Domestic turkey

Poultry (/ˈpoʊltri/) are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, eggs or feathers. The practice of raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, and turkeys). The term also includes waterfowls of the family Anatidae (ducks and geese) but does not include wild birds hunted for food known as game or quarry.

Recent genomic studies involving the four extant junglefowl species reveals that the domestication of chicken, the most populous poultry species, occurred around 8,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. This was previously believed to have occurred around 5,400 years ago, also in Southeast Asia. The process may have originally occurred as a result of people hatching and rearing young birds from eggs collected from the wild, but later involved keeping the birds permanently in captivity. Domesticated chickens may have been used for cockfighting at first and quail kept for their songs, but people soon realised the advantages of having a captive-bred source of food. Selective breeding for fast growth, egg-laying ability, conformation, plumage and docility took place over the centuries, and modern breeds often look very different from their wild ancestors. Although some birds are still kept in small flocks in extensive systems, most birds available in the market today are reared in intensive commercial enterprises.

Turkeys are large, heavyset galliforms in the genus Meleagris, indigenous to the Americas. They are among the largest birds in their native ranges, as well as being one of the heaviest birds in the order Galliformes. There are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) of Southern, Central and Eastern North America, and the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Males of both species have a distinctive singular fleshy wattle, called a snood, that hangs from the base of the culmen. Like with other phasianines, the male is bigger and sports fancier plumage than the female.

The earliest turkeys evolved in North America over 20 million years ago. They share a recent common ancestor with grouse, pheasants, and other fowl. The North American wild turkey is the ancestor of the domestic turkey, which was domesticated approximately 2,000 years ago by indigenous peoples. It was this domestic descendant that was later transported by humans to Eurasia, during the Columbian exchange.

Agriculture in Mexico has been an important sector of the country’s economy historically and politically even though it now accounts for a very small percentage of Mexico’s GDP. Mexico is one of the cradles of agriculture with the Mesoamericans developing domesticated plants such as maize, beans, tomatoes, squash, cotton, vanilla, avocados, cacao, and various spices. Domestic turkeys and Muscovy ducks were the only domesticated fowl in the precolumbian era, and small dogs were also raised for food. There were no large domesticated animals, such as cattle or pigs.

During the early colonial period, the Spanish introduced more plants and the concept of animal husbandry, principally cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, goats and sheep, and barnyard animals such as chickens and pigs. Farming from the colonial period until the Mexican Revolution was focused on large private properties. After the Revolution, these were broken up and the land redistributed. Since the latter 20th century NAFTA and economic policies have again favoured large scale commercial agricultural holdings.

Blinders, also known as peepers, are devices fitted to, or through, the beaks of poultry to block their forward vision and assist in the control of feather pecking, cannibalism and sometimes egg-eating. A patent for the devices was filed as early as 1935.They are used primarily for game birds, pheasant and quail, but also for turkeys and laying hens. Blinders are opaque and prevent forward vision, unlike similar devices called spectacles which have transparent lenses. Blinders work by reducing the accuracy of pecking at the feathers or body of another bird, rather than spectacles which have coloured lenses and allow the bird to see forwards but alter the perceived colour, particularly of blood. Blinders are held in position with a circlip arrangement or lugs into the nares of the bird, or a pin which pierces through the nasal septum. They can be made of metal (aluminium), neoprene or plastic, and are often brightly coloured making it easy to identify birds which have lost the device. Some versions have a hole in the centre of each of the blinders, thereby allowing restricted forward vision.

The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (M. g. domesticus), which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey (not the related ocellated turkey).

The Bronze is a breed of domestic turkey. The name refers to its plumage, which bears an iridescent bronze-like sheen. The Bronze had been the most popular turkey throughout most of American history, but waned in popularity beginning in the mid-20th century. Later in its history, the breed was divided into two distinct types: the Broad Breasted Bronze and the Standard Bronze. A great deal of confusion exists about the difference between Standard and Broad Breasted Bronzes, or whether there is any difference at all. Collectively, the Standard and Broad Breasted varieties are simply called the Bronze turkey.

The White Holland is an old variety of domestic turkey known for its white plumage. The White Holland, whose connection to the Netherlands is unsubstantiated, originated from crosses of white European turkeys (re)imported to North America and crossed with native birds. The White Holland was first recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1874, and today is considered a heritage turkey breed. The breed was crossed in the 1950s with the Broad Breasted Bronze to create the Broad Breasted White, which is now the most common turkey breed in the world. They were also the base for creating the also rare Beltsville Small White breed.

Standard weights are today 36 pounds for a tom and 20 for a hen. The Holland is currently listed as "threatened" by The Livestock Conservancy in the United States. The Standard of Perfection mostly now does not distinguish between White Holland and Broad Breasted White, though the White Holland is known for its hardiness, smaller breast, and shorter legs In Britain, the same has occurred, and all white turkeys may be described by breeders as "British White" birds.

The Beltsville Small White is a modern American breed of domestic turkey. It was developed from 1934 at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center of the United States Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Maryland, and was named for that town and for its physical characteristics — small size and white plumage. It enjoyed a brief period of commercial success in the mid-twentieth century, but numbers then declined sharply; in the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, and may be considered a heritage turkey breed.

The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation is a ceremony that takes place at the White House every year shortly before Thanksgiving. The president of the United States is presented with a live domestic turkey by the National Turkey Federation (NTF), usually a male of the Broad Breasted White variety. The early years also included a joint presentation with the Poultry and Egg National Board.

The ceremony dates back to the 1940s; these turkeys were usually slaughtered and eaten, with some exceptions, prior to the 1970s, when it became standard practice to spare the turkey. During the presidency of George H. W. Bush, it became a tradition. All presidents since Bush have issued a ceremonial "pardon" to the turkey. It is a tradition that the turkeys be picked from the chairperson of the NTF's home state, occasionally from the chair's own farm.