While children in the United States often say they want to grow up to be the president, it seems unlikely that young poults have dreams of someday becoming a presidential turkey, but maybe they should.
After all, it looks like a pretty good life.
Turkeys have arrived in D.C.
The two turkeys participating in the 2017 National Thanksgiving Turkey pardoning ceremony have arrived in Washington, D.C., the White House announced on Twitter. The official presidential turkey and its alternate (or wingman, as National Turkey Federation (NTF) Vice President of Communications Keith Williams calls it) have been named “Drumstick” and “Wishbone.”
The turkeys that made the journey have been raised by NTF Chairman Carl Wittenburg and his wife, Sharlene, with help from local 4-H members from Douglas County, Minnesota. Per tradition, the NTF Chairman has the privilege of presenting the president with the National Thanksgiving Turkey.
The tweet includes a fun video, which shows the two turkeys being checked into a Washington hotel and settling into their room. That room looks pretty swanky, even by human standards, although most people would probably prefer that their rooms lack the shavings put down on the floor to make the turkeys feel more at home.
Life on the farm
While the luxury hotel stay is impressive, the Wittenburgs made sure the turkeys were well-cared-for while on their Minnesota farm.
Sharlene, a third-generation turkey farmer, in a video on the Presidential Turkey website, explained that bird health, security and comfort of every bird is a top priority of the farm. This involves making sure they have plenty of food and water, the litter quality is proper and the air quality is good.
Carl agrees, saying that in order to make sure that your birds are raised in with attention to FLAWS. In this case, FLAWS stands for Feed, Lights, Air, Water and Sanitation.
The Wittenburgs spoke fondly of their birds, and how much enjoyment they get out of raising them.
After the ceremony
According to a press release from the White House, President Donald Trump will pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey at a ceremony in the Rose Garden and will reflect on the nation’s rich Thanksgiving traditions.
After the turkeys are pardoned, Drumstick and Wishbone will join last year’s presidential turkey and alternate, Tater and Tot, at Virginia Tech’s Gobblers Rest exhibit, where students and veterinarians care for the turkeys and the public can visit them while learning more about the university’s animal science, poultry science and veterinary medicine programs.
It seems that during every stage of their lives, these presidential turkeys have people making sure they are happy and in turn are making other people happy. To me, it doesn’t get better than that.
