Kim's Korner:  The Right Angle on Turkeys!

By: Dr. Kimberly Vonnahme

The month of November may be one of my favorites! While the warm days are a sweet memory and the
length of the day becomes ever so short, November warms me up with feelings of remembrance of our
loved ones, an appreciation for our Veterans, and to celebrate of all the blessings the year has provided.
And of course—TURKEYS! The turkey is the main dish of most American Thanksgiving dinners. Tables are
garnished with beautiful salads, mountains of mashed potatoes, and piles of pies, but it is the turkey
that everyone has their eye on! In the spirit of our gobbling friend, I decided to provide a few facts for
you to share with your family and friends as you sit around the table! I got my information from the
University of Illinois Extension website. Happy feasting, my friends!
 The male turkey is called a tom.
 The female turkey is called a hen.
 Baby turkeys are called poults and are tan and brown.
 It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30-pound tom turkey.
 Male turkeys gobble. Hens do not. They make a clicking noise.
 A large group of turkeys is called a flock.
 June is National Turkey Lover’s month.
 Turkeys do not see well at night.
 Turkeys can see in color.
 The 5 most popular ways to serve leftover turkey are in a sandwich, stew, chili or soup,
casseroles, and as a burger.
 Eating turkey does not cause you to feel sleepy after your Thanksgiving dinner. Carbohydrates in
the Thanksgiving dinner are the likely cause of your sleepiness.
 Turkeys have 3,500 feathers at maturity.
 The bright red fleshy growth under a turkey’s throat is called a wattle.
 The beard is a lock of hair-like feathers found on the chest of the male turkey.
 The average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.
 The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds.
 Turkey eggs hatch in 28 days.
 Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the official bird of the United States.
 The state of Minnesota has been the number one producer of turkeys; 44 million were
produced in 2016; followed by North Carolina (33 million), Arkansas (26 million), and Indiana (20 million)