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Conservation: Conservation Corner - Energy Advisory Panel’s School Projects Come to Fruition
November 9th, 2011

Conservation: North Florida - Wild Florida: The Donkeys` Trick or Treat
October 30th, 2011

Conservation: Student Volunteers Educate through Recycling and Parading Efforts
October 28th, 2011

Conservation: Conservation Corner - Déjà Vu Translates to Eco-Chic Recycled Clothing
October 15th, 2011

Conservation: North Florida - Wild Florida: Catching Some Rays
October 11th, 2011

Conservation: Energy Conservation = Money Saved
September 29th, 2011

Conservation: North Florida - Wild Florida: Fall’s Wild Bounty
September 25th, 2011

Conservation: Costal Cleanup - 2011
September 18th, 2011

Conservation: North Florida - Wild Florida: Snakes in the Hen House
September 15th, 2011

Conservation: Cedar Key Marina: Opportunities for Our City to Save Money
September 12th, 2011

Conservation: Sometimes You Just Can’t Believe What You Read!
August 25th, 2011

Conservation: Energy Efficiency: The Obvious Energy Source
August 18th, 2011

Conservation: What`s For Dinner?
August 2nd, 2011

Conservation: Renewable Energy or Nuclear Power: What`s Your Choice
July 19th, 2011


North Florida - Wild Florida: Wild Turkeys

North Florida - Wild Florida: Wild Turkeys

Hedy Havel

I really like wild turkeys. I see them often along 345 on my way to Cedar Key
(except during turkey hunting season) and sometimes one will visit the farm.
They are wily birds.
The third year we lived on the farm, a fellow who sold us some cows made
me a present of a trio of wild turkeys - the Osceola variety with the red legs.
We built a pen and a roost and the turkeys lived out by the chicken and duck
pens and made more turkeys. Every spring, the hens scraped a hole in the
corner of the pen, laid eggs, sat on them, and hatched out a bunch of poults.
Some of the poults got eaten. Some of them got sold.

Early one fall morning when the kids were in grade school, I went out to
the duck pen to get some duck eggs for pancakes, glanced at the turkeys, and
noticed the gobbler lying on the ground, wings wide-spread, under the roost.
The 2 hens and 4 poults were still on the roost, looking down at him. He was
flat in the dust - stone cold dead.
I`ll take care of this later, I thought, and went on to get the duck eggs.
Later in the kitchen, while the kids were shoveling down their pancakes, I broke
The News. "Papa turkey is dead," I announced.
No sense in beating around the bush. This was a farm - things died sometimes.
"Oh no," the son said immediately, "what will mama turkey do?"
(Probably be relieved, I thought, that mister big heavy turkey has gone to the great oak forest in the sky..)
But I restrained myself.
"Oh," I said, "There`s a few male turkeys in that batch of poults. One of them can be the new gobbler."
The daughter put her fork down and looked at me. "Isn`t that inbreeding?"
(You know, sometimes it`s nice having smart kids, but sometimes it`s a trial.)
I looked her in the eye. "That doesn`t matter with turkeys."
"Yeah," the son said, "it doesn`t matter with turkeys." He finished his pancake and looked up at me.
"What`s inbreeding?"
I noticed the clock. "Good grief, look at the time! Y`all will be late for
school if you don`t hurry."
As they left to brush their teeth and get their school books, I heard whispering in the hall ...
But it really didn`t matter. The poults turned out to be one sister turkey and 3 males - Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas turkey, and replacement gobbler.
Through the next few years, the big turkeys hatched out lots of little turkeys, all of which had just one head, two wings, and were as smart as their parents.
And the new gobbler was a good tom turkey who eventually shared his genes
with a few really wild turkey hens who came around to visit.
But that is another story ...

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