When Turkeys are out on pasture, they only need minimal shelter. Basically, they need somewhere to roost up off of the ground, and that roost needs a roof to shed rain and provide shade. A few years ago I made two triangular turkey roosts using an old car axel and some wood, with an upcycled canvas top. They worked pretty well but were a little unstable and light due to only having one axel. The angular canvas also proved to act like a sail in a windstorm. Two years ago we lost one of these roosts in a wind storm, and this past week we lost the other. Luckily, in 2019 we iterated the design and fabricated a new turkey roost that takes the best features from the first one, is more sturdy, and is much less prone to wind damage. The new design is based on an old 4 wheel hay wagon. This is where the auction story comes in. For my whole life, I've been traveling to auctions with my dad, grandad, and brother. It's like the farmer version on a guy's trip. We have bought tons of stuff at auctions over the years, and we usually come home with a very... let's say... interesting looking load. We never buy the nicest tractor or the fancy piece of equipment. But we are pretty good at taking old rusty pieces that others thought had little value and giving them new life for a specific purpose. I'm glad to say I stayed true to form this weekend. I attended an auction with my son, my dad, and my brother. The load in the picture above is a typical Carlton load coming home from an auction. Soon we will have two new turkey roosts to shelter our birds this summer. I'll be sure to share that fabrication story here.
