Turkey trap
We've got a wild flock of
turkeys in the woods behind us, and sometimes we can hear them gobble.
Turkey season started in our
area this week, and just for the fun of it I researched "How to catch a
turkey" for a few minutes.
First off, I'm pretty sure
there might be some laws against catching a turkey, which is what
stopped me from actually trying it, but if you find yourself in a
survival situation the most easy and simple method involves a 50 gallon
drum.
Bait the drum with some
crushed corn sitting on top with the bottom up. Check on it
a couple times a day, and replenish the corn when needed. Do this
everyday for 3 or 4 days, and on the 5th day flip the drum around. The
turkey won't be able to see the new opening and will flop right in. Not
having enough space to spread its wings will keep it there till you
next check on the trap.
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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That is the most awesome turkey trap I have ever heard of! And on the plus side, "It isn't a trap, it's a barrel, officer. The turkey just fell in."
Eric --- Thanks for making me laugh!
Angela --- You'll have to tell me the joke. I'm pretty sure I haven't heard it....
Roland --- Perhaps if a hurricane or other disaster cut off power and ability to get storebought food for a couple of weeks? Lots of folks have these barrels lying around, especially in a farm situation.
So the original version of this trap wasn't with a 50 gallon drum.
In the original version, you dig a narrow trench just wide enough that the turkey will be able to walk down, but narrow enough that it won't be able to spread its wings. You want to make the deep end of the trench deep enough that the turkey can't jump out.
Bait the deep end of the trench with corn. As the turkey walks down into the trench to eat the corn, it will get stuck and not be able to fly away, and they're not smart enough to figure out that they can simply walk backwards out of the trench.