Turkeys stupid?

[patnjess]

My husband said a patient told him we have to be careful about our new turkeys because they are so dumb that they will drown themselves? Isaid he was stupid, is this true or not?

 

[patnjess]

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

yes. turkeys stupid. Mine spent 3 days trying to eat their own toes. They'd look down, bend over, and YANK, flip themselves on their backs trying to eat their toes... they also had a funny habit of napping with their heads in the feeder. Standing up, bending forward with their heads stuffed in the hole in the feeder. kind of sad.

 

[chicks4kids]

They may be "stupid" in that aspect but they are as sweet as pie and quickly become like a pet dog and as devoted in no time!

But when it's raining, mine go inside out of the rain.......so they're not THAT dumb

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Ahh i love this myth. FALSE! Turkeys, like most other birds (excluding birds who are predators such as owls), do not have binocular vision. Binocular vision is the ability to focus on ONE thing with BOTH eyes. Turkeys have one eye on each side of their head and they look at different things with each eye so they can stay alert of predators. Turkeys, when they appear to be looking straight ahead, are actually seeing to the left and right of them. Even if a turkey tilted its head backward, it would be looking to the sides. That being said, if they were to actually look up at the rain, they would need to tilt their head on a 90 degree angle to "look" up. Though, there is some truth to this. Young poults, younger than 9 weeks can get wet and chilled in the rain. That is a common misconception of this myth.

 

[Yessur Ebob]

all of our turkeys were stupid. we had some heritage breed turkeys that were very mean. at one point the hens were fighting and two of them were chewing on each other and one reached down and grabbed one of its OWN breast feathers and began trying to pull it out, the whole time with a painful expression on its face.

other of ours have tried to eat their own snoods.

 

[Blisschick]

Turkeys are far from stupid. Yes, the newly hatched poults aren't the brightest crayon in the box to begin with, but they learn really fast and have a memory like an elephant. They're extremely smart -- ask anyone who has hunted turkeys. They can outsmart a predator in daylight, no problem. They also have the ability to problem solve to a degree. I would say they're probably as smart as your average dog or cat.

 

[briana1975]

My turkeys are smarter than my chickens. No they will not drown in rain.

 

[Yessur Ebob]

Blisschick, wild turkeys seem to be smarter than tame turkeys, especially the broad-breasted varieties. Maybe we've just had hard luck with ours.

 

[thaiturkey]

Stupidity is relative. With what would you compare turkeys to determine whether or not they are stupid. Ours occupy themselves with simple, natural pleasures and then go home to their perch and more food when dusk falls. They don't drink alcohol or smoke and don't waste time watching tv. They have humans in attendance who feed them, clean their coop and call the doctor when he's needed but don't have to pay for any of those services. They have no need to look for jobs and have no debts. That all puts them ahead of a few humans that I know. They spot predators sooner than do we. They know what not to eat when they forage.

From our limited experience, the newly hatched poults need care and a bit of education that their parents may not offer. But that's not stupidity. How would a human baby cope of not given a lot of attention?