Local teen raises turkeys for Thanksgiving slaughter
An El Paso teenager, passionate about local and fresh food, raises turkeys in his Upper Valley home and sells the birds to people willing to slaughter them.
“At first we thought people would be really scared of doing it but once we started doing it, people really hopped right on it,” said Aidan Birke, a Coronado High School Senior and member of the Future Farmers of America.
The steroid and antibiotic-free organic turkeys are slaughtered at Burke’s home, hung from a tree, while buyers slit the throat. “It’s just healthier, we feed it all natural stuff, you can see that there’s no preservatives. They’re from farm to table.”
This year, Burke raised 13 turkeys, which he sells starting at about $35.00. It’s become an annual tradition, spread by word of mouth. Among his customers: local chefs, doctors and ‘foodies.’
Some are bronze turkeys – a more wild variety – the kind people ate a century ago.
“I’m kind of bummed that we’re going to have to get rid of it but the people love them to pick it out and I get excited every time we’re slaughtering them because they go to families that really enjoy it,” said Burke.
