Snakes are probably one of the common reptiles homeowners can come across, especially in tropical regions. Snakes are always searching for favorable conditions for their survival. This means any place with sufficient food and shelter becomes their permanent residence. Unfortunately, most landscaping practices and items in your homes are ideal for snakes’ shelter. That aside, thick shrubbery and rock walls harbor various snake foods, such as frogs, mice, and insects.
While there are no chemical repellents that can prevent snakes from entering your home, several home remedies can keep snakes away. If poisonous snakes are not your concern, turkeys are adept at locating and grouping around snakes. They can harass the snake, forcefully making them move away, making them beneficial in keeping snakes away.
How Do Turkeys Chase Snakes Away?
Turkeys chase snakes away in a very simple way. They can easily locate and group around a snake. They harass the snake enough to force it to vacate the area immediately. However, this is effective for non-poisonous snakes. Poisonous snakes can bite your turkeys, resulting in serious injuries. Apart from turkeys, other natural predators of snakes include guinea hens, pigs, cats, foxes, and raccoons.
Do Turkeys Make Good Flock Protectors?
Most homeowners have other birds and domestic animals before deciding on rear turkeys. Well, you should consider several factors before keeping a mixed flock. Fortunately, turkeys make a good addition and great companions to most flocks, especially chicken. There is some evidence that turkeys are good protectors for chicken. They can detect predators faster than chicken. However, they will typically save themselves instead of providing protection. They are only beneficial as they act to deter hawks looking to prey on your chicken.
Just to mention, turkeys and chicken coexist together well. If you want to keep them as pets, they can bring a lot of joy and change the dynamics in your chicken flock. Turkeys are typically slower and chilled compared to chicken. Also, they don’t concern themselves with little things that send a chicken into a panic. As a result, the benefits of rearing turkeys and chicken together, include;
- To look out for predators
- Peacekeepers
- Surrogate mothers
As mentioned, turkeys are better at detecting predators than chicken. They will also put out a loud alarm when they sense trouble to help chicken run for cover. They are also great mediators and can break up serious fights between chickens and bring them under control. However, as indicated above, they prioritize their safety. That said, if the main reason for introducing turkeys in your chicken flock is for protection, you should consider other options.
What do Turkeys Do When They Sense Danger?
Like humans, animals have senses, and turkeys are not an exception. What differs among animals is the importance of these senses, based on how developed the senses are and the animal’s behavior. While humans use all the five senses, turkeys rely only on three. They include;
Vision
Turkeys use vision to find food items, catch potential prey, and keep safe while flying or running. Turkeys can detect movements and assimilate every detail quickly. They rely on their excellent daylight when normal hearing is impaired by winds or rain. Turkeys, especially wild turkeys, have flattened corneas that can see colors.
Since their eyes are positioned on the side of the head, they have a monocular, periscopic vision, unlike humans with binocular vision that can judge distance quickly. Therefore, turkeys overcome monocular vision challenges by turning their heads to judge distance better. They also have better peripheral vision than humans.
Hearing
For turkeys, hearing supplements vision by diverting visual attention to the source of the sound. Through hearing, the bird can detect threats if the eyes are focused on finding food. They have an uncanny ability to locate the source of any sound. Once they identify the noise, they respond immediately by looking at the source of the sound, allowing them to react quickly to predators and other environmental factors. Surprisingly, turkeys’ hearing ability is acute, despite lacking flaps or pinna on the eternal ear that concentrates sound waves.
Touch
Touch is an important sense for feeding. As the bird scratches through leaves, acorns or beechnuts under its toes can be felt, enabling the bird to pause and look. This sense is not only limited to its extremities. The size and texture of different foods can be determined by the beak and tongue also through touch.
That said, turkeys demonstrate various body languages when facing danger. Some of these cues include;
The Wing Check
Wing checking is an unannounced subtle exit signal that bird owners can easily miss. The signal is brief but indicates if the turkey is leaving soon. While it doesn’t necessarily indicate a high alarm, suspicious turkeys often lift their wings as if to rest or adjust properly against the body for fight or flight. It is a common departure sign for wild turkeys feeding in an open area and about to disappear into the timber or roost.
The Fan Flare
Turkeys’ tail fan flare is a sudden signal indicating an impending exit. The signal is often accompanied by a short, frantic run of an avian predator, such as an owl or eagle, is overhead. The bird quickly spreads its fan, holding it parallel to the ground as it trots with its head high and alert. This makes it appear larger for the prey.
The Rubber-Necker
This dreaded signal presents if the turkey is alert and curious than alarmed. If it senses something amiss, it extends the head and neck forward for a better look. The bird may also move closer to the source of danger to satisfy its curiosity.
The Up-Periscope Signal
This occurs in an otherwise calm turkey. It quickly raises its head up, scanning the surrounding for possible danger. The bird may have noticed another predator, and ready to disappear accordingly.
The High-Head Behavior
This is a less common reaction in turkeys that convey a dominant status or a threatening intent. This can occur when a group of turkeys notice a flock of hen approaching. It is a sign of dominance and not necessarily an impending danger.
