Family and Heritage: Life at a Local Turkey Farm

The Stein family and their turkeys.

photo by FlashBang Photography

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THE TURKEY WHISPERER

It all started with a love of biology that evolved into the study of genetics and morphed into a small local turkey farm.

The love of biology started when Hannah Stein was in high school. As she learned more about biology, the more she became fascinated by genetics.

At the same time, her father, Tim, who has a love of cooking, was looking for a turkey different from what is found in grocery stores. He had read in a magazine about Bourbon Red turkeys, a rare heritage bird, and wanted to try to cook one.

“We can raise those,“ Hannah said, with confidence.

She had raised pheasants previously but was about to learn that she had a hidden talent when it came to turkeys.

That was when her father and she hatched a plan to raise the small turkey breed that was named a er Bourbon County, Kentucky, where it originated in the late 1800s.

Bourbon Reds have the leaner look of wild turkeys and the meat has more a nutty flavor, Tim said. There also is more collagen in the meat because they grow slower than other meatier turkeys.

They found they have a knack for raising the birds. Hannah likes to sit and listen to the birds talk. She has done it so much that not only can she talk turkey, she also can decipher it and tell others what her beloved turkeys are saying.

Beloved, those turkeys are. The sparkle in Hannah’s eyes and huge grin clearly show her feelings as she effortlessly scoops up Tim, the resident tom turkey and cradles him. He lays his head against her and they talk so ly to each other, both in turkey, while her father beams.

“She’s like a turkey whisperer,” says her father, in awe.

Her mother, Jennifer Stein, nods in agreement. She does not feel the same connection to the turkeys as her daughter does, but her eyes twinkle when she watches Hannah move among the turkeys, talking to them in their own language.

Tim added that the turkeys and Hannah seemed to bond immediately and there have been no regrets to the family’s venture on their Granger Township farm.

“We definitely have our love for them,“ said Jennifer.

Although, they all three agree that the fourth member of the family, 18-year-old Christopher, is afraid of the turkeys and wants nothing to do with them.

Tim turkey has lived on the farm since he arrived as a hatchling about 4 years go. He is a permanent resident and oversees his flock with his one good eye.

“We think he had a stroke before he got to us,” Hannah explains.

She said he was partially paralyzed when he arrived, but they watched him improve until he took his throne as the king of the flock.

They order hatchlings each spring. The birds are shipped as soon as they hatch because they can live 72 hours from hatching to first feeding and watering. They arrive on the Stein Farm about 24 hours old.

When the chicks arrive from Polk, Ohio, Tim turkey gathers them under his wings to protect them and keep them warm, whether they want under his wings or not.

The family laughs when recalling times that it has been too warm under Tim’s wings for the chicks and they try to get away from him, but he does not let them.

Three other turkeys, all hens, have been granted permanent resident status, as well. They are Ollie, Tim turkey’s daughter; Veronica; and Featherhead, so named because of the odd sticking-up feathers she had on her head as a chick.

The turkeys are pasture raised, which is much different than free-range, Tim explained.

Free-range birds are raised loose in a barn instead of in cages. Pasture raised means the turkeys are kept outside and can graze grass and enjoy the sun and fresh air.

Tim puffs up despite being in a partial molt.

This, of course, means that the enclosure for the turkeys must be portable so as the turkeys graze the grass down, the pen can be moved to taller grass. The large enclosure is moved weekly.

The Steins raise 40 turkeys at a time and want to keep it at that limit because any more would mean adding another cage that also would have to be relocated once a week.

There are buildings for the turkeys to roost in at night to protect them from predators.

As long as the turkeys have food and water and no predator startles them, they stay contentedly in their enclosure.

Hannah and Tim laugh when remembering one of the times the turkeys escaped and went to their neighbor’s house.

When the turkeys saw the Steins’ neighbor, they thought he would have food for them, so they started racing up the driveway toward the man.

At first, the neighbor was excited because he thought he was seeing a flock of wild turkeys coming up his driveway, until they started running toward him. He was terrified by the time the Steins caught up to the turkeys and rounded them up for the trek home. continued, Page 6

Escapes are not the only battle to face when raising turkeys, there also are various predators waiting for a chance to taste turkey.

Among the predators that battle for the turkeys are coyotes, raccoons and hawks.

One year, turkey chicks kept disappearing. Hannah and her father could not find any sign of them. Then one day there was a strong wind when Hannah was standing in a group of pine trees that is close to the pen, and what was le of the chicks came raining down around her. That did not change her mind about raising turkeys, but it did give them a clue as to what had happened. She said it was evidence it was a raccoon that was taking the chicks because that is the most likely predator to have stored the chicks like that.

