Wow! I didn't know this!
Posted by yabbitgirl on Nov 30, 2007 · Member since Apr 2006 · 14266 posts
I was watching an animal TV magazine show from France called "30 Millons D'Amis" (30 Million Friends--refers to the number of registered pets in the country.)
They did a bit on this person who is starting an educational farm to teach kids about animals. Did you know that a turkey that is allowed to live out its natural lifespan has a life expectancy of 40 years???
Well, on an educational, no-kill farm, maybe. As my husband said, "They sure don't reach that age in the US!" Especially not this time of year...
Makes you think, doesn't it? It certainly did him...
I think the turkey's bred in the US are not expected to live that long due to the meat centric attributes foisted onto them. It is sad to know that before we interfered these birds could live such a long life. :( :(
Excuse my ignorance, but do wild turkeys (as in Northern New Jersey, where I've seen them) vary from other turkeys? Or have we just "domesticated" the wild turkeys to a point of farm-animal status?
Does that make sense? At all?
Poor turkeys! Even if a factory farm turkey was allowed to live I doubt it would make it to 40 years--all the genetic modifications they make as well as the growth horomones they pump into those poor animals! How sad it is! :'(
Excuse my ignorance, but do wild turkeys (as in Northern New Jersey, where I've seen them) vary from other turkeys? Or have we just "domesticated" the wild turkeys to a point of farm-animal status?
Does that make sense? At all?
The original wild turkey was much smaller, with black feathers and not much of a tail. They were of course built for flying. Mexico had domesticated turkeys since way back and I think they would have been a different subspecies from the MA/VA variety.
The ones we have have been hybridized and selectively bred. The one on the magazine show was definitely a run-of-the-mill domestic turkey, humongous big, with sort of slate-blue and white feathers. They were surprised because the turkey was a cock, and yet had bonded firmly with their three-yr-old son and followed him everywhere when he was outside.
This has definitely turned DH off the idea of turkey for holiday meals...the idea that a turkey can live about half as long as a human really made him think. Hey VHZ!! How long can a chicken live if allowed to do so and cared for as a friend?
Thank you, yabbit!
Hey VHZ!! How long can a chicken live if allowed to do so and cared for as a friend?
opps...didn't see this before! My chicken books all say about 12 year maximum (depending on the breed) if the animal is well cared for and does not meet its demise sooner due to environmental causes (accidents, predators, etc.) Humm...Ill have to check again to be sure...cause somewhere in the back of my mind I recall hearing they live as long as dogs and I know loads of dogs who are more than 12 years old... ???
Sadly what Capture said about the genetic modifications is true for lots of farmed animals...A lot of farmed animals never really stop growing and eventually their bodies get to big for them to survive... :'(
I've heard that pet chickens can live for up to 15 years, I've heard of some live as long as 20. My Roosters' Daddy is about 11 1/2 years old ;D.
My chickens right now are 5 years old. I just lost one last Friday to shock/stress. We had a teenaged bear come thru and tear the door off the coop, no one was physically hurt..but my Henny went into shock/stress and never recovered. :'(
majicka414 - I'm sorry to hear about Henry.
The turkeys in the US that are bred for meat production grow to their unnatural full size in 3-1/2 to 5 months. Without a skeleton that can support the weight, turkeys may not be able to walk under the weight, which makes "free range" even more of a joke.
I was doing an entomological study years back and to get to a collection site I had to walk through a wooded area on a dirt road that was was patrolled by a gaggle of turkeys. A pack of those bad boys yelling their war cries and rushing you is enough to quicken the stoutest of hearts.
Omg, that reminds me..I'm sure Dave remembers this.. when I lived in Wantagh, NY (Long Island) there was a pack of wild turkeys that were supposed to stay in the preserve... Well they didn't..they often chased people up and down a major Avenue!
Ill always remember being a little kid and seeing turkeys roaming the streets of suburbia..quite a site.
On another note, out here in the woods we have a small flock of wild turkeys, the males are a sight to behold when they display. They often have "arguments" with my roosters. When they are scared they take flight, which I never knew turkeys flew (I figured like chickens they had limited flight). They really are a sight to behold..very interesting bird.
okay...now...I confused goats life expectancy with chickens. I used to have goats and they live p to 12 years on average. Chickens can and do live up to 18-20 years!
i love goats. when i worked at a farmed animal sanctuary, they were my best non-human friends. because unlike the cows and pigs, they didn't wish me dead, and unlike the chickens, they didn't think i was there to prey.
goats and sheep are weird in that when they vocalize, they sound like *people* imitating them.
so now i wish they lived longer than 12 years :'(
i love goats. when i worked at a farmed animal sanctuary, they were my best non-human friends. because unlike the cows and pigs, they didn't wish me dead...
That'd be a good reason to like goats more than cows and pigs.
I like goats because they're so intelligent--and independent! They will do what they want to do, regardless of if that's what the person wants--or even if it's a good idea.
I was thinking, the animals that are often associated with "evil"--goats, cats, snakes--all have vertical pupils, unlike the rest of the animal kingdom. Maybe it's that look that gets them in trouble? Cats and goats are very independent, both--and of course with snakes there's the "having no legs but getting about splendidly" thing.
I LOVE goats to. They are so loyal and intelligent. maybe to intelligent. You ever tried keeping a goat in a pen they didn't want to be in.... >:( Goats use their 12 years wisely though. ::) My goats were my best friends. When they died tragically, I ended up in a severe depression. Delight died in 1999 and she came up in therapy the other day and I started bawling, like usual...I really really love goats. One day, I will have a few again. ;)
Majicka, I sorry to hear about your loss. :'(