We got the phone call this week. It came just after sunrise as we were coming home from our morning walk. “I bet it’s the turkeys!” I said. Greg nodded and with a little smirk on his face, he picked up the phone.
I could hear Terry, the postal service worker, trying hard to raise her voice above the loud chirping to tell us they had arrived. Greg left for the post office, and I couldn’t help but think back.
In previous years, we buzzed like flies when we got this call. Today, we’re cool and calm. Like “old pros?” I wondered. Not yet…but experienced, for sure.
Turkeys are incredibly sturdy birds, eventually. They’ve proven this to us every year for the past 5 years – withstanding torrential rains, blizzards, and wind storms many times over. But in these first few weeks, they’re the most fragile of animals.
Greg, always the careful planner, made the preparations for the special delivery last week “just in case” they arrived early – the shelter was warmed up (turkeys need steady temperatures around about 95 degrees for the first couple of weeks), the bedding, food and water, all ready to go.
One slip – like a heat lamp that goes out or a door left ajar – and the turkeys get cold, pile up, and die. Not all of them, but enough to reduce our flock size substantially, which hurts not just our hearts, but also our bottom line.
Luckily, there have been no slips or “fires” as we like to call them. We have 160 incredibly healthy baby turkeys on the farm, which means we have just 4 months to give these birds the best life imaginable, so that all this good energy makes it’s way to your Thanksgiving table later this year.
Your Farmers,
Jenney & Greg