They are primarily known as Thanksgiving dinners. However, it is also possible to keep them as pets. Keeping turkeys as pets may not be as popular as buying puppies and kittens, but this, too, has its own advantages and simple joys.

There are two general varieties of turkeys for keeping turkeys as pets: domestic and wild. Domestic turkeys are raised by turkey farmers to sell for their meat. These turkeys are completely incapable of flight and have been bred for the sole purpose of selling them as dinners. Wild turkeys, on the other hand, breed in the wild and are capable of flight. These are the ones kept as pets. Don’t be afraid of their names: just because they’re called “wild” doesn’t mean they’re vicious. In fact, wild turkeys are more intelligent than domestic ones, making them easier to train as pets.

When raising turkeys as pets, there are a few things you need to do different from raising turkeys for profit. First, you need to adjust your feeds so that the bird eats a mix that makes it healthier and stronger, compared to turkey feeds that fatten them up and optimize their meat for eating. Second, you need to adjust your yard or wherever the chicken coop is to be able to accommodate such a curious animal; therefore, there are no potential danger zones such as chicken wire and open holes. Last but most importantly, you need to interact with the bird. While this is true for any pet, it is even more so for turkeys because they are highly social animals. Once you feel comfortable with your pet turkey, you will soon notice how the bird reciprocates that feeling.

Raising turkeys as pets gives you a brilliant and social companion. Turkeys are praised by animal welfare groups for making great pets. Pet turkeys began a long time ago, when Abraham Lincoln’s son kept a pet turkey in the White House. Sure, turkeys aren’t really conventional pets, but people who have settled on turkeys as pets attest to their intelligence and friendliness.