You're right, your birds don't have to be with the turkeys to pick something up, but it sure increases the chances. Sun light, drying and time all kill certain pathogens, although not all, and so reduce the chances that your birds will pick something up after the turkeys have passed through. Airborne transmission is another factor, and is more likely to infect your birds when they're right next to a sneezing turkey as opposed to passing through the same airspace a day or week later. You need to worry about any number of poultry diseases that can be passed between chickens abd turkeys, salmonella, AI, not H5N1, the big bad media scare AI, but there are strains in this country, and have been for years, which still occur and have been shown to be passed from wild birds. They'll cause intrastate movement of birds to be stopped, and complete depopulation of your entire flock if it's found to be infected. Roundworms, whipworms, mites and lice are easily transmitted, and are very common.

Oh wow, those are great shots of the turkey families. I feel honored when they come here. Other guests are not so welcome. The deer, for instance, are eating the immature apples, and the other morning they had sheared off the tops of the zinnias, flowers and all. I suppose if I were philosophical, I'd say they deadheaded them so they'd sprout out fuller. My hubby found the beginnings of a groundhog burrow which was abandoned due to ledge rock he encountered, and found his new burrow in the neighbor's yard. Across the street, they had 3 coyotes about 2 weeks ago, but of course they don't eat plants, just other animals, right? Something new to me up in MA is the chipmunk. We don't have them in Alabama, and they are so amusing. At the Home Depot store in Nashua, they will run across the aisles of the garden shop without any concern for my presence. And the little sparrows who nested in the bird house hanging from our porch ceiling have raised THREE clutches of babies this year. They are unafraid of us, and a couple of the new fledglings come down to the wire mesh patio table (under the umbrella) when hubby is out there for his morning and afternoon breaks. I think they know he leaves crumbs for them. I love the wildlife in the garden here.

We supposedly have Cedar Waxwings year round here but I've only seen one once in my life. It was one my mother found dead in her yard. : ( They eat lots of different kinds of berries so I'm sure I have some kind of food for them. Maybe they just haven't found it yet. I planted some deciduous hollies several years ago but I don't know if any of them are still there. My hackberry trees have lots of berries on them this year. That might be what the turkeys were going after if the berries are falling to the ground. There's still a lot on the trees right now. There's practically no pulp on those things or they would be great to snack on. They're sweet. Razorback - What kind of oak trees do you have? This article has a good explanation (close to the bottom of the page). The late freeze we had in '07 would affect even this year's acorns if they're some type of red oaks. But I've also read that oak trees will produce more acorns if they're stressed so good weather can make them produce less. Here is a link that might be useful: When there are no acorns

Hey min, perhaps your dog would like to watch the turkey from OUTSIDE the window!!! Jan