That would be something I would do to the goose!
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Absolutely it makes great soup!
Admittedly we have made more soup with the domestic birds. We like to put some whole birds in the freezer for roasting, but also cut some up and then stew the drumsticks, and frames/bones. After cooking I thicken the broth and blend the cooked skins into it. Then gallon bags of the meat and gravy go in the freezer. Later I cut up onion and celery, cook them and noodles and add a bag of the precooked mix for a fast turkey noodle for lunch at home or for the work crew.
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While Iāve been watching 3 toms strutting and courting a group of 8 or 10 hens, all day long, for the past couple of weeks, I donāt hunt them - but my BIL does, and makes a trip up here from AL almost every year.
Couple years back, he harvested two gobblersā¦ we cut the breasts into strips, which I bread and deep fry. He just throws away everything else, but I smoked the legs, then chipped them up and added BBQ sauceā¦ it was OK, but not nearly as good as decent pulled pork, or even venison BBQ. Butā¦ I didnāt waste them!
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We have a flock that has shown up the last couple of years. So far they havenāt bothered the orchard.
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Itās hunting season on them in KY currentlyā¦I saw a dead one in the road, apparently dead by motorcycle rather than shotgunā¦as I saw a bike across the ditch about 50 yards away!
This 4/25 in Madison County.
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Probably with a dead motorcycle nearby.
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Recently, the wild turkeys returned to our property and are out most mornings calmly patrolling the fields. This morning I spotted a turkey near the base of an apple tree repeatedly pecking and flipping what looked like a snake. I got a pair of binoculars and watched him peck and attempt to eat a large Black Rat snake.
Being sympathetic to snakes, and appreciative of any help I can get hunting pine voles that plague the orchard, I thought about intervening. The snake looked fairly lifeless so I decided to let nature run its course. The turkey went about his business for some time afterwards presumably eating the snake.
I googled turkeyās diets and saw that they do like to eat snakes. I guess I assumed that they were strictly vegetarian, but apparently not.
Turkeys - and most near relatives - are omnivores readily eating rats, mice, frogs, tons of insects, grass, vegetables, and just about anything else they can find. My turkey hen is particularly fond of pecans.
Snake killing aside, i am glad to hear their diet is omnivorous. Maybe they will start pecking for the voles that tunnel after my apple tree roots!
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Some of the best chili Iāve eaten had pureed liver as the mystery ingredient.
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I miss having nesting hens on my property- itās been a couple of years. They make my wife and I laugh, and they are so tame they are almost like pets that take care of their own needs. Iām surprised no one mentioned how comical their movements can be.
My father was a life long bird watcher, almost with the intensity of an ornithologist. When he was young these birds were endangered and almost extinct. My last memories of his visits included his looking forward to seeing some of these birds, but on he last stay here none showed up on my property. I ended up taking him for a long drive upstate thinking weād see some along the way, but we struck out. Then as we drove up my driveway there was a group of about 25 hens and their young (fledglings?) milling around my yard. Iām not sure why it took them so long to receive my fatherās psychic messaging, but better late than on time. 
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these turkeys are delicious
they donāt seem to hurt fruit but will eat small berries and tomatoes (small ones) they eat a hell a lot of bugs though. wish I had these instead of squirrel
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Squirrel can be tasty!
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It is amazing to see the turnaround wild turkey populations have made. Growing up in the 70s and 80s i never saw them in the woods let alone at bird feeders!
Has anyone seen them go after voles? I would love to think they are hunting some while they do their daily walk through our apple orchard.
@randyks ā¦
A rabbit that wiped out my greens bed last fall.
Revenge.
A half grown rabbit (or squirrel) can be friedā¦ same as you would chickenā¦ very good.
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