4-Hers Raise Heritage Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Did you ever wonder what kind of turkey the Pilgrims ate for Thanksgiving? That large classic bird, brown and basted to perfection that we see on all the TV ads is what has become our mental image for a classic Thanksgiving dinner. Actually, this image isn’t too far from true except for the huge amount of breast meat the current favorite variety of meat turkey yields.

The Broad Breasted White is often the bird of choice. A bird that shows the desired traits of fast growth (only about 12 weeks to market), and a huge amount of breast meat, often so much that the birds have difficulty standing. These animals also cannot breed naturally causing producers to rely on artificial insemination for reproduction. The birds are raised in large warehouse like barns where they are fed corn based feeds 24 hours a day.

What happened to Benjamin Franklins vote for a national bird? How could he have known that school children would laugh at his choice one-day and think that one of our wisest forefathers was a nut job? He just didn’t know what we would do to his bird. The stupid, stumbling animal we now eat today has little resemblance in life to the bird eaten by the pilgrims and Native Americas of yesterday.

A Few Good 4-Hers

What can a child do against the great machines of industrial farms? Raise their own birds for Thanksgiving and give them a run for their money. Two local 4-Hers have decided to take a chance that at least some Americans will choose a more heritage bird for their Thanksgiving dinner. Nicole and Christopher Nielsen from the Half Moon Bay 4-H club actually raise these birds. With an average of 32 weeks to market, that is more then twice the amount if time it takes to get a standard bird to your table.

“My birds live a happy life. They breed naturally and my mom helps us hatch them in an incubator in our kitchen. I love to see them hatch, the babies as so cute!” says Christopher. “I like raising turkeys and I defiantly have favorite birds. My breeding tom is named Bobo and he follows me around like a dog. He also has the annoying habit of attacking peoples shoes, especially red ones.”

The turkeys are raised in large pens, “to keep them safe from predators,” Nicole Nielsen says. “We have all sorts of wild animals here like coyotes, raccoons and mountain lions.” But unlike factory farms the kids keep their turkeys outside. “Of course everyone is locked up at night in their houses, but we like them to have fresh air and a place to play. The toms love to display, and sometimes the hens do too.”

On their small hobby ranch in Woodside, CA the Nielsen’s take care of each bird. “Sometimes we see wild turkeys too,” Christopher says, “ the seem to be attracted to the gobbling” which makes him smile. Christopher makes a gobble gobble sound and noise erupts from the surrounding birds. Every head is turned our way as each bird excitedly joins in. “They get really excited when I come home from school” he says “they run around and hop in the air they are so happy. I like to give them treats.”

The Nielsen’s have an arrangement with a local wholesale grocer and are able to get fresh produce for their birds. “We feed them poultry pellets, but it seems like a pretty boring life eating just that. We get different things for them like lettuce, bok choi, watermelons and right now, pumpkins. They also hunt around for natural foods here too, digging for bugs and eating grass and other plants.”

Q: “Where did you get your birds?”

A: “We got the parent birds as babies, to show at the fair. When they started laying eggs we just decided to hatch some. Now we have a lot.”

Q: ”How did you learn how to hatch eggs?”

A: “ My mom is a Biologist and a teacher. She had the incubator for her work and showed us how to use it. You always have to keep checking it to make sure the temperature and humidity are right.”

Q: “Why are your birds better for Thanksgiving?”

A: “They just taste better. They are a different breed then the ones you buy in the store. They eat better and they run around and get exercise. What’s good for them has to be good for us too, doesn’t it?”

Q: “How do you prepare your birds for Thanksgiving?”

A: “ It makes me sad when they go, but I always have my special birds, the ones we keep and breed. We take the Thanksgiving birds to a place called Riella’s, in Manteca. It is a USDA processing place. We help package them up at the end, and they look just like a grocery store bird.”

Nicole and Christopher have a number of birds available for sale this Thanksgiving. If you are looking for a heritage turkey you can pay upwards of $300 if buying off the Internet. The Nielsen’s birds are processed on Tuesday before Thanksgiving and are never frozen. The kids distribute the birds in San Carlos in the afternoon, after they have been processed at their dads work, Nielsen Automotive.

Nicole and Christopher sell a 12-14 pound bird for $95. “Some might be bigger, but we don’t totally know until they have been processed. If you let us know you would like a bigger one we can usually do that.”

Q: “How big of a bird do you need for thanksgiving?”

A: “ You need about 1 pound of bird per guest, if you really like turkey and want leftovers, about a pound and a half is what you need. A 14 pound bird is good for up to 7 people.”

If you are interested in buying a heritage turkey you can email the Nielsen’s at rjlnielsen@yahoo.com or check out their ranch blog at http://forestmeadowranch.blogspot.com/

There are a limited number of birds available for Thanksgiving, and another batch for Christmas. “Once they are gone, they are gone” Christopher says “until next year. They take a long time to raise and the hens only lay eggs in the spring and summer. They are very seasonal”