We have wanted to rescue more turkeys for a long time and here are our latest arrivals. They are three young ladies or hens as the females are called. They are all the same breed which is British White, not really one of the old breeds but a commercial strain bred for meat production. Wendy and Wanda (shown in the pic) and Garbo (below) are safe now, they will never go into the food chain though but will spend a natural life of freedom at the sanctuary. The majority of turkeys bred for meat in the U.K. have a terrible existence. There are a few animal friendly producers who keep their birds free range and in natural conditions but they are in the minority. Most turkeys are kept crammed in sheds with no access to the outdoors, they have a short and miserable existence.
Shameful! If you eat turkeys at Thanksgiving or Christmas please make sure you buy free range. Slow food is best – definitely for the animals but for humans too. Turkeys kept intensively and factory farmed are routinely fed substances to make them grow quickly and try to keep them healthy. Is this good for humans though? I don’t think so but then I would never have any desire to eat a dead bird.
Wendy and Wanda are best friends (possibly sisters) and they stick together all the time. They look a bit pale at the moment and I am hoping that access to fresh air and grubs and insects to feed on will help them to grow robust and strong. Turkeys like a ration of corn and they need meat in their diet too. You can buy ready made turkey pellets but we prefer to mix our own feed for them. All turkeys love fishy flavoured cat food! They also enjoy a boiled egg and some bread and butter for their tea.
This is Garbo who likes to be on her own. She is already becoming quite tame – turkeys make excellent pets and live for around twelve years. They are polite and well mannered birds and relate well to humans when they have overcome their distrust of us (mostly well justified). Once you have a turkey friend he or she will always remember you. They are generally easy to keep in, some of them can fly but they know where home is and come back to roost. A shelter is essential, they would otherwise fall prey to the fox or to dog attacks. Wild turkeys go high into the trees at night and can run very fast. Our domestic turkeys have had all that bred out of them. We have never, so far, had a rescued turkey that was able to fly.
Noel is one of our existing turkeys and has been with us for about seven years. His usual companions are chickens so he is delighted to see some of his own kind. He still loves his little fawn hen friend Chickabiddy though. Noel is a Norfolk Bronze with beautiful copper and blue feathers. It’s an old established breed and isn’t so prone to get fat as the man made breeds. Getting overweight is a problem for some of the British White ‘Toms’ (male turkeys) – because they have been bred to get fat, their poor legs can’t hold their weight and they often don’t last longer than a year.
All our birds are in the moult at the present time and there are feathers everywhere.
Male turkeys have a snood (long piece of skin) that hangs over their beak – it turns red when they are courting or when they are upset. Turkeys are sensitive and quite timid birds whose feelings can easily be hurt. They also have a red wattle under their chin. The female birds don’t have either of these. A turkey ‘tom’ will make a gobbling sound when he wants to attract your attention or show off to the ladies, he will also puff himself up and strutt round displaying all his feathers. The girls don’t do any of this!
Noel when he’s showing off! We hope to rescue more of these charming and intelligent birds in the near future. Our aim is to show people their nature and lifestyle and how they interact with humans. There is a lot more to a turkey than the plastic packed carcass in the supermarket freezer.
We have plenty of room but need more sheds and fencing – if you’d like to help or could sponsor a turkey (£10 adoption donation would be much appreciated) please get in touch – if you’d like a standing order form please let us have your name and address. [donate]