The myth that turkeys will drown if they look up during a rainstorm is false, though they do sometimes look up due to a genetic condition called tetanic torticollar spasms. Turkeys have monocular vision, meaning they can look at two different things simultaneously, but this doesn't cause them to drown in rain. Despite their reputation, turkeys are social and intelligent birds, capable of.
Domesticated turkeys are so lacking in intelligence that they will look up at falling rain until they drown. There is an old wives tale that turkeys look up at the sky during the rain and drown. This is purely gobble gossip.
The myth started with a dash of truth. Like for most animals --and people-- severe weather can be deadly. Dr.
Darrin M. Karcher, Extension Poultry scientist at Purdue University, said there hasn't been a documented case of turkeys drowning by looking up at the sky. If a Turkey Looks up During a Rainstorm, Will It Drown? Turkeys have been known to sometimes look up at the sky for a while before they look down again.
This is because some turkeys are known to have a genetic condition referred to as tetanic torticollar spasms. These spasms cause the turkeys to exhibit abnormal behaviors. Have you ever heard the myth that turkeys drown in the rain? We bust this outrageous myth and explain how wild turkeys actually handle precipitation.
Even the domestic turkey does not look up at the rain and drown. This rumor most likely started from farmers who had domestic turkeys that died during a rainstorm. Myth #2: Turkeys are so stupid that they look up at the sky when it's raining and drown themselves It's true that turkeys do sometimes look up at the sky for a while before looking down again, but that's because.
Turkeys do not look up in order to "see" rain. Turkeys, like most birds, do not have binocular vision (i.e., the ability to focus both eyes on the same object); they have eyes set on opposite sides of their heads, a feature which gives them a greater field of vision and thus enables them more effectively spot potential predators. Turkeys exhibit exceptional daytime visual acuity, estimated to be three times sharper than human vision and allowing them to up to eight times farther away.
Their eyes are positioned on the sides of their heads, providing a wide monocular field of vision of up to 270 degrees. Essentially saying that turkeys are too dumb to survive. Turkeys are known to stare up into the sky and some do in fact have a genetic condition called tetanic torticollar spasms, which can result in some strange behaviors like looking up at the sky.
But no turkey suffering from this condition has ever been documented to have drowned in a.