Turkey Facts
>Male turkeys are called toms. Female turkeys are
called hens and baby turkeys are called poults.
>The average tom (male) turkey weighs about 30
pounds or 14 kilograms at 16 weeks of age. Hens usually weigh about 14 pounds or 6 kilograms at 12 weeks of age.
>One day old turkey poults
must be kept very warm - at least at 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 30 degrees Celsius.
>The wild turkey is native to Northern Mexico
and the Eastern United States. The turkey was domesticated in Mexico and brought to Europe in the 16th century.
>Turkeys lived in North America almost ten million
years ago.
>The American Indians hunted
wild turkey for its meat as early as 1000 A.D. They made turkey "callers" out of turkey wing bones. The feathers were used
to decorate ceremonial clothing. The spurs on the legs of wild tom turkeys were used on arrowheads and the feathers were used
to stabilize the arrows.
>Wild turkey became a source of food for the
early settlers.
>Ben Franklin thought the North American wild
turkey should be the US bird (rather than the Bald Eagle).
>In England, during the 1700s,
turkeys were walked to market in herds. They wore booties to protect their feet.
>Turkeys are raised year round in Canada in specially
designed barns.
>Canada ranks sixth out of ten for world turkey
production.
>Adult turkeys can have 3,500
feathers.
>Big Bird (from Sesame Street
) is dressed in a costume of turkey feathers. His costume is made of nearly 4,000 white turkey feathers (dyed yellow).
>The turkey has an unusual looking bare head
with a beak, caruncle, snood and wattle. Turkeys ' heads change colors when they become excited.
>A turkey has 157 bones!
>According to the Guinness
Book of Records the largest turkey raised was 39.09 kilograms (86 pounds) -- about the size of a large dog.
>To attract the attention
of a hen, male turkeys strut about, gobbling loudly and holding their heads high. They stick out their chest, fan their large
tails and drag their wings on the ground.
>Gobbling turkeys can be heard a mile away on
a quiet day.
>Turkeys don't really have ears like ours, but
they have very good hearing.
>A large group of turkeys is called a flock.
>Turkeys do not see well at night; however, turkeys
can see movement almost a hundred yards away
>More turkeys are eaten at Thanksgiving than
for Christmas and Easter combined.
>The five most popular ways to serve l
eftover
turkey -- as a sandwich, stew or soup, salad, casserole and stir-fry.
>Astronauts Neil Armstrong
and Edwin Aldrin ate turkey in foil packets for their first meal on the moon.
>Turkey eggs hatch in 28 days. A baby turkey
is called a poult.
>Turkey eggs are light tan
with brown specks and are larger than chicken eggs. A turkey egg weighs from 80 grams to 100 grams (3 to 4 ounces).
>The average turkey hen will
lay 110 to 115 eggs during a 28-30 week period.
>A ballroom
dance called the "turkey trot" was popular in the early 1900s. The dance was named for the short, jerky steps that turkeys
take. Couples danced around in circles bobbing their heads like strutting turkeys.
>Turkey skins are tanned and used to make cowboy
boots and belts.
>Turkey is a variety of pheasant. Archaeological
evidence suggests turkeys roamed North America as far back as 10 million years ago. Native Americans domesticated them about
2,000 years ago.
>Domesticated turkeys do not fly, due to selective
breeding.
>Male turkeys gobble, hens do a clicking sound.
The gobble is a seasonal call for the males. They also gobble when they hear loud noises and when they settle in for the night.
>The long, red, fleshy area
that grows from the forehead over the bill is a "snood," while the fleshy growth under the turkey's throat is called a "wattle."
These pieces fill up with blood and turn bright red when a tom wants to attract a hen but they can also turn blue if the turkey
is scared. If a turkey isn't feeling well, the snood and wattle become very pale.
>Turkeys started to become more popular in the
Old World after the publication, in 1843, of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge bought a large turkey for
Christmas dinner after seeing the error of his ways.
>Canada is the eighth largest producer of turkeys
at 19.6 million a year.
>10.2 million whole turkeys are consumed annually
in Canada, that's about 4.2 kg per person.
>The average Canadian eats turkey about 15.5
times a year — more than half of the turkeys consumed annually are eaten on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
>The top turkey-eating country in the world is
Israel at 13.2 kg/per person (pp) every year.
>Turkey contains an amino acid called L-Tryptophan.
It's thought to be a natural sleep aid and helps produce serotonin, which has a tranquilizing effect. Starchy foods, such
as potatoes, contain L-Tryptophan.
>It's
believed Native Americans taught the colonists how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn, squash and pumpkin dishes.
That's why the traditional turkey meal includes cranberries.
