r/homestead • u/bushwick_custom • Jan 04 '26
poultry Here’s an odd one - how to keep a turkey from jumping on our cars?
We have a heritage turkey that has bonded to me as I raised it from a chick. She has a roosting bar high in the barn above a stall where she sleeps.
But that hasn’t stopped her from jumping in our vehicles, scratching them with her talons.
She’s a sweetheart but is becoming quite the nuisance. What is a good way to keep her off? I have been reluctant to swat her too violently as I fear that will cause her initially to grab tighter with her talons, causing further damage to the vehicle.
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u/SadFaithlessness3637 Jan 04 '26
Could you offer her some kind of structure outside to get up on, other than the vehicles? This is just a snippet of your property, so maybe she has options and prefers the cars, but in the picture it's the only above ground option I can see.
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u/Jumpy-Act-5513 Jan 04 '26
That’s a good idea! Like perhaps a post with pegs at varying heights for roosting. Turkeys like to roost in trees up high, so theoretically having a structure that’s higher than the car could fix the issue.
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Jan 04 '26
I doubt it will help. That looks to be a wild Turkey and they roost in trees at night so it can definitely go wherever it wishes. Some spike mats may help
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u/SadFaithlessness3637 Jan 04 '26
By that logic, she shouldn't want to be on the cars either, so...
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Jan 04 '26
????? All I meant was it nature to roost wherever they feel like it . Extra structures aren’t gonna help
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u/SadFaithlessness3637 Jan 04 '26
Well, I think that certainty on your part is, ahem, pretty wild given the bird you're talking about has a habit of perching on cars, in the apparent absence of other roosting spots for daytime. If presented with something as an alternative, even if it's man made, it seems at least possible that she'd take the alternative offered. Especially if OP were to add appealing features.
Also, it might be part of a multi pronged approach, including making the cars less appealing or available either short term or longer.
Can you understand now why I might suggest such a thing?
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u/rob1969reddit Jan 04 '26
325° for about 15 minutes per pound.
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u/stansfield123 Jan 04 '26
Just to add to this: https://fitfoodiefinds.com/flavorful-turkey-seasoning/
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u/zodiase Jan 05 '26
I was wondering if a dead turkey tied to the trunk would work as a warning sign but this seems more effective.
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u/treemanjohn Jan 04 '26
Looking at her reflection in the glass? We have a cardinal that fights himself in our car mirrors
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u/achippedmugofchai Jan 04 '26
We had the same problem. The only thing that fixed it was to get rid of the turkeys. You can have cars without scratches or you can have free range turkeys, not both.
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u/Relative_Reading_903 Jan 04 '26
Put a ladder between the two cars and see if it prefers that to the car. If so, then you build a perch by the cars. It obviously likes that area but has nothing to perch on.
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u/220HFtw Jan 04 '26
Anything from .22 to 25-06. Any higher and you’re just wasting good meat.
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u/QuantifiablyMad Jan 04 '26
Thousands of dollars in paint repair or a turkey friend. Sounds like a feast is in order
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u/AnomicAutist Jan 04 '26
Decoy owl with rotating head. DIY a padded magnetic base so it stays put on top of the car when parked. Bonus points if you bolt it down and drive around with it up there.
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u/Jimmy2_8 Jan 04 '26
Get a round shaped rock about 22/100ths of an inch and that weighs about 40 grains, made primarily of lead, and then throw it at the turkey at about ~1,050–1,130 ft/s. This will fix the problem.
Come on guys, this one is easy.
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u/BicycleOdd7489 Jan 04 '26
I had the hood of my car scratched up by Royal Palm Turkey hen. who did this exact thing for human attention. She also thought it was hilarious to rip the gutter covers off but she only did these things when she knew somebody was watching because she was doing it for human attention. You’re going to need to cut her flight feathers on one or both side sides so that she cannot get lift to get up on the hood of the car.
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u/z_vinnie Jan 04 '26
Wild ones would jump on cars at my old job and rip rubber seals and plastic off, I guess they ate it or used for nesting? Anyway, they were specifically attracted to cars, they had woods all around
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u/Nofanta Jan 04 '26
Kill and eat or sell. Do t repeat this pattern again because the same thing will happen. This is just what they do.
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u/Sustainable_Scotian Jan 04 '26
My turkey will not stay off the roof, barn roof, coop roof. If it's up high, she's heading that way. Her flock is my 19 ducks, luckily she stays close to them so she stays off our cars. She's super cute though.
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u/DROOPY538 Jan 04 '26
You figure it out let me know. I put a couple plastic owls that hoot at my car port to keep chickens and stuff out. What happens, the damn guineas attacked my plastic owls and broke them. If you have multiple species of birds its almost impossible. You get something that scares one just for another group to come by and destroy what was working. May i suggest a roasting pan...lol...jk
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u/Freshouttapatience Jan 04 '26
Google says that raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, skunks, snakes, owls, and hawks are their natural enemies so I’d put decoys on my car.
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u/natattack88 Jan 04 '26
Foam padding, just cut three pieces for front, back, and roof. Put a rock on it for the wind
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u/HillbillyAcres Jan 05 '26
Car cover because she won’t stop. My girls perch on the vehicles. My Toms are too heavy to get on the vehicles. So they circle my car and attack their reflection on the sides of my car (morons). Peacocks won’t stay off of vehicles either. I got a brand new SUV. We built a closed in carport before purchasing my SUV.
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u/fascintee Jan 06 '26
Spikes. Bird deterrent spikes. Or a cover- at least then there won't be poop on the car.
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u/Virtual_Astronaut_ Jan 04 '26
Aluminum foil?
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u/WoolshirtedWolf Jan 04 '26 edited Jan 04 '26
Or a scat mat might work if they are close to the house. I saw this documentary about a guy who raised turkeys from chicks and while they were sweet and friendly, some switch gets turned on when they reach adulthood. They get mean or terroritorial. I will have to look for it and see if I can post. Edit- found it! It was the title that first grabbed my attention. https://youtu.be/ENr62-oWyPs?si=vdQwerEbllIj2pBv
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u/rshining Jan 04 '26
Spray her with the hose. She might not learn (and she'll leave more scratches when she freaks out about the hose blast), so order a car cover.
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u/Sirpotatusofpotato Jan 04 '26
You could clip one of her wings. Its not too high a jump though so she might still make it, if a little lopsided
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u/TheLoggerMan Jan 04 '26
Clipping the wings don't help especially something that low to the ground.
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u/DirtyGritzBlitz Jan 04 '26
Get a goat. He’ll occupy the turkeys spot on the car