As Thanksgiving approaches, turkey is on the minds of many individuals who plan to partake in the annual feast. But to some people, a turkey means more than a succulent meal.
Bob Bush is one such person. He misses his pet turkey, Tina, which he recently had to put to sleep because it became sick.
Bush and his family, who live just outside of Eugene, hadn’t had any experience raising fowl before they took in Tina. The Bushes’ neighbor raised turkeys, and the family ended up raising one when it roamed onto their property.
Dawn Wrigley, manager of the City Center Cat and Bird Clinic downtown, said it’s not incredibly uncommon to see turkeys as pets. She said she sees many of them in the clinic. Although most of the turkeys that visit the clinic are from farms, the clinic regularly sees two turkeys that are pets. Few people actually seek a pet turkey though, Wrigley said.
“I don’t know anybody who wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I want a turkey as a pet,’” she said, and added that most pet turkey owners just happen upon them and end up becoming emotionally attached to them. Such was the case with Bush.
Although he didn’t seek Tina out, Bush said he was happy he did come across his pet.
Fortunately, he said, Tina fit into his family pretty well. The bird got along nicely with his children and even with his Labrador.
“They used to chase each other around,” Bush said of his dog and his turkey. In fact, he said, they kind of became friends.
Actually, Tina was pretty friendly with everyone in the family.
“She would allow anyone to pet her,” Bush said, even during the laying season, when turkeys are usually rather antisocial. Tina would even chase an apple or a ball when it was thrown for her.
“Basically, she was just a people turkey,” he said.
Steve Rose, who raises turkeys on his Alpine farm, agreed that the birds are very congenial.
“They’re very social animals,” he said. “Like many birds, they’ll imprint to humans.”
Rose’s favorite turkey breed is the Bourbon Red, which has brownish to dark red plumage and white in the wings. Rose said the Bourbon Red is a very sociable turkey, as opposed to other meat turkeys, including bronze and white turkeys, which are “more like dumb cows” and don’t make very good pets.
Although several of Rose’s turkeys are raised for meat, he considers the others his pets.
“If you don’t eat them, they’re your pets,” he said.
Rose said he’s less affectionate toward the meat turkeys and would never change his mind about turning a pet into a meal.
“If it’s going to be meat, it’s meat from the beginning,” he said.
Owning turkeys hasn’t turned either Rose or Bush off of eating the meat.
Turkey meat and a pet turkey are completely different, Bush said. He plans to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but when it comes to Tina, Bush said, “I would never eat her.”
Bush and Rose agree that to owning a turkey requires a lot of space for it to wander.
“I think the most important thing would be that they have enough room to move,” Rose said.
“Turkeys do roam,” Bush said. And they do fly as well, which is why Rose recommends raising a turkey in a rural area. Turkeys are not forbidden in residential areas in Eugene, as long as they are restricted by a cage and do not exceed two per residence, according to the city code.
Bush said as long as they’re well behaved, turkeys make good pets. In fact, he has even considered getting a new one. But for now, he’s coping with the loss of his latest pet.
“She was kind of nice to have around,” Bush said. “We sure miss her.”