Editing Poultry (section)

==Turkeys==
{{main|Domestic turkey}}
[[File:Turkeybird.JPG|thumb|Male domesticated turkey sexually displaying by showing the snood hanging over the beak, the caruncles hanging from the throat, and the 'beard' of small, black, stiff feathers on the chest]]
Turkeys are large birds, their nearest relatives being the pheasant and the guineafowl. Males are larger than females and have spreading, fan-shaped tails and distinctive, fleshy [[Wattle (anatomy)|wattle]]s, called a [[Snood (anatomy)|snood]], that hang from the top of the beak and are used in courtship display. Wild turkeys can fly, but seldom do so, preferring to run with a long, straddling gait. They roost in trees and forage on the ground, feeding on seeds, nuts, berries, grass, foliage, invertebrates, lizards, and small snakes.<ref name=Smith/>

The modern domesticated turkey is descended from one of six [[subspecies]] of [[wild turkey]] (''Meleagris gallopavo'') found in the present Mexican states of [[Jalisco]], [[Guerrero]] and [[Veracruz]].<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2008. [http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=2199 ''Wild turkey: Meleagris gallopavo'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. L  Stromberg] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725174654/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=2199 |date=July 25, 2017 }}</ref> Pre-Aztec tribes in south-central Mexico first domesticated the bird around 800 BC, and Pueblo Indians inhabiting the Colorado Plateau in the United States did likewise around 200 BC. They used the feathers for robes, blankets, and ceremonial purposes. More than 1,000 years later, they became an important food source.<ref>{{cite news |title=Native Americans First Tamed Turkeys 2,000 Years Ago |author=Viegas, Jennifer |url=http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/native-americans-turkeys-domestication.htm |date=February 1, 2010 |access-date=February 19, 2014 |archive-date=May 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503012252/http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/native-americans-turkeys-domestication.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first Europeans to encounter the bird misidentified it as a guineafowl, a bird known as a "turkey fowl" at that time because it had been introduced into Europe via Turkey.<ref name=Smith>{{cite book |title=The Turkey: An American Story |last=Smith |first=Andrew F. |year=2006 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-03163-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780252031632/page/4 4]–5, 17 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780252031632 |url-access=registration |quote=turkey bird name. }}</ref>

Commercial turkeys are usually reared indoors under controlled conditions. These are often large buildings, purpose-built to provide ventilation and low light intensities (this reduces the birds' activity and thereby increases the rate of weight gain). The lights can be switched on for 24&nbsp;h/day, or a range of step-wise light regimens to encourage the birds to feed often and therefore grow rapidly. Females achieve slaughter weight at about 15 weeks of age and males at about 19. Mature commercial birds may be twice as heavy as their wild counterparts. Many different breeds have been developed, but the majority of commercial birds are white, as this improves the appearance of the dressed carcass, the [[pin feather]]s being less visible.<ref>{{cite book |title=Turkeys: Behavior, Management and Well-Being|editor-last1=Pond |editor-first1=Wilson G. |editor-last2=Bell |editor-first2=Alan W. |year=2010 |publisher=Marcell Dekker |isbn=978-0-8247-5496-9 |pages=847–849 }}</ref> Turkeys were at one time mainly consumed on special occasions such as [[Christmas]] (10 million birds in the United Kingdom) or [[Thanksgiving]] (60 million birds in the United States). However, they are increasingly becoming part of the everyday diet in many parts of the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yourshepway.co.uk/news/can_turkey_rule_the_roost_all_year_round_1_3120818 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140303210320/http://www.yourshepway.co.uk/news/can_turkey_rule_the_roost_all_year_round_1_3120818 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 3, 2014 |title=Can turkey rule the roost all year round? |author=Bill, Joe |date=December 18, 2013 |publisher=Your Shepway |access-date=March 3, 2014 }}</ref>