Sitting under a hemlock tree, trying to keep dry while deer hunting on a drizzly November day more than thirty years ago, I thought, “I must have dozed and dreamed I heard turkeys.” Once I was fully awake, I again heard the “churrup churrip” clearly, unmistakably turkey talk, but in the half light of the hemlock swamp I could see nothing. I had read in the New York State Conservationist that wild turkeys were going to be released, but had heard of none in our local area. Still, these were turkey sounds, similar to those I was used to hearing at the Berkshire Sheep and Turkey Farm, a veterinary client of mine.
I loved this particular spot. Deer would come in on occasion to bed down, but even if they didn’t, there were apt to be ruffed grouse, squirrels, blue jays, chickadees, and other small creatures that ignored me while I watched and enjoyed them. One day while I sat under this very tree, a red-tailed hawk swept in and grabbed a gray squirrel from a limb over my head and was gone in the blink of an eye. But turkeys? Still, what other creature made such a noise?
The sound surrounded me, and then invisibly drifted past. I turned my head to peer at a movement on my left. For the first time in my life I heard the classic turkey warning sound, “puck! puck!” As I turned my head the whole forest floor exploded with the flapping of huge, black birds.
It was dry under the tree so I stayed where I was. After about fifteen minutes, from a distance away I heard another sound I’d never heard before, the “chur chur chur” of the hen calling the flock to assemble.
That experience was my first wild turkey lesson. Every subsequent experience with these birds has taught me more and made me realize I still have much to learn.
To this day I marvel at the wild turkey’s hearing and eyesight, unmatched by any other game. As so many hunters say, “If turkeys could detect odors as deer do, it would be impossible to get close enough to kill them.”
The wild turkey is mentioned often in early American history. Written accounts of Hernando de Soto, the Spaniard who in 1540 explored what is now the central southern United States, tell of “wild turkey and other small game.” Accounts of the feast of thanks that the Pilgrims held in 1621 after their first fall harvest mention wild turkey as one of the meats served. The bald eagle was made the national bird by an act of Congress in 1782 over the protest of Benjamin Franklin, who preferred the wild turkey. Franklin considered the eagle a scavenger and “a bird of bad moral character.”
More than two hundred years later, former president Jimmy Carter wrote of Franklin’s choice in his thoughtful book An Outdoor Journal:
“He must have been a good woodsman, because those of us who have gotten to know the wild turkey would certainly agree that its character, clean feeding habits, intelligence, nobility of bearing, uniqueness to America, strong role in our lives since Colonial times, and its inducement for us to preserve some of our most precious habitat, all warrant recognition in a special way.”
The journal of Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, lists the game they killed for food on their trip up the Missouri River in 1804 and mentions wild turkey as one of the preferred meats. But as colonization pushed westward, the clearing of the land and the harvesting of birds for food reduced turkey numbers to thirty thousand a hundred years ago. The only birds left were in the most inaccessible areas.
By 1920 wild turkeys were found in small numbers in only eighteen states, and were extinct in the other thirty.
Origin of the Domestic Turkey
Our tradition of turkey for Thanksgiving dinner has, over the years, spawned domestic turkey production that increases each year. The 1950 edition of The Columbia Encyclopedia stated that turkeys were raised mainly for Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday dinners. It also stated that the wild turkey was extinct north of Pennsylvania and in Canada.
Today turkey meat — low in fat, rich in protein, and competitively priced — is available year-round in markets, not just as frozen or fresh and ready to roast, but also as turkey ham, turkey sausage, turkey bacon, and boned breasts, both fresh and smoked. Gourmet restaurants and markets sell at a premium price farm-raised “wild” and “free-range” turkey. But where did this all start?
An Uncertain History
The Latin name for the turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, is used for both domestic and wild varieties. A related bird, Agriocharis ocellata, or the ocellated wild turkey, was found by Spanish explorers in Mexico and Central America in the sixteenth century. This bird had been domesticated by the Native Americans, and there was apparently a large wild population as well. Some of the domestic ocellated birds were taken to Europe, and perhaps even some M. gallopavo. Some sources say that Columbus took turkeys back with him in the fifteenth century. At any rate, by the time the Pilgrims came to North America they were already familiar with the “turkey,” a domestic bird in the British Isles and mainland Europe.
