This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Hello Tom

April 20th, 2016

Tom has been dancing for all the turkey hens, he’s quite a handsome fellow. Of course the ladies pretty much ignore him all the time. That doesn’t deter him, he still spends all day dancing and puffing his feathers to show them how handsome he is. I’m quite happy with him, he’s a real gentleman. He’s never shown even a hint of aggression towards me. This year I’ll be letting my muscovy hen hatch out ducklings, but I’m not sure if I’ll be letting any of the turkeys set, we shall see. I am selling fertile hatching eggs though, I’m happy to provide these for other locals who want to raise turkeys and don’t have toms or hens.
Bourbon Bronze Turkey (1)
Of course it’s mating season with all the wild birds as well. I enjoy hearing and seeing them all flitting about the garden and starting the process of bringing up the next generation of pest control for my garden. We have a pair of nesting crows and they’ve been madly building their nest in the pine grove below the house. They are a joy to watch!

Have you been noticing bird courting in your garden?

5 Comments to “Hello Tom”
  1. Emily on April 20, 2016 at 6:31 am

    Oh, yes! We have a pair of cardinals and, I don’t know if all do this or just ours, but the male cardinal feeds the female. It is so sweet! It seemed to me to be a mating ritual. I guess I need to look it up.

    Reply to Emily's comment

  2. PennyAshevilleNC on April 20, 2016 at 8:37 am

    He is a beauty! We have various song birds typical to our region but this year we had a fantastic mockingbird turf war and now have a mockingbird nest close by. The songs keep us smiling all day. I enjoy the peace i can get until he begins dive bombing us when we are out in the yard.

    Reply to PennyAshevilleNC's comment

  3. Nebraska Dave on April 20, 2016 at 9:03 am

    Susy, My, your Tom is a handsome fellow. I’m not sure why the girls have no interest in him. The Robins came early in big flocks this year. Although they don’t dance to mate they are fun to watch tracking down a worm. I’ve only seen the turkeys once at Terra Nova Gardens this year but I know they are around because I can see where they have scratched in the mulch. I’ve seen more evidence of rabbits squeezing under the fence near the strawberry patch as well so more work to secure the bottom of the fence there. Slowly but surely the fence is becoming secure. Maybe some day the critters with just plain give up because they can’t get in. Nah, don’t think so. After I’m long gone they will once again reign over the land once called Terra Nova Gardens. Nature has a way of being very patient to reclaim territory.

    Have a great day watching dancing Tom.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  4. Sara on April 20, 2016 at 9:22 am

    Wowza, what a handsome guy! Yep, tons of bird love/drama/nesting in our yard too, it can be so loud at times, but I love it.

    Reply to Sara's comment

  5. Jennifer Fisk on April 20, 2016 at 5:38 pm

    Good looking boy. My girls are so wishing for the attention of a Tom but mine is deceased. Every time I walk near them the assume the breeding position. The rest of the time they call and call for a Tom.

    Reply to Jennifer Fisk's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin
Read previous post:
A Good Start

This past weekend it was beautiful here in the Maine. The temperatures were in the 60's & 70's and the...

Close