I'm very frustrated and can't figure out where he is, maybe you can help?
Help me reason this through:
Missing turkey (Mork) was here at noon, was noticed gone around 2:30pm. We spent two and a half hours looking and calling for it. We searched all around the house and quite deep into the surrounding forest.We searched around both ponds. We looked up into trees and we searched the ground for signs of a fight, feathers and/or blood. we found nothing.
The turkey is large (about 6 pounds), can fly quite well (up onto roofs and into trees), is strong, quick,and would fight.
The other Turkey (Mindy) was at the front of the house at 2:30. She did not seemed distressed, yet at bedtime she gave us a hard time about going in and was sitting on the porch, watching for her friend looking quite sad. The two turkeys are rarely far apart. It seems extremely strange that one would wander off without the other.
There is no sign of a predator anywhere. No blood, no feathers, nothing. The roosters did not sound the alarm today (we have three roosters that do a good job watching for predators), Skully did not growl (which he always does when coyotes are near); the little dogs did not bark, the ducks were around the house all day (cause the pond has ice) and they were calm. Heck, the cats were calm all day. No one gave a predator alert.
Google says that female turkeys will occasionally run off with wild turkeys. Travis thinks he heard wild turkeys in the area 4-5 days ago. We are still not sure what sex Mork is. maybe he's a she. But, why would one run off and not the other? And I would assume females run off to get males, wouldn't they do that at sexual maturity? Mork is only 4 months old; he/she won't be sexually mature than spring.
Mork is pretty big. A fisher couldn't carry him off. We would of found feathers/blood. A fox? maybe, but wouldn't he go after a chicken instead? Turkeys are pretty big. There was 25 chickens (4 chicks) and 11 ducks hanging out in the same area as the turkeys. Bald eagle? possible, but no rooster warning? My rooster always crow when eagles circle.Bald Eagle would of taken the turkey in a clearing (not under the trees), where is the feathers and blood? Coyote? maybe? But, Skully didn't growl? Really?! and the roosters didn't notice? and Mork went down without a fight? I find it really hard to believe that this turkey would of went down without a fight. There is a bobcat in the area ... broad daylight, close to a house?
Maybe he wandered off and got lost? It's possible. But, why didn't he come when called? And why'd he wander off without his turkey friend? The turkeys generally stay very close to the house, usually close to the mama chicken and chicks (they are all coop mates).
Maybe he was sick and we didn't notice, and he wandered off to die the way animals do? He seemed extremely healthy. Growing well, eating well, his bathrooms were normal, eyes bright, etc etc. maybe we just missed his body under all the branches and leaves?
Maybe a predator got him and we just missed the fight scene? We will continue searching for signs tomorrow. I'm gonna split the forest into sections and carefully search each section.
I really need to know what happened. I lost two beloved cats back in July that just mysteriously disappeared. no sign of either of them. I just can't lose another critter with no explanation! If there is a large predator on the property like a bobcat, I need to know. There is a black bear on the property, but black bears generally don't kill other animals.
If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them!
I'll update you tomorrow if he shows up or a find anything while searching.
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