We can only guess why this North American bird was called the turkey. Perhaps the birds were first taken to Turkey (a term that once referred to the entire eastern Mediterranean) before arriving in Europe and the British Isles. Another theory I have often heard but cannot verify is that the bald, red-white-and-blue head of the turkey reminded Europeans of turbaned people from the area they referred to as Turkey.
The Difference Between Wild and Domestic Turkeys
The physical differences between wild and domestic turkeys are vast. You have only to compare a modern supermarket oven-ready bird to a dressed wild bird to see the difference. Despite the difference in shape, however, there isn’t, as you might expect, much difference in the “bottom line” — the amount of meat per pound of gross carcass weight.
My grandson Joe Bosnick completed a sixth-grade science project on the differences between domestic and wild turkeys. Joe removed the soft tissue from the bones of two four-month-old turkeys, one wild and one domestic. He measured length, circumference, and marrow space in the long bones, from both the wing and the leg, in each bird. The ratio of length to circumference confirmed that the domestic bird has a much thicker, heavier bone in proportion to its length. The mounted bones show this difference at a glance. Just comparing the wishbone of a mature male wild turkey to that of a domestic points out the difference in their conformation.
What it all amounts to is that with its light, strong, slim bones the wild turkey can fly, it can run faster than the domestic turkey, and yet it has more lean muscle in proportion to its weight.
In developing the domestic turkey into a very efficient meat producer, some things had to be sacrificed. One of these is natural breeding — made almost impossible by the shape of their bodies and their short legs. On commercial turkey breeding farms, hens are inseminated artificially anyway, so this is really not a problem.
Excerpted from Wild Turkeys: Hunting and Watching
(c) John J. Mettler Jr., D.V.M., illustrations by Jack Mesick used with permission from Storey Publishing. Buy this book from our store: Wild Turkeys.
I was excited to read this article because I have done so much research online that I possible could. I wanted to see if I could learn anymore about them.********** Well this article was such a disappointing read and read false information that I had to comment.********** Let me start from the beginning and ill make it short and to the point.********** Scientist found that more than 1,500 years before Christopher Columbus and his crew sailed to the New World, Native Americans had already domesticated turkeys twice: first in south-central Mexico at around 800 B.C. and again in what is now the southwestern U.S. at about 200 B.C., according to a new study.********** their investigations revealed that pre-Aztec people around south-central Mexico first domesticated turkeys. The birds appear to either have either been penned or "allowed to roam around the village.********** The southwestern turkeys, on the other hand, "were raised by the Ancestral Puebloans who lived on the Colorado Plateau, around the Four Corners region of the southwest United States.********** These Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, appear to have not only raised domestic turkeys, but also incorporated local wild turkeys into their domestic stocks.********** 300 BC and 100 AD Mayans must have traded with the Mexican turkey because they show around that time having them.********** Turkeys were being raised by Mexico and central America 500 years before the Spanish came. 1511 turkeys came to Spain.********** in 1519 the turkey went to Europe and 1524-1541 to England for gourmet dinners.********** Over two centuries, several varieties of turkey were developed in Europe. In the 18th century these turkey breeds were imported back the United States. Imagine there surprise to already see turkeys here ;)eventually these turkeys were crossbred with wild eastern turkeys leading to 7 standard domestic varieties in the united states.********** Narragansett********** Bourbon red********** standard bronze********** jersey buff********** Slate********** Black********** White Holland********** These are called the heritage turkeys. These Heritage turkeys are the parents of the common broad breasted white industrial breed turkey you see in 99% of stores today. Holland and Bronze are crossed into the broad breasted white.********** Later added to the Standard are Royal Palm, White Midget, and Beltsville small white.********** Since 1960s, large corporations dominated turkey production and breeding choosing the broad breasted whites cause of a high breast meat production in a short period.********** Heritage breeds are known for there tender fine flavor, beauty and thriftiness.********** By 1990, Heritage birds are nearly in extinction.********** The today Whites cannot mate naturally, they dont walk well. Their narrow genetic base makes them vulnerable to diseases. They are dry and lack flavor.