EACH year over 10 million turkeys are devoured during the festive holiday and some of these have been reared by smallholders intent on producing their own special meal.

I have every respect for people that go about rearing their own meat and vegetables as the majority of people nowadays have little idea how this is done.

However, I do believe that there is a trend that to be ‘green’ and self-sufficient you have to be prepared to kill whatever you rear. If you do go down this road you need to learn how to do it properly and skillfully. Not all livestock producers kill their own animals and not all farmers like eating their own stock; so I find this current interest in killing your own animals rather disturbing.

If you have reared turkeys for Christmas and are now fighting with your emotions over whether you can go through with having them killed, you are not alone. When rearing turkeys for meat, family members need to be told they will only be living for a limited amount of time. It is possible to distance yourself from any bonding, which makes it a little easier when it comes to turkey slaughter time. Turkeys are very charismatic birds and I know from experience that come Christmas, many people cannot bear to kill them as they have become such a part of family life.

If you face this dilemma, then why not keep the birds and save yourself any upset, when really it is supposed to be a time of celebration and happiness? I receive many telephone calls each New Year asking how turkeys should be looked after come the mating season - having spared the birds from the Christmas table! There is no embarrassment or shame in this and if you have female turkeys you will reap the reward of eggs come the spring.

Although turkey is so associated with the Christmas meal, many people are now buying goose, beef, pheasant or pork instead. So why not try another dish yourself and dispense with turkey altogether.

The turkey has been kept as a meat bird for seven hundred years but during that time it has also been recognised for its decorative feathering and the beneficial tasks they have undertaken. The Aztecs first domesticated the turkey for its meat and, according to folklore the Pilgrim Fathers’ celebrated their first harvest festival in the New World by dining on wild turkeys.

It was not until 1863 though when Abraham Lincoln officially proclaimed Thanksgiving Day a national holiday that the domestic turkey became the traditional meat for such an occasion.

One of the many reasons that turkeys were readily available for the Thanksgiving holiday is that they were used in the tobacco crops as a form of pest control, removing tobacco worms from the plantations. From the 1700s into the 1800s turkeys were used for this work and following the harvest they were then fattened up for the holiday festivities.

During the 1900s, as chemical deterrents were being developed and used for pest control, the turkeys’ duties largely became redundant. However turkeys can be found on organic farms today of pest control amongst horticultural crops. Turkeys are fascinated by all insects and it can be quite amusing watching them hunt out crane flies across grassy areas in the early autumn.

A great number of turkeys are now kept as pets but this is not a modern phenomenon. Back in the 1500s when the turkey arrived in Europe, the bird was popular as a gift and was treasured as much for being a marvel of nature as for its meat. They were kept as a status symbol by the privileged and allowed to roam free for visitors to admire, similar to peacocks. The turkey is a bird which is not only one of the great food sources of the world but is also remarkably striking in appearance, gregarious, full of character and deserves to be thought of as a bird that is useful throughout the year and not just for Christmas.

For further information about turkeys contact Turkey Club UK, Cults Farmhouse, Whithorn, Newton Stewart, DG8 8HA. Tel: 01988 600763 E-mail: info@turkeyclub.org.uk Website: http://www.turkeyclub.org.uk ‘Not Just For Christmas’ – the complete guide to raising turkeys by Janice Houghton-Wallace.

Available from www.goodlifepress.co.uk