Turkey Tales
If you ordered a turkey for Thanksgiving this year, say hello to your bird! We welcomed them to our farm about a month ago when they were just little fuzz balls. It’s our first time raising a large number of turkeys and it has been an interesting experience. Turkeys are quite different from chickens which is more noticeable in a larger group. They are much more active and started jumping the brooder walls at just a couple of weeks old. They also enjoy pecking at each other and we currently have two turkeys in our little infirmary, one missing an eye and one with a wound on its foot. Both are recovering well and we should be able to place them with the rest of the group soon.
The turkeys are now outside in a hoop house protected by ten foot wire fence with another foot buried underground. In another few days, when they’ve grown accustomed to their new home, we’ll open the doors and they’ll also have about a half acre of weeds, grass and bugs to eat.
Our fencing has already proved to be valuable as we heard Fantastic Mr. Fox barking Saturday night at 11:30. The turkey area wraps around the side of our house, right where our bedroom is, which makes him easy to hear. (I can't wait to be serenaded to sleep with the soft sounds of "gobble, gobble".) He was just outside the fence near the hoop house. Shayn threw his boots on and rushed out to find a pair of glowing eyes in the dark, which then ran off to the fields behind us. Monday morning at 4:30am he was back, once again voicing his frustration. And once again, Shayn headed outside to check on the birds where he was met with the same pair of eyes in the darkness. So far there are no signs of Mr. Fox even attempting to get into the turkey area but we know he’s not likely to give up anytime soon.
We sold turkeys on a pre-order basis only this year, but will have some additional birds for Thanksgiving. We have created a waiting list for those customers who would like to purchase any extras available. If interested, please visit our turkey page or send an e-mail to sales@utahnaturalmeat.com . A place on the list does not guarantee you will get a bird, but may give you the opportunity to purchase one. We will notify those on the waiting list of their status in October.
Gobble Gobble!