********** Wild Turkeys~********** Turkeys from the southwest were improted from Mexico about 300 AD and re domesticated in the southwest about 1100 AD when turkey husbandry really took off. Wild turkeys were found by the European colonists throughout the eastern woodlands. Variations in color were noted in the 16th century and many were carted back to Europe.********** there are 6 subspecies of wild turkey.********** Eastern********** Florida********** Rio Grande********** Merriams********** Goulds********** Southern Mexican********** And then the Ocellated Turkey is considerably different in size and coloration and thought it could be a different species.********** It is native to Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and often found wondering in Maya ruins such a Tikal. They are more resistant to domestication among the turkeys that were kept in pens by the Aztecs.********** To find more information on your own online. Google Mexican turkey, Wild turkey, Heritage turkey, Native American domesticated turkey, Aztec domesticated turkey, etc etc..**********
I was excited to read this article because I have done so much research online that I possible could. I wanted to see if I could learn anymore about them. Well this article was such a disappointing read and read false information that I had to comment. Let me start from the beginning and ill make it short and to the point. Scientist found that more than 1,500 years before Christopher Columbus and his crew sailed to the New World, Native Americans had already domesticated turkeys twice: first in south-central Mexico at around 800 B.C. and again in what is now the southwestern U.S. at about 200 B.C., according to a new study. their investigations revealed that pre-Aztec people around south-central Mexico first domesticated turkeys. The birds appear to either have either been penned or "allowed to roam around the village. The southwestern turkeys, on the other hand, "were raised by the Ancestral Puebloans who lived on the Colorado Plateau, around the Four Corners region of the southwest United States. These Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, appear to have not only raised domestic turkeys, but also incorporated local wild turkeys into their domestic stocks. 300 BC and 100 AD Mayans must have traded with the Mexican turkey because they show around that time having them. Turkeys were being raised by Mexico and central America 500 years before the Spanish came. 1511 turkeys came to Spain. in 1519 the turkey went to Europe and 1524-1541 to England for gourmet dinners. Over two centuries, several varieties of turkey were developed in Europe. In the 18th century these turkey breeds were imported back the United States. Imagine there surprise to already see turkeys here ;)eventually these turkeys were crossbred with wild eastern turkeys leading to 7 standard domestic varieties in the united states. Narragansett Bourbon red standard bronze jersey buff Slate Black White Holland These are called the heritage turkeys. These Heritage turkeys are the parents of the common broad breasted white industrial breed turkey you see in 99% of stores today. Holland and Bronze are crossed into the broad breasted white. Later added to the Standard are Royal Palm, White Midget, and Beltsville small white. Since 1960s, large corporations dominated turkey production and breeding choosing the broad breasted whites cause of a high breast meat production in a short period. Heritage breeds are known for there tender fine flavor, beauty and thriftiness. By 1990, Heritage birds are nearly in extinction. The today Whites cannot mate naturally, they dont walk well. Their narrow genetic base makes them vulnerable to diseases. They are dry and lack flavor. Wild Turkeys~ Turkeys from the southwest were improted from Mexico about 300 AD and re domesticated in the southwest about 1100 AD when turkey husbandry really took off. Wild turkeys were found by the European colonists throughout the eastern woodlands. Variations in color were noted in the 16th century and many were carted back to Europe. there are 6 subspecies of wild turkey. Eastern Florida Rio Grande Merriams Goulds Southern Mexican And then the Ocellated Turkey is considerably different in size and coloration and thought it could be a different species. It is native to Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and often found wondering in Maya ruins such a Tikal. They are more resistant to domestication among the turkeys that were kept in pens by the Aztecs. To find more information on your own online. Google Mexican turkey, Wild turkey, Heritage turkey, Native American domesticated turkey, Aztec domesticated turkey, etc etc..
For more information on the plight of the Wild Turkey, visit the National Wild Turkey Federation website, www.nwtf.org . NWTF is a volunteer based non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the conservation of the wild turkey, natural resources, and the preservation of our hunting heritage. Volunteers (homesteaders, hunters, farmers, families, business men, women and children)from around the country strive together in their local communities to Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. Find out how to get involved in your local area. Until you hear a turkey gobble in Mother Earth's wide-woods, you don't know what you're missing.