Expert: Julia Booth - 9/6/2010

Question
We have had wild turkeys around for the past couple of years. We feed them sunflower seeds and provide a turkey waterer. We had a hen show up with a badly injured leg, just dangling. She's been around for about a week now, intermittently. We saw her fly up to the oak trees where they roost after the first night that she was injured. Our local wildlife rehab organization suggested getting a sheet or towel over her and then picking her up on, holding her on either side of her wings, putting her in a big box and bringing her to them for possible rehab. We can't get close enough to her yet to do that. We plan to just provide food and water and hope for the best but are open to suggestion.  

Answer
The sheet idea is your best bet. I've never caught a turkey that way. But it works on chickens, parrots and ducks. That would have been my suggestion. That and luring her with food. With turkeys and chickens, you cannot go wrong with grubs. So if you could find some, that would be ideal.

Bear in mind that the turkey is easily startled because her range of vision is inferior to yours. Her eyes are on the sides of her head, meaning that she can't see you coming until you are right on top of her.

Turkeys can't fly really (they can get up into a tree, but that's about it) and she has a busted leg. So that should make her easier to catch. Should.

Think of it like a football game. You can't make a touchdown alone. You need a special team to play defense for you, when you actually go after the bird. If you try to do it yourself, you will run yourself ragged and eventually end up frustrated and tired.

Depending on where you live, animal control may be obligated to perform the task of actually trapping it. Not all cities offer this, for liability purposes. I would call to find out what your options are.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do,

Julia