Did the Pilgrims really go hunting for wild turkey? It makes sense that wild game would be on their dinner tables, all sorts. Why turkeys?
Have you ever seen a wild turkey? Ever wonder why the toms hang out together?
Oh, boy, this is the day. You know the routine. Give it all you got.
Lookin' good. We got this.
Hey, there is one hen!
Check this out, ladies. We got the feathers, if you got the time...
Note: These above photos were taken by an high school classmate, Russ Adams.
Turkeys are a lot easier to hunt than venison. Whether one likes it or not, wild game has to be culled to keep the herd healthy. Deer always raided our fields before harvest; they were a pest. Turkeys raided an empty field to eat kernels of corn left behind. Again, the flock has to be kept healthy. That's life in the wild.
We used to get turkeys going through our yard when we lived up north (and deer too). Both were always exciting to see, it never got old. :)
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DeleteThey can be fast on their feet/shanks!
Plus they're delicious too!
ReplyDeleteBeing wild game, turkey does have its own flavor.
DeleteThere are so many wild turkeys in my area.
ReplyDeleteI have eaten a fair amount of wild game but never wild turkey. I have been curious as to what it is like.
My brother used to go hunting with his boys, and got wild turkey. It is good, but plucking and cleaning one is lots of work.
DeleteI've seen my share of wild critters, but never a wild turkey.
ReplyDeleteUp in your neck of the woods/desert, you wouldn't.
DeleteThe first time I saw a wild turkey was in southeast Kansas. They were running wild and they were NOT nice, either. I can see why pilgrims would have preferred them to deer. Lovely and quite relevant post.
ReplyDeleteOur best camping trip ever was to a state park, Cuyamaca. One afternoon six juvenile tom turkeys casually stroll through our camp ground. No hunting allowed in state parks gives them no fear of being shot.
DeleteWild Turkey are exotica to me. I am pretty certain that they lead a better life (and even death) that the mass of birds we keep for human consumption.
ReplyDeleteCertainly a normal existence w/no hormones and growth additives. Poor big white turkeys have breast meat increased so much that it is difficult to move around.
DeleteWe sometimes don't like it, but yes, the land can only support so many of them.
ReplyDeleteIt is necessary.
DeleteWild meat has a different taste. If you like the taste of wild meat give it a try. There is not nearly as much meat on wild animals as opposed to those raised to become food.
ReplyDeleteSo true. Wild turkey meat is dense and tends to be dry.
DeleteWE are smiling. I am pretty thick, live under a rock part time too. but I thought wild turkeys were about gone, UNTIL we hiked the AT. WOW we saw flocks of hundreds.
ReplyDeleteI never hunted turkey, but if I were younger now, I would.
Enjoyed the read and pictures.
Thanks,
Sherry & jack
Wild Turkeys flourish in wooded rural areas. I never hunted---Dad did not want a girl to know how to shoot a gun. Go figure.
DeleteWe actually have wild turkeys around here and I have seen them several times by the side of the road. Mostly the skinny females.
ReplyDeleteThey probably are not near a food source.
DeleteThose are amazing photos. Kudos to your high school friend. Wild turkeys had just about taken over my late mother inlaw's yard in suburban New York City - they, and deer, definitely need to be culled by hunters. I had one turkey-owning experience (bronze turkeys) and that was enough. The toms are mean, and they are also heavy. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteDoes the county have any maintenance programs? they should!!
DeleteIt always kinda bugs me when our state does the deer culls... but I know it is necessary in this ecology we've made. I just wish they'd float me some venison!
ReplyDeleteAfraid who will have to go to a specialty butchery. We have one near us.
DeleteQuite the pictures.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, aren't they.
DeleteI'm one of the few people in this world that don't like turkey, so you all can have my share. With gravy.
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone, have relatives who are the same.
DeleteThey are great photos.
ReplyDeleteHe has many wild game photos.
DeleteTurkeys are traditional for Christmas, over here.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
We tend to have turkey on both T-giving and Christmas, altho each have drifted to other cultures.
DeleteI love turkeys but never had a wild one.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if wild turkeys were part of Ireland?
DeleteWildlife populations have always been self-regulating, long before they had to contend with humans with scopes and high-powered rifles, and in recent years semi-automatic weapons, and all terrain vehicles to chase them to exhaustion. When we exterminated the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet and effectively did so for the Plains Bison, was that wildlife being "controlled"? Sounds more like blood lust and gross stupidity to me.
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