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Dear Cecil:
Is it true that turkeys are so stupid they will look up in
the sky when it rains and thereby drown? --Jim G., Park Ridge,
Illinois
Dear Jim:
Hmm. Wonder if that's why they won't let the Cubs play during a storm.
Hey, just kidding. Turkeys don't literally drown in the rain. But there is a
grain of truth to the idea that they do.
Until they're about eight or nine weeks old, baby turkeys are
covered with down rather than feathers. Consequently they're quite
vulnerable to the effects of weather.
In the wild, the baby
turkeys' mommas hustle them out of harm's way when a storm blows
up. But domesticated turkey mothers, their will sapped
by welfare handouts, are apparently too indolent to do so.
(In fairness, modern poultry raising being what it is, Mom may no
longer even be on the scene.)
As a result, the chicks get cold and
wet and often die of exposure when it rains.
Former farm kids from back in the days when every homestead had a
few gobblers out back will tell you of being sent out into the
barnyard after a downpour looking for small huddled bodies, in
hopes that a few might be saved.
Many will insist that the little clucks really did
drown. But those I have quizzed about it admit they didn't actually
stand out there in the rain and watch.
Now, it's true turkeys
(and chickens) do a lot of things that don't exactly qualify as
brilliant. When they get into a panic, for example, they'll all
crowd into a corner trying to get away, and the sap on the bottom
sometimes suffocates.
But should we blame the poor turkeys for
that? For shame--the real fault lies with the farmer, for failing
to instruct his birds in proper evacuation procedures.
In short, I don't think we should be so quick to write turkeys off
as "stupid." Rather, let us recognize them for the tragic victims
of society that they are.
--CECIL ADAMS
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