Wild Turkey Trivia
Wild turkeys seen running across the Carmel Valley Ranch Golf Course
As Thanksgiving approaches you’ll most likely buy a turkey in the store or at a butcher. You may even opt to eat out and let someone else do the work. The domestic turkey grown at a ranch or turkey farm is prepared for taste and convenience– including self-basting so you don’t have to worry about messing up. More adventuresome types have the option of going out and hunting for a wild turkey, which can grow to 20 pounds, a decent size for a Thanksgiving feast. During the fall and winter hunters with a turkey stamp and California hunting license are allowed to take home one turkey.
WILD TURKEY TRIVIA
1. California’s wild turkey population is growing. It’s healthy and definitely not endangered. Turkey hunts help curb overpopulation.
2. Turkey droppings tell a bird’s sex and age. Male droppings are j-shaped; female droppings are spiral-shaped. The larger the diameter, the older the bird.
3. In addition to gobble, gobble, turkey’s also cluck.
4. An adult turkey has 5,000 to 6,000 feathers.
5. Ben Franklin called the wild turkey a bird of courage and thought it would make a better national symbol than the American bald eagle.
