Turkey Tips to Keep You Safe During Mating Season

Helpful tips on dealing with these birds

We’re sure you’ve seen turkeys roaming the neighborhood streets. Sometimes it’s just one turkey alone. Other times, it’s a rafter, aka a group of turkeys. (Impress your friends with that vocabulary word.) You’ve sent us your videos of turkeys sleeping on top of cars or strutting down busy thoroughfares. But these lovable scamps can get mean and sometimes attack humans –especially during mating season – which goes through May. This means you should take some precautions.

Turkey Precautions

According to the Boston Globe, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife released some helpful tips if you come face-to-face with these – sometimes mean and aggressive – birds. No one wants a beef with a turkey, right?

Turkeys can act aggressively by pecking, following, or exhibiting other intimidating behavior towards people. More often than not, it’s the male (eye roll) that attempts to attack or dominate by puffing out their feathers or gobbling loudly.

What to do if you come face-to-face with a pissed-off turkey

If you are being threatened by a turkey, it’s advised that you use a broom or a hose to scare them off. We’re thinking that might provoke them, but okay give it a whirl. Don’t have a broom or hose handy?  Just act loud and big.   Turkeys tend to dominate people they find as subordinate.

If you have a problem with turkey street toughs hanging around your property, it’s recommended that you try balloons, pinwheels, or Wacky Wavy Inflatable Tube Man. Evidently turkeys hate a celebration and will steer clear.  Actually, it’s because they are afraid of things that are moving around.

Don’t feed the birds

And what every you do, never, ever, ever feed the turkeys. Giving turkeys food can lead to aggressive and/or bold behavior. You certainly don’t want turkeys waiting around on your stoop look to be feed and then when you don’t have any food a physical altercation occurs. Just don’t feed them.  That goes for seagulls too. 

Bottom line, treat turkeys the same way we treat a pack a teenagers, just cross the street and avoid eye contact.

You can see the full list of helpful turkey tips here.

Be careful out there!

You can also listen to this episode of Caught Up where we talk Turkey Erotica.

Another interesting fact? Turkeys sleep in trees.