PAIR RAISES PATRIOTIC POULTRY; TURKEYS SPORT RED, WHITE AND BLUE IN VAL VERDE.Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer The history books say that when the Founding Fathers were trying to decide on our national bird, Benjamin Franklin suggested the turkey. After all, the bird was indigenous to this country and was the main course at the first Thanksgiving. Alas, the gobbler gobbler male turkey. Called also tom. lost that honor to the majestic bald eagle bald eagle Species of sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that occurs inland along rivers and large lakes. Strikingly handsome, it is the only eagle native solely to North America, and it has been the U.S. national bird since 1782. The adult, about 40 in. . But in a back yard in Val Verde Val Verde may mean:
The three females and two males strutting around a wire-fenced pen at the home of Margie McWright and her mother, Inez, have white feathers tipped in black. But the turkeys' ``cheeks'' are blue, their wattles are red and their heads are white. Neighbor Jay Kapac gave the McWrights two royal palm turkeys General The Royal Palm is a small variety of turkey that was originally recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1971. They are considered a heritage breed and are listed as critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. more than a year ago. That pair had five offspring, the current residents of the McWrights' backyard pen. Inez said she had to get rid of the parent turkeys. ``I killed them because they were so mean,'' she said. But they didn't turn up on her family's dinner table for the Thanksgiving feast. ``I had to end up feeding them to the dogs because the meat was so tough,'' the elderly woman said as she poured a bucket of corn, barley, wheat and other mixed grains into the turkeys' feeding tray. Kapac, who makes his living breeding exotic birds The Exotic Birds was a pop music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1983 by three Cleveland Institute of Music percussion students, Andy Kubiszewski, Tom Freer and Tim Adams. They wrote their own music and were described as synth pop, techno-pop and techno-dance. , said the royal palm variety of turkey originated in Florida in the 1950s and was named after a tree. This breed of turkey is distinctive not just for its facial coloring but also because the birds sit on and hatch the eggs they lay, he said. He had bought two turkey eggs through the mail, helping them through incubation and hatching and then raising them for a while until he gave the male and female to Inez McWright. Under the McWrights' care, that pair of turkeys spawned five offspring. The spirited gobblers share a large back yard with eight mallard mallard: see duck. mallard Abundant “wild duck” (Anas platyrhynchos, family Anatidae) of the Northern Hemisphere, ancestor of most domestic ducks. The mallard is a typical dabbling duck in its general habits and courtship display. ducks, a few dozen chickens and a Dalmatian named Patch. Margie McWright, 48, said the family has kept lots of farm animals on its property most of the 40 years they have lived in Val Verde. ``Mama has always been raising turkeys and chickens, ever since we were growing up in Louisiana,'' she said. The Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. isn't a particularly big day at the McWright home; ``We usually just barbecue,'' Margie said. The menu, she added, usually features ribs - not the turkeys with the patriotic coloring. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color in SAC edition only) The royal palm turkey's distinctive coloring makes it a particularly festive gobbler for the Fourth of July. (2--color in SAC only) Inez McWright feeds the royal palm turkeys Wednesday at her home in Val Verde. The fowl are the offspring of a pair McWright's neighbor, an exotic bird breeder, gave her. The breed was developed in Florida, and is named for trees found there. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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