The Hidden Lives of Turkeys

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Many people think of turkeys as little more than a holiday centerpiece, but

turkeys are social, playful birds who enjoy the company of others. They relish

having their feathers stroked and like to chirp, cluck, and gobble along to

their favorite tunes. Anyone who spends time with them on farm sanctuaries

quickly learns that turkeys are as varied in personality as dogs and cats. 

 

When not forced to live on filthy factory farms, turkeys spend their days

caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dustbaths,

preening themselves, and roosting high in trees. Read on to learn more

fascinating turkey facts.Talkin’ TurkeyBen Franklin had tremendous respect

for their resourcefulness, agility, and beauty—he called the turkey “a bird

of courage†and “a true original native of America.†Franklin even

suggested naming the turkey, instead of the eagle, as our national bird.

Turkeys have been genetically modified to gain weight rapidly because fatter

turkeys mean fatter wallets for farmers. But in nature, the turkey’s athletic

prowess is truly impressive. Wild turkeys can fly at speeds of up to 50 miles

per hour and run at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour. The natural lifespan of

the turkey is between 10 and 12 years, but on factory farms they are slaughtered

when they’re just 5 months old.

Male turkeys, or “toms,†are bigger and have more colorful plumage than

female turkeys, or “hens.†The males attract females with their wattles,

colorful flaps of skin around their necks, and tufts of bristles that hang from

their chests.

Turkeys are born with full-color vision just like our own, and in nature they

stay with their mothers for up to the first five months of their lives. These

gentle birds are very bonded to their young—in the wild, a mother turkey will

courageously defend her family against predators.

Many respected researchers have spoken out on behalf of this intelligent, social

bird. Oregon State University poultry scientist Tom Savage says, “I've always

viewed turkeys as smart animals with personality and character, and keen

awareness of their surroundings. The ‘dumb’ tag simply doesn’t fit.â€

Even a popular turkey-hunting guide admits that turkeys are far from

feather-brained. According to the Remington Guide to Turkey Hunting, turkeys

will “test your wits as they are rarely tested in modern life.â€

Erik Marcus, the author of Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating, has spent a

considerable amount of time with turkeys on farm sanctuaries. He reports,

“Turkeys remember your face and they will sit closer to you with each day you

revisit. Come back day after day and, before long, a few birds will pick you out

as their favorite and they will come running up to you whenever you arrive.

It’s definitely a matter of the birds choosing you rather than of you choosing

the birds. Different birds choose different people.â€Nothing to Be Thankful

forIn This Feature Fascinating Facts  Nothing to Be Thankful for  More than

45 million turkeys are killed each year at Thanksgiving, and more than 22

million die at Christmas. 

 

Before ending up as holiday centerpieces, these gentle, intelligent birds spend

five to six months on factory farms where thousands of them are packed into dark

sheds with no more than 3.5 square feet of space per bird. Turkeys on factory

farms are denied everything that is natural to them, such as foraging for food,

dustbathing, and raising their young.

 

To keep the overcrowded birds from scratching and pecking each other to death,

workers cut off portions of the birds’ toes and upper beaks with hot blades

and de-snood the males (the snood is the flap of skin that runs from the beak to

the chest). No pain relievers are used during any of these procedures. 

 

Turkeys are genetically bred to grow as fast as possible, and they often become

crippled under their own weight. A PETA investigatorvideotaped one turkey

farmer beating sick and injured birds to death with a pole, a killing method

deemed “standard industry practice.â€

 

Turkeys won’t breathe fresh air or feel the sun on their backs until they’re

shoved onto trucks bound for slaughter. They are transported for hours without

food or water through all weather extremes—and many will die on this

nightmarish journey. 

 

At the slaughterhouse, the survivors are hung upside-down by their weak and

crippled legs before their heads are dragged through an electrified “stunning

tank,†which immobilizes but does not kill them. Many birds dodge the tank and

are still fully conscious when their throats are slit. If the knife fails to

properly cut the birds’ throats, they are scalded alive in the tank of boiling

water used for feather removal. 

 

Please don’t support an industry that abuses these fascinating animals. Click

here for a free vegetarian starter kit. 

 

For more information about turkeys' amazing personalities, read More Than a

Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality by Karen Davis

of United Poultry Concerns.