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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The turkeys are back!

A few weeks ago I saw 2 bush turkeys wandering around our back yard, so it was time for 'Tommy Turkey' aka Faux Turkey to be brought out of storage.

For now, I've placed Tommy Turkey near an empty veggie patch

DH's friend Tim made the corflute bush turkey for me last year, as he said it would cause any male turkeys to look elsewhere for a place to build the mound it makes for its mate to lay eggs in. The male turkey tends to wreak havoc while it is building the mound and so it was in 2012 that I had my vegie gardens completely destroyed. Tommy Turkey appears to have kept the males away last year but the females continued to come for a visit each day and dig up and eat my sweet potatoes and ordinary potatoes! But no wholesale destruction like the year before!

The same day I took a photo of the bed that I had planted up after we came back from our holiday...(just in case it got destroyed by a turkey, I could at least look back at what the bed had looked like! lol) 


This morning, 2 weeks later, I took another photo...

Yep! Turkey has left it alone...for now!



And in a large pot on the other side of the backyard, I have an eggplant; but one of the small varieties. In 2012 I had to put rocks etc in the pot plants to stop the turkeys digging in the pots...so fingers crossed that my eggplant may continue to bear fruit.

Former posts about my 'battles' with the bush turkeys can be found here, here and here

10 comments:

Jill Butler Design said...

What a great vege garden you have. Hope you win the battle :)

Lin said...

We are fortunate not to have problems like yours with the turkeys. Some people have rabbit problems here but there dont seem to be any near us. We have had the odd deer munching the runner beans and one year two wild bar passed through but otherwise our battle is just with slugs, snails and caterpillars! xx

Lyn said...

what great vege gardens you have,a very creative way to protect them..

Vireya said...

Unfortunately as more blocks near you are covered in multiple townhouses, the available garden space for brush turkeys is decreasing. Eventually they are all going to end up in your yard!

Hope Mr Faux Turkey does the job again this year.

Dorothy said...

Gosh, the plants grow quickly in Queensland ! Nice garden. xox

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Your garden looks lush and full of goodies to eat soon.

Glad your faux turkey has kept the real guy at bay.

FlowerLady

Susan said...

Good Luck to Mr Faux Turkey - I hope he succeeds.

Anthea said...

Hi Maria - oh i do love the fake turkey! I hope you win the battle, & that they go find somewhere else to make a mess!!
Oh more developing? Your poor things, all that noise & dust... let's hope they are full of residents soon after being finished & not empty as the other places are...
Very well done to you on getting those plants too, they will be lovely.
xx

Mizumatte said...

Hi Maria
we don't have problem with turkeys, no wild turkeys in Sweden, but very much same problem with rabbits and deers and spanish slugs which are eating my hostas.
Sunny greetings from Denmarks westcoast (holiday). Jaana

Michelle Ridgway said...

Great idea. My whole crop of red pawpaw has been sampled and so ruined by possums....through the net I might add.