Turkey At Farm In Boulder County Earns Fourth Thanksgiving Pardon
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - "Where did all the other turkeys go?"
That's probably what Tom the turkey at Ollin Farms is wondering this week.
Ollin Farms sits on about 30 acres in Boulder County and mostly just grows vegetables, but lately it has been getting a bit of a reputation for its guard turkey.
Guard turkey?
"Guard turkey, absolutely," farm owner Mark Guttridge told CBS4.
Tom is four years old and weighs 40 pounds. And he just earned his fourth Thanksgiving pardon at the farm for the service he provides.
Tom protects his flock of approximately 200 hens from foxes, coyotes, strangers -- basically any kind of danger. When any threat appears, Tom releases his loud signature gobble.
"You can hear it anywhere on the farm when he starts going off," Guttridge said.
In their first year of raising turkeys, Guttridge says a clerical error left them with one too many.
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"So the other 10 went to the processing plant and Tom the lucky one got to stay here," he said.
So that first pardon was just luck. The next three were all earned.
Tom wound up taking over the hen house and began making his presence felt year-round.
He now is the favorite of Guttridge's young daughters Koral and Amber.
"His name is Tom and he's big," the two girls said.
When it was time for their interview with CBS4 on Wednesday, the girls admitted their favorite Thanksgiving food happens to be turkey ...
... but they hope Tom sticks around for many years to come.
"We don't really think about it because we just eat some other turkeys on Thanksgiving," they said.
LINK: Ollin Farms