Gobble Gobble Gobble
If you haven’t the funds to adopt your own turkey, never fear! Chances are pretty good that I will adopt one for LWM. However, the more saved turkeys, the merrier; the more sponsors I get for Farm Sanctuary, also the merrier!
Until LWM has it’s own turkey friend though, let’s learn some basic facts about the feathered, funny-looking gobblers.
Turkeys:
*are smaller and less colorful when female
*by far, are the largest bird in the open forests where they live
*naturally live about 10 years
*on farms are slaughtered at about 5 months
*are inquisitive and intelligent
*are smart animals with personality and character
*are social, playful, and enjoy company
*live in sheds at factory farms, packed in so tightly that flapping a wing is impossible
*in the wild spend their time caring for their young, building nests, foraging, taking dustbaths, preening, and roosting high up in the trees
*are genetically modified to gain weight rapidly
*remember a face, and become more comfortable with you the more time they spend learning that they can trust you
*are often beat to death with a pole if they become sick or injured
*were deemed the “bird of courage” by Ben Franklin




August 3rd, 2007 at 3:02 pm
There’s a great scene in the movie musical “1776″ where Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson argue over what the national bird should be. Franklin says the turkey is a noble bird that never shirks in the face of its enemies. To think - the turkey could have been our national bird, if he had his way!
November 28th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
[...] Feather’s Thanksgiving Prayer: Thank Goodness I’m on this Side of the Plate! by Sally Andersen I got so caught up in sharing vegan and vegetarian recipes for the Thanksgiving and fall season, that I completely forgot to tell everyone about the turkey that I sponsored from Farm Sanctuary! [...]