It’s been too long since I’ve written about turkeys. Blame it on a busy schedule, vacation days, summer … although if I’m completely honest with you, I’ve been a little burned out writing about agriculture. I’ve been feeling a little stretched thin, with commitments to this blog, my communications career at Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, my role as a blogger for Agriculture.com and also the Ask The Farmers website and social media accounts, and my volunteer moderator role for #AgChat and #Foodchat on Twitter.
These are all commitments, mind you, that I want to make, that I enjoy, and that I don’t want to let down. But sometimes it just gets to be a lot, which is difficult for me to admit because generally I prefer to be busy and highly-functioning. I’m trying not to feel too guilty about it – I know it’s actually okay to take a step back once in a while – but that is also difficult for me.
Then a moment on Facebook tonight re-energized me a bit. A mom that I don’t know found my blog through one of the farmers in Ask The Farmers, shared some of my blog posts, and told me she was so glad I was sharing information about poultry. She even called me “a food warrior.”
I don’t know about that, but I do know that I write about farmers and agriculture and food to share real, honest, factual information about how turkeys (and chickens, too) are raised. I’m a food choice mom that abhors fear over facts when it comes to what we purchase in the grocery store. And I just want people to know that turkey farmers are real, honest-to-goodness people just like the rest of us. They have families, they eat the same foods we do, and they care for the land and water in order to leave it in better condition for future generations.
So with that segue … I’m offering up some interesting facts about how turkeys handle a heat wave. The past week was a dangerous combination of heat and high humidity in Minnesota so our turkey farmers were on high alert and doing all they could to make sure their birds remained comfortable.
Did you know …
- It’s the combination of BOTH high temperatures and high relative humidity that is the biggest problem for turkeys. Especially for older turkeys, temperatures at 85 F. with humidity above 50% places turkeys in the danger zone; at 90 F. and 50% humidity, the risk increases to extreme.
- Besides making sure there is enough air circulation in the barn and often misting water on the birds as needed, farmers will give turkeys electrolytes in their water during high heat-high humidity situations. This is similar to sports drinks like Gatorade that athletes drink to replenish their bodies after a workout.
- Shade is critical during a heat wave – as we humans can attest to. That means limiting exposure to sun whether the birds are in a barn or pasture-raised.
- Turkeys will eat less when they are heat-stressed, which I think is often the case with humans as well. (Think about when you have attended an outdoor event with temperatures in the 90s. Most of us would say we crave water – or okay, maybe an ice cold beer! – versus a big meal.) Farmers carefully monitor feed and water at all times during a turkey’s life but certainly even more so during a dangerous heat wave.
Here’s a great news report from a Twin Cities television station on what one of our Minnesota turkey farmers did last week to ensure his turkeys were safe and comfortable during our heat wave.
Happy Turkey Tuesday, friends!
Lara
Note: Thanks to my friend Dr. Sally Noll, a poultry specialist at the University of Minnesota Extension, for sharing this information on heat stress in turkeys with me.