacking or harassing pedestrians, mailmen, etc. in many suburban (and some urban) towns. Usually the ones I see are from the car, or the ones I have been close to are flopping around! (they wind up with my foot on their neck and a knee on their closed wings - a safer, humane way to dispatch them without getting spurred). Maybe turkeys should be included in the "Most Dangerous Animal in the Woods" thread!

 

[Deerbuster21]

Negative

 

[HbDane]

As a kid my wife grew up on a farm/ranch. Had horses goats, chickens, freak cats.......and a TURKEN. She told me every morning when she went to go feed the horseithat TURKEN would attack her. To the point where she carried a spray bottle full of vinegar set to the stream setting so she could blast it in the eyes to give her time to run to the stables. She does the same thing to me now, when she's " not in the mood"

 

[DerkPerk]

We’ve had a couple pet turkeys. Both have attacked my wife. She would drop the food bucket and run. Never messed with me or the kids. Here’s Alex the hen strutting.

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