Submitted by Brian Roulston

Lot’s of things are going on during the second weekend in October. The leaves are in their prime with a bounty of colours as they and other foliage change. It is the end of fall fair season in Ontario as both the Rockton World’s Fair and the Norfolk County Fair in Simcoe are in full swing.

Doctors and dietitian end up taking a backseat on this weekend as we sit down with family and friends to our enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner on October 8th this year.

According to the Turkey Farmers of Canada, 542 turkey farms across the country (170 of those farms are located in Ontario) produced 170.9 million kg of turkey meat in Canada during 2017. 2.2 million whole turkeys were sold at Thanksgiving which is about 31% of the years production. Compare this to Christmas when 3.3 million whole turkeys were sold, which equates to 47% of the market.

Turkeys are a fast bird…you’d be fast if too someone had that hungry look coming after you with a knife and fork. They can run up to 25 mph (40 km/h). Domestic turkeys can’t fly more than a metre or two as they are too heavy. Wild turkeys on the other hand are agile flyers and can fly up to a quarter mile (400m).

Did you know male turkeys are called “Gobblers” because of the ‘gobble’ sounds they make to announce themselves to the female ’hens’? Infant turkeys are often called either a,”chick”,”poult”, or “turkette”.

Another funny little fact is a turkey’s gender can be determined from its droppings. A male turkey produces a spiral shape turd, while the female makes a shape similar to the letter ‘J’. That was just a little more than you needed to know, right?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!