Wild Turkey Farms: WTF News- Septemeber 7th

Wild Turkey Farms News- Sept 7

One of the cool things about having a farm full of animals for your kids to grow up on is that they have so many opportunities to learn life's lessons. They get to see newborn babies, watch them grow up, help haul them to the butchers, and help cook them for supper when they come back. Yeah it sounds questionable when put like that but at the end of the day it fosters a connection and appreciation for the supper on their plate. While the majority of the animals have such a fate there are occasionally those that are fortunate enough to become part of the family and use their unique personalities to secure a lifelong position at Wild Turkey Farms. Sheep like Cupcake, Ice Cream , and Poundcake have done such but no one has every been able to do it quite like Marti the Goose.

For those that are new to our newsletter, Marti was a Chinese goose that we hatched and raised here. At only a few months old Marti shunned his fowl family and decided to become a pig. He never again was happy unless he was surrounded by a herd of pigs (regardless of their size) and he could always hold his own while fighting off 400lb pigs for dinner. Marti was always the highlight of anyone's visit to WTF.

Unfortunately Marti was found dead this week in one of the wallows. At this point we haven't determined the circumstances surrounding his passing but an investigation is underway since we suspect fowl play. It's possible that it may have been a hate crime since he was obviously so different, or perhaps he was a victim of mob rage. We may never know for sure what happened in Marti's final moments but we are certain that is was some sort of Suey-cide.

As a tribute, here is a re-run of our most popular Marti newsletter (Dec 2011) - RIP Marti- you will be missed

I think at this point most of you are familiar with Marti the goose and how he has grown up thinking that he's a pig. I've probably even mentioned how Marti has the ability of hold his own when fighting pigs to get his share of food. Well this week I witnessed just how tough that goose really is. For the past 2 weeks it's just been Marti and 2 sows in a pasture together until it came time to put the boar in with the sows. Now I've never thought much about anyone getting hurt but I could tell that as soon as the boar stepped off the trailer that all hell was about to break loose. For those that haven't been in the presence of an amorous boar, they start foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog and and start talking dirty with load guttural grunts. Now I don't know if it was the slobber, grunts, or just the fact that there was a new face in the pasture but something set Marti off. The boar was so busy trying to make new friends with the girls that I don't think he noticed the flapping, honking wad of feathers that was about to attack. As Marti blindsided the boar he bit fast on his right ear and proceeded to flail him in the head and side with his wings. Not knowing what was going on, the boar took off running across the pasture with Marti attached to the side of his head. Marti would eventually let go and return to eat with the sows. Once the boar would "shake it off" and head back to join the sows, Marti would repeat the scene. It got to the point that I almost felt sorry for the boar as he would hide in the corner of the field. Now this went on over a 2 day period but eventually the boar admitted that Marti was the boss and a truce was drawn for the time being. It's hard to believe that 15lbs of honk & feathers can terrorize a 600lb boar to that extent.

Davidson Farmers Market- (8-noon) Come load up on yummy WTF meats and fresh free range eggs!!!

Salisbury Farmers Market-(7-noon)- Domisty will be back this weekend so email us your orders and she'll have them waiting for you.

Upcoming events
Saturday September 15 (1-5pm)- Annual Know Your Farms Piedmont Farm Tour and Wild Turkey Farms Open House- Come out to the farm, bring the kids, and check out all of the animals. Come hungry - we'll have food available!
You can either just come see us or you can buy a KYF weekend car pass and take in the whole 2 day tour.

Sunday October 7 - WTF 2nd Annual Farm Dinner on the Back Forty- Join us for an evening of local drinks, local music, and great local food. Tickets are $65 each and will be available at the markets.

Don't forget to check out our Wild Turkey Farms Facebook page and "like" us to get the most up to date info.

We hope that you'll support some of the chefs & businesses that support us & other local farmers.

Customshop Restaurant- Charlotte

Chef Charles Catering - Charlotte/ DFM

300 East Restaurant- Charlotte

Whiskey Warehouse- Charlotte

Pure Pizza (at 7th St Market) - Charlotte

The Bradford Store- Davidson

Black Mountain Farmers Market- Black Mountain

Salisbury Wine Shop- Salisbury

The Bread Riot- Salisbury

Thanks for your support, have a great weekend, and we'll see you at the market.

Lee, Domisty, Rosty, & Charlie