Is this a sick or wounded bird?

[kygobbler]

A few weeks ago I took my little cousin on her first turkey hunt. She killed a wonderfull bird that any of us would have been proud to take back to the house. When I brought the bird to my house to clean it I found something that I have never seen before. I pulled the breast feathers up and off the breast and saw the ugliest sight I have ever seen on a turkey. The right side breast and big black spots on it and connecting each spot was a layer of green meat, or something else, that laid on top of the breast. I tried to raise the green stuff off to see if it was attached to the breast and it was.The left side breast was a ok.

Now Im wondering if this bird has been shot and the green stuff is gang green? I have never seen gang green so I dont know what it looks like. Or did this bird get his butt kicked and this is the results from it?

I have the birds cape drying in my building right now and I took a closer look at it. I noticed that the tail feathers had a few broken spots in them as if it was shot at. So Im thinking that is what caused the breast to be the way it is but still not for sure. I talked to a game and fish wildlife person that I know and it apparently has the whole department stuck on what happened to this bird. I had to send this pic, that I have below, to my friend so that the Commissionar of Ky fish and wildlife could look at because he is interested also.

Here is the pic but fair warning it is pretty nasty. If anybody has an idea of what it is please add your opinion.

[bamabirdbuster13]

lord thats rough looking .. id say its a bird that was peppered or somin

[Cut N Run]

I killed one a few years ago that had similar spots just on one side, just not nearly as big or as nasty. He was lighter weight than what you'd normally expect to see from a turkey of that size too. I dug into the dark spots when I was cleaning him and found some feathers that had been pushed into the shot holes. There were copper plated #6s in each hole. I'm pretty sure it was the bird my buddy's father rolled the year before. It got up running, then took off flying, and they never found anything but cut feathers of it.

Your cousin did that bird a favor because that doesn't look healthy or very painless.

Jim

[onpoint]

I killed one a few years ago that had similar spots just on one side, just not nearly as big or as nasty. He was lighter weight than what you'd normally expect to see from a turkey of that size too. I dug into the dark spots when I was cleaning him and found some feathers that had been pushed into the shot holes. There were copper plated #6s in each hole. I'm pretty sure it was the bird my buddy's father rolled the year before. It got up running, then took off flying, and they never found anything but cut feathers of it.

Your cousin did that bird a favor because that doesn't look healthy or very painless.

Jim

Ditto

[maineute]

I had a similar situation last year, blood spots all through the meat where some one had body shot it. Seemed to me like it was recent to me.

[dewey]

I killed one a few years ago that had similar spots just on one side, just not nearly as big or as nasty. He was lighter weight than what you'd normally expect to see from a turkey of that size too. I dug into the dark spots when I was cleaning him and found some feathers that had been pushed into the shot holes. There were copper plated #6s in each hole. I'm pretty sure it was the bird my buddy's father rolled the year before. It got up running, then took off flying, and they never found anything but cut feathers of it.

Your cousin did that bird a favor because that doesn't look healthy or very painless.

Jim

Ditto

I would think that if it was injured on one side that it was shot but if you find out for sure from the experts post it on here for the rest of us to learn from.

BTW congratulations to you cousin for harvesting the bird an ending its misery.

Dewey