November 26,
2003, just-food.com:November is understandably
a tense time for turkeys, especially in the US where
they serve as the centerpiece of the end-of-the month
holiday Thanksgiving, it was possibly with this strain
in mind that the Nation Farmers Union decided to distribute
“relaxation” CD to help turkeys “chill
out.”
The experimental approach to calming nervous turkeys
was drawn up by the NFU after consultation with animal
behavior experts from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh.
The “turkey top ten” contains a range of
tracks, with names such as “Wind chimes”,
“Gregorian chanting” and “Happy turkeys”,
aimed at having a positive calming influence on the
birds.
“It is well known among farmers that a background
of constant sound calms birds, probably because it drowns
out unexpected noise,” said NFU turkey spokesman
Mike Bailey said. According to the NFU, stress-free
birds have a more tender taste.
The farmers taking part hope to get a definitive answer
on the subject to help turkey producers in future years.
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