That said, apart from the reactions, turkeys also have several behavioral ways of avoiding predation. They include;
- Selecting a properly hidden nest site
- Minimizing its activity close to the nest
- Not defecating near the nest
- Flying to and from the nest
- Wearing cryptic plumage
- Covering its nest with leaves before leaving when laying
- Visiting the net during midday to avoid leaving a scent trail for nocturnal predators
- Staying on the nest when predators advance
- Leaving the nest immediately after hatching so that the scent of eggshells do not attract predators
What to do if Your Pet Turkey is Bitten by a Snake?
With their curiosity and natural food hunting instincts, it is common for your turkey to cross paths with a snake. While venomous snake bites are rare, they occur and should be treated with immediate attention. Snake venom varies depending on the species of the snake. The severity of the bite is also influenced by the age, size, and number of bites. Most venomous snakes impair blood clotting, damage the heart, or contain dangerous neurotoxins.
Common signs of snakebites in turkeys include;
- Pain
- One or multiple puncture wounds
- Swelling at the bite site
- Shock
- Cardiac arrhythmia
- Sloughing of tissues around the bite site
- Collapse
- Paralysis
- Impaired blood clotting process
If you suspect a snake has bitten your turkey, seek immediate veterinary care. You shouldn’t try sucking the venom from the site or placing a tourniquet. Keep the turkey calm as you wait for treatment. Treatments may vary depending on the severity of the snake bite. Common medications include fluid therapy, antivenin, pain medications, tetanus vaccines, antibiotics, and wound care.
How to Deter Snakes While Keeping Your Pet Turkey Safe?
As mentioned before, taking proactive measures is important to keep snakes away from your home. While engaging the services of professional pest control experts is a good alternative, several home remedies effectively deter snakes from your home. They include;
- Changing your landscaping – if your backyard is prone to snakes, consider making some changes to deter these animals from coming. For instance, garden regularly to remove snake attractants, such as holes, debris, and overgrowth. Keep your yard grass short to eliminate potential hiding places, install snake-proof snakes, and use materials that make it difficult for snakes to slither.
- Remove food supplies – snakes are highly found in areas with rodents, since they are their primary source of food. Snakes eat frogs, moles, insects, birds, and moles. Once you remove the source of food, they will migrate searching for other sources.
- Eliminate hiding places – snakes like living in cracks, holes, crevices, and other dark and damp places. To keep them off your property, eliminate such places within your backyard. Carefully inspect your home’s exterior and repair any holes or cracks that you come across. Snakes also prefer hiding in woodpiles and compost heaps. Therefore, keep your firewood in lockable or sealed wood boxes if possible.
- Smoke them out – snakes are highly sensitive to odors and fumes. A specific smell they don’t like is smoke. Therefore, you can dig fire pits and leave them smoking for several days.
- Use natural products – several natural products also work well as snake repellents. Common products include sulfur, naphthalene, garlic, onions, ammonia, clove, cinnamon oil, lime, and vinegar.
You should also flush snake fences to the ground and extend them at an outward angle to prevent snakes from climbing over. However, being terrestrial animals, snakes have excellent climbing skills.Apart from turkeys, other domestic animals, including cats and dogs, can also hunt snakes. However, the risk of snake bites is high for domestic animals. Non-venomous bites can result in debilitating injuries. Therefore, you shouldn’t use domestic animals to prevent poisonous snakes.
Wild animals are beneficial in keeping snakes away from your home. Some bird species and owls of prey hunt snakes. However, their chances of swooping into your backyard to catch any problematic snake are very unlikely. Therefore, they should be relied on as a main source of protection. For snakes climbing into birds’ nest, sticky substances should be applied to the trunks of trees to prevent devastation. However, this can only be done in small areas.
Regardless of the techniques employed to keep snakes away, being proactive is the ultimate method. You should make smart decisions and be wary of the habitat that your backyard provides for snakes. If all these home remedies cannot keep snakes out of your home, don’t hesitate professional wildlife companies to help with snake removal and snake prevention recommendations.
FAQ
Do Wild Turkeys Kill Rattlesnakes?
Rattlesnakes are undoubtedly powerful predators. However, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have enemies. As it turns out, turkeys are good at killing rattlesnakes. Other aerial predators, such as eagles, hawks, and owls, can also swoop down and catch rattlesnakes.
What Animals Keep Snakes Away?
Common predators of snakes include raccoons, guinea hens, turkeys, pigs, and cats. These home remedies of keeping snakes away are easy to use, safe, and affordable.
What Kind of Birds Kill Snakes?
A wide array of animal species kill snakes, including several bird species. Among them include hawks, falcons, herons, and owls.
Do Bush Turkeys Keep Snakes Away?
Yes. Like domestic turkeys, they surround and group the snakes, which scare them away.
Do Turkeys Keep Hawks Away?
Yes. Rearing turkeys among your chicken flock can keep hawks away. They appear larger, which scare predating hawks.
Do Turkeys Keep Deer Away?
This is relative. While deer are not afraid of turkeys, a flock of roosting turkeys can keep deer away.
Do Turkeys Keep Foxes Away?
Yes. As with hawks, turkeys deter other birds of prey, including foxes, raccoons, and large cats.
The Bottom Line
Your natural backyard may become a suitable hiding ground for potentially dangerous or harmless snakes. Therefore, besides changing your backyard gardening routines, rearing turkeys can be a good way of keeping snakes away.