by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm Some of my favorite blogs to read are day-in-the-life blogs. I find it interesting how other people set up their routine for the day. A blog like that makes you feel as though you’re walking right along with a friend, helping out with chores. So I invite you […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm Raising turkeys is similar to raising chickens in many ways. But when it comes to nutrition requirements, turkeys need different nutrients than chickens to prosper. Turkeys are larger birds, with larger feathers, they lay larger eggs and their feed should support these differences. For the most part, I […]

Every year, This American Life dedicates an entire show to the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the time of the year in which the majority of our poultry is consumed. The stories this year are what happens when the worlds of our birds and us collide. You’ll hear stories about a chicken saving a man on […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm In our house, Thanksgiving isn’t just one day of eating turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, no,no. This feast goes on for several days in the form of leftovers. Come Sunday after the holiday and I start to feel more like a stuffed bird and all I can […]

  Early in August of this year, I wrote about my new adventure as a turkey farmer. The first few days were spent watching the tiny birds adapt to their environment under brooder lights. I learned a lot… you can read about some of the things I learned in those first weeks HERE. Days and […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm We hold our turkeys in very high regard here at Iron Oak Farm. Our Tom presents himself in a stoic, almost regal display. Turkeys are proud deliberate birds, gentle and beautiful. It’s no wonder that this amazing creature has made history time and again. With “Turkey Day” only […]

by Meredith Chilson I am adding to my vocabulary as I continue to learn more and more about turkeys. Wattle: No, it’s not a gait similar to a duck’s, and in this case, wattle does not mean the branches or twigs that are interwoven to make a fence. In the poultry world, a wattle is […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm At least once a week a car stops in front of our house to look at our flock of turkeys free ranging in the yard. They roll the windows down so the kids can see in the backseat or they pull out their phone to snap a few […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm We’ve already had several fires in the wood burning furnace this September and it’s not even officially Autumn. We live in Michigan and last year our area of the state received record snow falls and temperatures 30 below zero. According to the Farmers Almanac, we’re in for another […]

by Meredith Chilson Not so very long ago, I wrote about my first week experiences as a new “parent” to turkeys.   My, how they grow.   At almost six weeks, they are feathered, looking like turkeys, and ready to chase bugs in the yard. They are still eating starter feed, but they’ll begin eating […]