Turkey

One day, many months ago, Farmer J went to our local Farm & Fleet to get this and that, various things that he needed for the farm. When we go shopping, we tend to get a few impulse purchases. Buying things on impulse is the reason why it's dangerous for me to go shopping at Target. I plan to go in and just buy toilet paper and come out with a new outfit. But Farmer J is rarely an impulse shopper, mainly because he really dislikes shopping. But on this trip to Farm & Fleet, he came home with two things he didn't intend on buying... baby turkey chicks.

Surprisingly, I wasn't very surprised when he called me and told me that he was on his way home... And he bought baby turkey chicks!

Sadly, because raising baby turkey chicks was a first for us, we lost one of them. The remaining turkey, was very sad and lonely. We had the baby turkey in a box, in our enclosed front porch. All we heard all day long was the sorrowful little peep of a turkey, who missed his friend. We couldn't take it any longer so he became our indoor/front porch turkey.

When the weather got nicer, our chicken chicks arrived. The baby turkey was soon surrounded by tons of little, chirping, feathered friends. And baby turkey was very happy.

And with the even warmer weather, came supervised visits outside for turkey. But because the turkey was so used to being around humans, he would stay close to us, especially to Farmer J. 

We think the turkey imprinted on Farmer J, with the baby turkey thinking that this tall, white man was his featherless parent. The two of them became the best of friends.

As spring turned to summer, the turkey got larger, and larger, and larger...

And soon the turkey was not a chick at all but a full grown turkey.

And we found out this full ground turkey was indeed a male.  And this male turkey was very proud and got a little territorial.

It didn't take long until the turkey was attacking the children and attacking his previously beloved farmer. Oddly enough, the turkey never tried to attack me. I think he knew better.

The thing that drove me to the breaking point with the turkey was when he would poop, a half a dozen times a day, immediately in front of our back door. 

We had some friends come over just a few weeks ago, and the boys had to "shoot the poop" with the water hose two times before our friends even arrived, so they weren't greeted to our home with a big pile of pale, green poop.  For the short time while our friends were at our house, that turkey pooped right in front of our back door, the same door the children kept going in and out to play outside. 

Later that day I texted Farmer J and said, "The turkeys got to go." 

We all knew it was time, even the boys said they were ready to be free of the turkey.

Within a week, I came home and wasn't greeted by the turkey. Farmer J told me the turkey was in the deep freezer. He said the turkey was huge, much bigger than he thought he was, under all those feathers. We weighed the turkey and he weighed almost 34 lbs. J said the turkey won't even fit in his dad's oven, one of the places where we plan to celebrate Thanksgiving.  

We figured this turkey will be the most expensive turkey we've ever bought for a Thanksgiving meal. But in the end, the experience of having this turkey is worth more than just money.  Like any experience, experiencing something for the first time is always exciting, and fun, and a little scary. The turkey brought a lot of enjoyment to our life. 

I know for a fact that we gave this turkey an excellent quality of life while he was alive.  Our Thanksgiving turkey had an amazing life, better than likely 99% of all the other turkeys that will be presented to the table at Thanksgiving. 

We thank the turkey for his life, for all the experiences we had with him when he was alive, and for all the leftovers that he will provide.