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How many feathers do turkeys have? What part of the world are they native to? What can these feathers be used for? What did the first humans on the moon eat after they landed?

If you think turkeys have something to do with all of these answers, you are right! Read on to discover more facts about these beautiful, colorful and often surprising creatures we share the planet with.

• Only tom turkeys gobble.
• Hen turkeys make a clicking noise.
• Domesticated turkeys cannot fly.
• Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour
• and can run 20 mph.
• June is National Turkey Lovers’ Month!

Turkey Feathers

It’s estimated that turkeys have 3,500 feathers at maturity and some of those may be used for special purposes. Dyed turkey feathers are used in American Indian costumes or as quills for pens. Turkey feather down can also be used to stuff pillows.

Wish Bone

An old custom in many families is to make a wish on the wishbone. The turkey breastbone is cleaned and two people get a chance to make a wish by snapping the dried bone with each one pulling on an end. The person with the larger end of the bone gets the wish — and that’s how we got the phrase, a “lucky break.”

National Bird?

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the official bird of the United States? He thought it was a much more respectable bird than the eagle “and withal a true original native of America.”

Lunar Bird

When Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin sat down to enjoy their first meal on the moon, their foil food packets contained roasted turkey and all of the trimmings.