Thankful for a Lil' Turkey

When J and I lived in Three Rivers turkeys were a regular part of the week. They frequently roamed the wild grasses and old oak groves surrounding our home in their turkey gaggles. Once, when I was half asleep, I thought that a peacock had just walked by our little glass house and I jumped up to see it. In reality it was a beautiful turkey and her turkey chicks wandering the yard. I watched these chicks grow during the months we spent there. The ride to town almost always included driving past the resident 11 turkeys of the neighborhood...

...and one day this baby turkey was separated from his flock:



Now, let me first say that this is an extremely irresponsible thing to do. Touching a baby bird of any kind is a bad idea unless the mother has been killed or there is no possible way for her to find her chick. And if you happen to drive a baby turkey into a massive spiderweb, where it gets caught at dusk in the wilderness, and then you must touch it to release it, the likelihood of the mother coming back for it is slim. She does not want to risk spreading whatever disease we may have to the rest of her babies. So of course this story ends in tears... (and yet, when put into perspective with the state of modern turkey-farming practices, these tears are much sweeter.)

I learned so much about the beauty of the turkey from living out among them. They are noble, communal creatures; true birds of the Earth. My baby turkey cried for hours for her family, cried until she fell over in exhaustion, and then awoke to cry some more. Without her community she felt lost. In Ted Andrews' book Animal Speak, he writes that turkeys "find strength in numbers and thus reflect the energy of sharing." Turkeys have "a long history of association with spirituality and the honoring of the Earth Mother" and are a "symbol of all the blessings that the Earth contains, along with the ability to use them to their greatest advantage." "The growth on a male turkey's forehead is "linked to the ancient idea of the third eye...and higher vision."

This Thanksgiving may we all learn from the turkey not by eating her, but by emulating some of her most noble and spiritual qualities. May we all be as open to sharing what we have with those who have less and to finding strength in our communities. May we be blessed with the type of vision that shows us more than our limited minds can possibly fathom.

May we truly honor and celebrate the life energies of the Turkey!



If you want to show 'em the love in a more tangible way please support Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-a-Turkey Project!