Maple Lawn Farms Prep Thanksgiving Turkeys For Families Across The State
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — There are just nine more days until Thanksgiving and farmers are preparing for the main event-the turkey- for the big day.
For 80 years, Marylanders have been gobbling up Thanksgiving turkeys from Maple Lawn Farms, located in Fulton, Md.
"We raise them from one-day-old until they're harvested here at our plant," said Chris Bohrer with Maple Lawn Farms.
The farm is about halfway through the three-week processing time, getting turkeys table-ready for the holidays.
Bohrer said between 4,000-6,000 turkeys call this barn and open-range home, under the four-legged protection of Missy, who keeps foxes away while the birds grow to a feast-worthy weight.
"We get our baby birds throughout the summer every three to four weeks so that at Thanksgiving time, they're all different sizes," Bohrer said.
In just three weeks, Maple Lawn will harvest almost 20,000 turkeys, prepping them for customers, including the chefs at Columbia Country Club.
"Our members always enjoy it, and you can't beat this quality and freshness," said Mike Lyons with Columbia Country Club.
Farmers open the barn door and let the birds wander through the processing plant.
[WJZ Reporter]: "Do you, you don't necessarily choose whose next for professing, it's whoever's the most curious,"
"Yes, they choose themselves," Bohrer said.
The whole process starts again next summer.
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