Backpack, but for turkeys

[fat brown hen]

I ordered a GPS tracking device for my turkey hen. It's supposed to be for dogs. I don't think a turkey would like to wear a dog collar, so I'm thinking I can fashion some paracord into two loops, like a backpack. Trying to make something like the photo below. Has anyone tried this before?

(This photo was taken by wildlife researchers tracking wild turkeys)

 

[R2elk]

I ordered a GPS tracking device for my turkey hen. It's supposed to be for dogs. I don't think a turkey would like to wear a dog collar, so I'm thinking I can fashion some paracord into two loops, like a backpack. Trying to make something like the photo below. Has anyone tried this before?

(This photo was taken by wildlife researchers tracking wild turkeys)

If your hens are in with your tom, I would expect breeding damage to the hens with a device in that area.

You could try making a pocket in a hen saddle to slip a small device into it such as the actual unit from a tracking collar.

 

[fat brown hen]

You could try making a pocket in a hen saddle to slip a small device into it such as the actual unit from a tracking collar.

That's a good idea. Can I leave the saddle on for, say, a week without removing it?

 

[R2elk]

That's a good idea. Can I leave the saddle on for, say, a week without removing it?

I leave the saddles on for the whole breeding season. One old hen got to wear hers year round.

 

[fat brown hen]

I leave the saddles on for the whole breeding season. One old hen got to wear hers year round.

Very interesting. If they don't mind wearing a saddle then maybe I will order a larger tracker with longer battery life.

Yesterday I took two of my turkey hens' eggs, carefully poked holes to remove the yolks, refilled the eggs with sand and patched them up with drywall spackle. The "fake" eggs were indistinguishable from fresh eggs. I put them in the nest box. Between last night and this morning, the hens pecked the eggs open, spilled the sand, and ate the empty shells.

 

[R2elk]

Very interesting. If they don't mind wearing a saddle then maybe I will order a larger tracker with longer battery life.

Yesterday I took two of my turkey hens' eggs, carefully poked holes to remove the yolks, refilled the eggs with sand and patched them up with drywall spackle. The "fake" eggs were indistinguishable from fresh eggs. I put them in the nest box. Between last night and this morning, the hens pecked the eggs open, spilled the sand, and ate the empty shells.

Did they weigh the same as before you emptied them?

One benefit of ceramic eggs is they don't eat them although coons and skunks will try.

 

[fat brown hen]

Did they weigh the same as before you emptied them?

One benefit of ceramic eggs is they don't eat them although coons and skunks will try.

Oh, fine, the eggs were indistinguishable to *me*. Turkeys are smarter than me.

My next idea is to fill the eggs with a mix of sand+epoxy, which would make the eggs unbreakable. I guess I need to weigh them too.

 

[R2elk]

Oh, fine, the eggs were indistinguishable to *me*. Turkeys are smarter than me.

My next idea is to fill the eggs with a mix of sand+epoxy, which would make the eggs unbreakable. I guess I need to weigh them too.

The shells themselves are vulnerable to pecking.

When I needed fake eggs for my guineas, I made them from the clay you can bake in your oven. I thought about making fake turkey eggs the same way but never got around to it.

 

[fat brown hen]

would this work? https://www.amazon.com/Crayola-Natural-White-Modeling-Bucket/dp/B089T7PX27

 

[R2elk]

would this work? https://www.amazon.com/Crayola-Natural-White-Modeling-Bucket/dp/B089T7PX27

I used Sculpey oven-bake clay.