Did you know that not only can you buy fresh not frozen turkeys, you can buy turkeys raised right here in Arizona. Please note that this information is a bit late and all the turkeys are probably already gone. But, there is always next year.
In Dewey, on the only farm in Arizona licensed for commercial turkey sales, about 14,000 fresh birds are raised and processed for Thanksgiving, and another 6,000 for Christmas.
There’s also another source, but it takes more effort: You can hunt your own turkey in the wild, one per person each year. Each type has its merits.
Young’s Farm 17 miles east of Prescott, said the farm is the only place in the state to get fresh turkeys like these. The farm sells the birds at grocery stores statewide, at the farm store and over the Internet.
Starting in late June, Young’s gets day-old poults or chicks bred at a California hatchery and raises the turkeys in a large barn, “with lots of room to move around and exercise. Unlike many commercial turkey operations, the birds are not kept caged or tightly packed into pens, a procedure used to hasten fattening.
“What we have come to learn over the years of raising turkeys is that the less stress you put on the bird, the better it will taste,” Teskey said. “And therefore, having room to roam around, to eat and drink when it wants, not giving injections, it all reduces stress.”
Young’s turkeys eat a milo-corn-soy grain mix but receive no growth hormones or stimulants, she said.
Federal agencies allow antibiotics to be given to poultry to prevent disease and increase food efficiency, but residues must not be found at the time of slaughter.
The supply is less predictable in the wild. Ron Engel-Wilson, a bird specialist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said there are some 14,000 to 20,000 Merriam’s turkeys roaming in the state, primarily in northern Arizona’s ponderosa pine forests. The actual number depends on the time of year and other factors, he said.
Merriam’s turkeys are native to Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado but also are found in California, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Nebraska and the Dakotas.
This year, 4,635 permits were sold to hunt Merriam’s turkeys during Arizona’s weeklong fall season in October. The number harvested hasn’t been tallied, but 806 birds were bagged last fall.
“This year’s fall harvest should be higher,” Engel-Wilson said. So what’s the advantage there?
Well, there’s the chance to enjoy the outdoors, for one. People watching what they eat can also enjoy the fact that wild turkeys are leaner than captive-bred Butterball or Jennie-O’s found in grocery freezers.
“Once the turkey is skinned, there is very little difference between the wild turkeys,” Engel-Wilson said. “Birds of comparable age are probably similar in toughness.”
You can contact Young’s Farm through their website: www.youngsfarminc.com/young/turkeys.htm
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