Funny birds

I have heard stories all my life about how dumb turkeys are, and after having this group on the farm for the last 5 months I know now that is not true.

After lots of research these Narragansett heritage birds were ordered early spring. It was a hard pick between them and the Bourbon Reds. Both breeds which are supposed to be some of the best tasting out there, appearing on the Slow Food Ark of Taste. These birds come from a cross between Wild domestic turkeys and domestic turkeys brought by colonists. Improved and standardized for production qualities, the Narragansett was the foundation of the turkey industry in New England.

When the turkeys can’t see people around, they have many sounds for each other, and when they see people, they have another set of distinct calls they let out. All the sounds they make have been much quieter than the chickens, geese, or even the quail. I might go so far as to say they have the most soothing sounds of all the birds around. They are very curious birds, as you can see here. They all wanted to know what I was doing with the camera. They like to watch whatever people are working on near them, and though they do not want to be any closer than about six feet, they are content to stay back and just observe. The turkeys have figured out how to escape their enclosure, even with clipped flight feathers. They climb up into the mulberries that are growing in their pen for shade and then hop the fence from there, normally early in the morning. Once I am out making my morning rounds feeding and checking on all the animals as soon as these guys see me they run over and follow me to their enclose so I can open the door and let them back in. The Turkeys have been growing on me this season and I’m pretty sure we are going to keep a few of them around, hopefully hatching out some turkey eggs this spring for those of us who want local heritage turkeys for the holidays.