Are these two the luckiest turkeys in Shropshire? The two, named Sage and Onion, are running around at Hoo Farm Animal Kingdom, near Telford after being saved from being served up as Christmas dinner.Rather than facing the wrath of a hot oven, the two feathered friends are looking forward to a happy retirement entertaining the new year visitors at the farm.
They were saved three years ago when they were handed over to Carolyn and Edward Dorrell at Hoo Farm.
Mrs Dorrell said the birds were now too old for the dinner table but were perfect pets.
“Sage and Onion are bronze turkeys and should have been killed three years ago but they were brought to us instead.
“They were very fit and well but whoever had them fortunately took pity on them,” Mrs Dorrell said.
“Their owners had several birds but liked these two in particular. Luckily for them they missed out on being on the table.
“Now they are pets and love life on the farm. They are more than happy, especially at this time of year. They love children and follow visitors around. They are two great characters.”
Mrs Dorrell said: “There was no way they are going anywhere now. At their age and at their weight after all the treats on the farm they would be very, very tough.”
Mr and Mrs Dorrell said the Christmas season started off badly with a very wet weekend but had since been a great success.
After a busy festive season, staff at Hoo Farm are looking forward to a break after closing the doors at the end of today until March 15 when they will reopen for the new season.
2 Comments
lucky things!
turkeys arnt the cutest things on the planet but why anyone would want to eat one is beyond me
what a co-incidence! we have just received two turkeys named Sage & Onion from our local radio station, red dragon! a farmer delivered the two birds to the station to promote welsh produce, the listeners named them sage and onion and the radio held a poll to see if they were to be saved or slaughtered! they were saved and are now with us on our farm! they are inside at the moment while we are finishing their pen…we have a lot of foxes in the area, but they are lovely!