Sally Schoch
"Turkey"
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| (Photos by Patrick Fraser) |
The noble bird.
Turkeys are native to America, domesticated by Native Americans from 800BC onwards for their feathers. Turkeys were first used for meat by Native Americans around 100AD. Domesticated female turkeys are called hens while the chicks are referred to as poults or turkeylings and the males are called toms. Turkeys are normally raised in single sex flocks. And if a male is inadvertently placed in a female flock he may be victimized - - ‘hen-pecked’.
The English name of the bird species results from a misidentification of the bird with an unrelated species imported to Europe through the country of Turkey.
May we always be lucky enough to be blessed with plenty of Turkeys!