“This year, we’ve lost a quarter of our flock to coyotes and hawks,” Tim said, wistfully.

He said that even when everything is done to protect the turkeys, there are still losses.

Their mentor, who is an Amish turkey farmer, told Tim that he had started with 200 birds that decreased to 60 birds because of coyotes. “It’s very hard to pasture raise,” said Tim. The Steins added bronze turkeys to the mix this year. The bronzes are faster growing and have brown feathers with a copper and rainbow hue to their feathers.

While the Bourbon Red turkeys are sleek, curious, active, and graze heavily for their food, bronze turkeys are less likely to move around, gain weight faster, and graze little.

The Bourbon Red and the bronze turkey chicks are raised together.

They start out in the garage with a heat lamp upon their arrival at the farm. They then graduate to the outbuildings with covered dog runs. A er that, it is into the pen with the resident turkeys showing them the ropes.

“You need the adult birds with the young ones,” Tim said. He said the older birds keep the younger ones together and settled in the pen.

Tim, a Bourbon Red turkey and ruler of the roost, is very proud of his hat and likes to show it off to the other turkeys. Hemakes it clear that he thinks the other turkeys are jealous.

Tim turkey works very hard to keep his flock in line, using a variety of threatening moves including puffing up his feathers, making threatening noises, and using force and his spurs, if necessary. It does not usually get to that extreme, however.

“He just gives them the eye,” said Hannah, with a smile.

When all expenses and time are added up, the Steins do not make much, if any, money raising the turkeys. However, it is evident by their happy faces and sparkling eyes that they do it for the love of turkeys and the joy it brings them to provide their customers the rare treat of enjoying a pastureraised bird.

The Steins also are members of Local Harvest and the Slow Food Movement, both of which promote buying food grown locally and naturally.

Instead of antibiotics, the Steins add a special herbal blend to the turkeys’ water which keeps away disease and strengthens the turkeys’ immune systems.

They are fed watermelon, peanuts, and an allnatural food made in Marion, Ohio. Tim says watermelon is their favorite, but not as much as peanuts are.

“They love their peanuts, that’s turkey crack,” Tim said, laughing, as he was surrounded by turkeys anxious for more peanuts. Hannah added, “They love little crabapples.” When slaughter time comes, 20 to 40 turkeys at a time are rounded up and put in crates. Then they are taken to the Amish for processing.

The processing facility is USDA inspected. The turkeys are shrink wrapped and frozen because a fresh turkey would last only eight days.

“It’s a safety thing,” Tim said. “We ship quite a few out of state.”

Customers have learned to reserve turkeys early so they do not miss out. The Steins have a lot of Chinese and Vietnamese customers because the turkeys taste very close to the same as to what they are accustomed to in their homelands.

It costs approximately $50 to raise a bird to processing day and $30 per bird for processing.

They charge their customers $4.50 a pound for the bronze turkeys and $6.50 a pound for the Bourbon Reds.

Tim said that most of their customers want birds that weigh around 17 pounds, bigger birds are rarely requested.

While Hannah works the turkey farm with her father, she also attends Baldwin-Wallace University with the help of academic scholarships, plays on the lacrosse team, and li s weights every day at 5 a.m.

A 2016 Highland High School graduate, Hannah started her college career pursuing a degree in biology. But the more she thought about being confined in a lab all day, the less the career choice appealed to her.

She became more interested in a career like her mother’s, who works with pharmaceutical companies in a sourcing advisory position. The job entails extensive travel while analyzing bids to consolidate information technology systems for very large, international companies.

Hannah changed her major to international business and is in the top 4 percent of students at Baldwin Wallace. She is almost fluent in Chinese and has spent time in China. She is hoping for an internship with the J.M. Smucker Company.

“She’s very bright, she’s like her mom,” Tim said, beaming with pride.

Her mother and she are involved in The Trailblazers, a volunteer group that that patrols the Cuyahoga National Park and aid the park rangers. Hannah is the youngest to ever be accepted to the group.

The group has approximately 70 members, with eight on horseback and the rest on foot or bicycles. Hannah and Jennifer’s horses that they ride on patrol must be assessed every year for health and temperament. Group members must have background checks and training in CPR and first aid.

Tim is a self-described stay-at-home dad. Hannah’s brother, Christopher, works at Eddy’s Bike Shop in Fairlawn.