Today's Turkey - A modern miracle

Newswise — Turkey will be the centerpiece for many Thanksgiving dinners later this month. But increasingly, turkey is not just for Thanksgiving anymore. 2005 statistics from the National Turkey Federation show that per-capita consumption was 16.7 pounds per person in the U.S. - up 106 percent since 1970. Turkey is available in a wide variety of products these days. But few Americans give any thought about where their turkey really comes from.

In fact, today's turkey is something of a miracle that has been developed and bred to meet the tastes of modern-day Americans. It's an interesting story that Maryland faculty expert Dr. Nickolas Zimmermann knows from start to finish.

An associate professor of animal and avian sciences, Zimmermann can tell you everything you need to know about turkeys. You can gobble up his comments below, or call him for your own! Contact information can be found in the "Give Thanks for Today's Thanksgiving Turkeys" Hot Topic at http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/experts/hottopic.cfm?hotlist_id=59.

Q: Is the turkey we put on the table today at Thanksgiving considerably different than the one the Pilgrims found out in the wild?

Turkeys in the days of the Pilgrims were similar to the wild turkeys that are now abundant in most states of the nation. They have dark plumage and can fly. Modern turkeys have been bred to have large breast muscles, desired by consumers. Modern turkeys also have been bred to have white feathers, so that pigment from dark feathers does not blemish the skin. The selection process has been so successful that modern turkeys are too heavy to fly under most circumstances. That has also reduced their reproductive efficiency.

Q: Are wild turkeys smarter than today's farm-grown turkey?

Wild turkeys grow up in woodlands where only the alert survive. At any moment a fox or a hawk could threaten their life and they must constantly look for food. In comparison, modern turkeys are couch potatoes; food and water are always close and they are safe from predators.

Q: Is artificial insemination the only way farmers can really produce the "modern" turkey of today?

Not entirely. Modern large-breasted turkeys are able to mate in the traditional way. But this is a clumsy act for a large-breasted turkey, and insemination is hit or miss; mostly miss. This results in a high proportion of eggs not being fertile, thus fewer poults are hatched. Artificial insemination ensures that sperm are present to fertilize the hen's egg and increase the number of poults hatched