Turkey factory farming: How are turkeys farmed and why?

Wild turkeys have been known to live for as long as a decade, but on factory farms, a turkey’s lifespan is considerably shorter—so much so that birds can still be considered very young despite their adult-sized bodies. While slaughter ages differ depending upon their sex, turkeys generally do not make it past 5 months of age. With an estimated 37 million turkeys in the United States killed for Thanksgiving dinner each year, turkeys raised in a factory farming environment will never have a chance to live past their infancy.

What is turkey factory farming?

Factory farms produce animal products like meat, dairy, and eggs. To maximize profits, factory farms house animals in extremely small spaces with large numbers of their fellow chickens, cows, pigs, and turkeys. For turkeys on factory farms, every aspect of their lives is entirely controlled by humans—from when they breed to how fast they grow to where they live.

Factory farming transforms turkeys from curious, independent birds into commodities for human consumption. In the US, approximately 736,000 turkeys are slaughtered for food on a daily basis—and roughly 223 million turkeys are raised and killed for meat every year.

How are turkeys farmed?

The life of a factory-farmed turkey is completely different from the life of a wild turkey. In the wild, these birds live in complex social groups complete with unique orders, rituals, and dances. They stick together in flocks with their family and friends as they spend their days foraging, then fly up to sleep in the trees at night. Turkeys can fly at high speeds, run, and even swim—much like a triathlon athlete.

Instead of hatching alongside a handful of their brothers and sisters, coming into the world in a comfortable nest built by doting parents, farmed turkeys are born in sterile, indoor hatcheries where thousands of eggs hatch at the same time. The chicks huddle around artificial heaters in place of the warmth that would be provided by their mother’s body.

On factory farms, turkey chicks will never meet their parents. Instead, chicks move to indoor barns, where they remain for four to six weeks. Then they’re transferred to a finishing barn, where they’ll live until they're sent to slaughter. In these environments, turkeys cannot explore, exercise, or enjoy socializing with their flock. Their wings will never lift them into the air. These turkeys will remain permanently grounded before meeting their untimely end in a slaughterhouse.

Turkey farms also have a negative impact on their local areas, and they disproportionately employ workers from marginalized communities. From safety hazards in slaughterhouses to the health effects of airborne pollution (like ammonia), turkey farming is inhumane for workers and neighboring communities, too.

How long does it take to grow turkeys?

It takes about 28 days—about a month—for a turkey egg to hatch. Then the trajectory of their too-short lives can vary, depending on whether they are male or female. While some turkeys are considered ready for slaughter as young as 12 weeks old, hens are usually sent to slaughter first at about 14-16 weeks old. Male turkeys meet the same end when they are about 19 weeks old. So it takes about six months for a turkey to develop from egg to bird, but turkeys on factory farms will never experience life beyond that point.

What do farm-raised turkeys eat?

In the wild, turkeys are omnivorous, foraging for a diverse variety of plants, insects, and worms. On factory farms, their diets are far more constrained. Turkeys are fed processed grain and legumes, such as fortified pellets made from soybean meal and corn that are high in protein to encourage fast muscle growth.

Living conditions on factory farms cause chronic stress for turkeys, so they also consume a regular dose of antibiotics to stave off sickness and disease. A 2017 report indicates that 41% of turkeys in the United States were fed antimicrobials in hatcheries, and research suggests that the large size of turkeys’ bodies means they need larger doses of antibiotics to survive until slaughter.

Why should Turkey not be eaten on Thanksgiving (or any date)?

In their too-short lives on factory farms, turkeys suffer mentally and physically before they are slaughtered. The process that a turkey endures before she ends up on the Thanksgiving table is inhumane and cruel, and this process is perpetuated by a demand for turkey meat around the holidays.

Turkeys are naturally intelligent, social, and nurturing. They have unique personalities, just like people, and form friendships with one another. But when these sweet birds are farmed for food, they are deprived of their natural environment, abused, then slaughtered.

Confined in crowded sheds

In the wild, turkeys live in relatively small flocks, sometimes with only a handful of members. On factory farms, thousands of turkeys can be crowded into cramped indoor barns. It is typical for a single barn to house 10,000 turkeys. Crowding prevents birds from properly exercising (because they cannot run or even walk in confined spaces), or from getting proper rest as they are stepped on or jostled by their neighbors when trying to sleep.

Breathe ammonia-intoxicated air

In the wild, turkeys scatter their excrement over broad expanses of land, fertilizing the ground for new plant life. On factory farms, turkeys are forced to live in their excrement, which is high in dangerous toxic gases like ammonia and nitrous oxide. These toxins pervade the air and cause numerous health problems for turkeys and farm workers alike, causing eye irritation, lung problems, and a host of other diseases.

Feed to grow fast leading to diseases

Turkeys in factory farms have been selectively bred to grow unnaturally large in a very short amount of time, allowing farmers to reduce their costs while maximizing the volume of meat that they sell. Although turkeys are bred for rapid growth, their bone structure, which does not naturally accommodate such rapid growth, has not changed—and this causes major health problems like bone fractures, leg weakness, and heart failure.

Debeaked and detoed

In the wild, turkeys do not frequently peck or scratch one another to the point of serious injury. But the crowded, stressful conditions of factory farms can cause these birds to resort to unnatural and aggressive behaviors, resulting in bodily damage, infection, and sometimes death. Because these injuries result in lost profits for farmers, medical procedures like beak trimming and detoeing are performed on turkeys—almost always without painkillers—to prevent injuries to other birds.

Beak trimming involves removing the end portions of turkeys' beaks, something that is thought to cause long-term pain in birds. Detoeing removes the sharp talons that can cause damage to feathers and skin. But the amputation of the tip of the three forward-facing toes causes pain, reduces their growth rate, and increases the risk of infection and death.

Forced reproduction

Because turkeys have been bred to produce more meat, their bodies are now too large and heavy to breed naturally. To solve for this issue, turkey farmers looked to artificial insemination—continuing to breed larger birds at a faster rate. According to a Farm Sanctuary report, “Essentially 100 percent of the nearly 300 million turkeys produced annually in the United States for consumption are the result of artificial insemination.”

Dislocated hips and wing fractures due to transport

When it’s time to gather full-grown turkeys from their barns to bring them to the slaughterhouse, turkeys face yet more potential for injury. Workers catch turkeys by hand and force them into small containers, resulting in severe injuries like broken wings, internal hemorrhaging, dislocated hips, fractured legs, amputated toes.

Turkey farming facts and statistics

• An estimated 224 million turkeys were killed in the US last year.
• Over 46 million turkeys are slaughtered for Thanksgiving annually.
• The average farmed turkey weighed 17 pounds in 1970. Today, thanks to selective breeding, turkeys weigh an average of 28 pounds.
• In 2020, U.S. consumption of turkey was 5.26 billion pounds and 16 pounds per person.

How you can help

Turkeys are smart, social animals who deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. Together, we’re creating a world where no turkey is forced to live in inhumane conditions, suffering unnatural growth, artificial reproduction, crowded cages, and a cruel, painful death. Help put an end to the abuse by leaving turkey off your Thanksgiving table.

Learn more about how choosing a plant-based diet is a kind and compassionate choice for you—and for turkeys, and other animals raised for food.