The Eye of The Turkey
The Eye of the Turkey:
My Thoughts on Turkeydom (Turkeydumb), Instincts, and Photos of Doodle
It'd make an instant bestseller, don't you think? No? Well, I'll just use it as the title of this blog post then.
Turkeys are very, very observant creatures. They have AMAZING eyesight, too. Never underestimate the eyes of a turkey. They see everything. While they lack the instincts (otherwise known as inborn knowledge of what one should eat, what one should not eat, what is dangerous and liable to kill and eat you, and so on) that most animals seem to possess from birth, they, like our own species, are extremely adept at learning things. Their mothers seem to be excellent teachers, so long as said mother has been taught well herself.
However, unlike humans, dogs, parrots, and other creatures that can be "trained", turkeys seem to lack any sort of problem solving skills whatsoever. They get an idea, they try that idea, and they keep trying that idea until they lose interest or have secured the reward they desired. Punishment is not enough to teach them to stop trying a bad idea. They really do have to lose interest. For example, Doodle sometimes gets it into her head that she can magically walk through the bars of her cage and just have a bite of my cookie if she so pleases. What are bars, anyway? In spite of the fact that she has tried this countless times (whenever I leave the room, or eat a cookie) and has never been able to get through the bars, in spite of the fact that rubbing ones head on bars until it bleeds cannot be at all a rewarding sensation, she keeps at it. So, the only solution is to keep her content or distracted enough to not do that.
I think it is a combination of their lack of instincts, insatiable curiosity, and lack of problem solving capability that has created the public stigma of turkeys being stupid. They're not stupid. They are curious and like to learn new things. But they can't solve problems. When faced with a problem and not taught a solution, they will doggedly try but one tactic to overcome the problem, again and again and again, until they get a reward (problem solved) or lose interest. However, if you present a problem and teach them the solution, once they understand it they will never forget it.
But, I am rambling, I think. So here are the most recent photos of Doodle:
My Thoughts on Turkeydom (Turkeydumb), Instincts, and Photos of Doodle
It'd make an instant bestseller, don't you think? No? Well, I'll just use it as the title of this blog post then.
Turkeys are very, very observant creatures. They have AMAZING eyesight, too. Never underestimate the eyes of a turkey. They see everything. While they lack the instincts (otherwise known as inborn knowledge of what one should eat, what one should not eat, what is dangerous and liable to kill and eat you, and so on) that most animals seem to possess from birth, they, like our own species, are extremely adept at learning things. Their mothers seem to be excellent teachers, so long as said mother has been taught well herself.
However, unlike humans, dogs, parrots, and other creatures that can be "trained", turkeys seem to lack any sort of problem solving skills whatsoever. They get an idea, they try that idea, and they keep trying that idea until they lose interest or have secured the reward they desired. Punishment is not enough to teach them to stop trying a bad idea. They really do have to lose interest. For example, Doodle sometimes gets it into her head that she can magically walk through the bars of her cage and just have a bite of my cookie if she so pleases. What are bars, anyway? In spite of the fact that she has tried this countless times (whenever I leave the room, or eat a cookie) and has never been able to get through the bars, in spite of the fact that rubbing ones head on bars until it bleeds cannot be at all a rewarding sensation, she keeps at it. So, the only solution is to keep her content or distracted enough to not do that.
I think it is a combination of their lack of instincts, insatiable curiosity, and lack of problem solving capability that has created the public stigma of turkeys being stupid. They're not stupid. They are curious and like to learn new things. But they can't solve problems. When faced with a problem and not taught a solution, they will doggedly try but one tactic to overcome the problem, again and again and again, until they get a reward (problem solved) or lose interest. However, if you present a problem and teach them the solution, once they understand it they will never forget it.
But, I am rambling, I think. So here are the most recent photos of Doodle:
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| See? Curly feathers. She looks manged or roughed-up. (Though, you can see on her beak where she did actually did rough herself up when I left the room for a few minutes e_e) |
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| Peeking at the baby turkeys |
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