It was a wet and dusky afternoon in October when I decided it was time to visit Sarah Copas at her free-range turkey farm. As we arrived at the farm we were greeted by the sight of several thousand birds pecking and running around in fields and my two bored boys (it was the school holidays) were immediately engaged. Sarah encouraged us to take a walk into the cherry orchards where most are kept. As we entered they ran up to us – they have the funniest run; their fat bellies swinging from left to right as they hop from one foot to another. (A little too like me at Wednesday night Zumba!). My sons shrieked with delight and to our astonishment the turkeys answered right back with the same pitch. We spent a good 20 minutes watching them and calling out to hear them answer.
If you wanted to eat poultry knowing it had enjoyed a good life then these birds would be the answer. They were happy, healthy and had a great deal of space to run around in including an area of maize to give them a feeling of safety and cover. Big barns provided straw bales for their natural roosting behaviour. At night two specially trained collie dogs are used to round them into barns.