Raising Turkeys in America – What Are The Reasons or Advantages of Raising Wild Turkeys?
Image by Bob n Renee
Andrew is raising Turkeys for his 4H project. He has six but with the high mortality rate he hopes to have two left by fair time.
Question by Miles: Raising Turkeys in America – What Are The Reasons or Advantages of Raising Wild Turkeys?
I’m interested in raising turkeys on my farm as I’ve heard that they’re friendly & often curious creatures.
Feel free to answer in the comment section below
3 Responses to Raising Turkeys in America – What Are The Reasons or Advantages of Raising Wild Turkeys?
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First of all when you go out to woods and collect a wild turkey pair and bring them home and put them in a pen the become tamed, so you are not raising wild turkeys
Secondly if you allow the same turkeys to roam and say they are free range then it is still wild and can go back to woods and you wouldn’t be raising it.
So I guess there is no reason and or advantages of raising wild turkeys
Pamela D(midget12_
May 16, 2011 at 1:10 am
1. Wild turkeys are different from domestic turkeys in that they can fly and are considered smarter. While the domestic turkey is eaten, some varieties are kept as pets
2. The #1 reason for raising domestic turkeys is food. Other than Thanksgiving dinner, sliced turkey makes good sandwich meat while ground turkey is a healthy beef alternative
3. On a farm, turkeys eat bugs, insects & flies. So you’ve got yourself a pest control bird. Turkey droppings also make good biofuel.
Ms Sparks
May 16, 2011 at 1:12 am
Turkeys have been around for a long time. Turkey history actually starts millions of years ago. Their fossils have been found in Pleistocene deposits which means that they have been around more than twelve thousand years and their predecessors go back 50 to 60 million years to the Eocene period. Since the modern domesticated turkey is a descendant of the Wild Turkey, it is surmised that ancient Mesoamericans had chosen to domesticate this species rather than the Ocellated Turkey which is found in far southern Mexico.
Turkeys require most of their care and attention during the first couple months. After this time they become much easier to care for. Turkeys are friendly and curious by nature.There are many reasons to raise turkeys.
1) Turkeys as food
Turkeys are traditionally eaten as the main course of large feasts at Christmas in much of the world, as well as Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada, though this tradition has its origins in modern times, rather than colonial as is often supposed. Sliced turkey is frequently used as a sandwich meat or served as cold cuts. Ground turkey is sold just as ground beef, and is frequently marketed as a healthy beef substitute. Without careful preparation, cooked turkey is usually considered to end up less moist than other poultry meats such as chicken or duck.
Wild turkeys, while technically the same species as domesticated turkeys, have a very different taste from farm-raised turkeys. Almost all of the meat is “dark” (even the breast) with a more intense flavor. Turkey is often found as a processed meat. It can be smoked and as such is sometimes sold as turkey ham. The white meat of turkey is generally considered healthier and less fattening than the dark meat, but the nutritional differences are small.
2) Turkeys as pets
While most that raise turkeys raise them for eating, some keep turkeys as a pet. This has been known to destroy their commercial value as Thanksgiving dinner.
And some do both, keep some as a pet while eating the others. There are many different breeds of turkeys; however there are two varieties, domestic and wild. The wild turkey lives and breeds in the wild and some are kept as pets. It can fly and is said to be smarter than the domestic. The domestic turkeys are the type eaten on thanksgiving and they cannot fly. The domestic and wild turkeys are physically different.
Animal welfare groups such as Farm Sanctuary claim that turkeys are bright and social animals that can make suitable companion animals. US President George W. Bush noted the long tradition of keeping turkeys as pets in his 2001 National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation speech. Bush noted that Abraham Lincoln’s son Tad kept a turkey as a White House pet.
3) Turkeys provide built-in pest control service
Turkeys may have the most varied diet of any animal known. They eat a variety of foods depending on availability, preference, and nutritional needs. All age classes eat insects when they are available. In the summer turkeys eat large quantities of insects, grass seeds, berries, and green leaves. Turkeys eat bugs, mosquitoes, ticks and flies too.
4) Turkey dung as fuel
Turkey droppings are being used as a fuel source in electric power plants. One such plant in western Minnesota provides 55 megawatts of power using 700,000 tons of dung per year. The plant began operating in 2007. Three such plants are in operation in England.
Andrew Grey is the author of “The Essential Beginners Guide To Raising Turkeys”. If you would like to learn more about raising turkeys, please visit: http://www.howtoraiseturkeys.com
COUNTRY--GIRL
May 16, 2011 at 1:55 am