Why turkeys are so important to the Philippines’ poultry industry

It is said that the Philippines is what you would get by spending 300 years in a convent… and 50 years in Hollywood.

23 April 2020

8 minute read

By: Gregg Yan

Asia

black feathers with white tips — Turkey feathers can also be sold as ornaments, being larger and more beautiful than chicken feathers. Locally, feathers are used to make dream catchers, headdresses and other native knickknacks. Native Americans in particular, prized turkey feathers as adornments which denoted abundance, pride and fertility.
© Gregg Yan

a large turkey with dark feathers — A male Broad Breasted Bronze turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in Palawan, a rural island in the western Philippines
Turkeys have been cultured in the country since the mid-16th century, having been imported and bred by both Spanish and American colonisers. Numerous breeds are now farmed locally, with most tracing their ancestry to Spanish and Bronze turkeys © Gregg Yan

two men in a field walking, one of them holding a turkey — Homesteaders in Pagadian, a mountainous region on the island of Mindanao, carry a pet turkey which has strayed too far into the jungle. Aside from providing eggs and meat, turkeys also make popular, gregarious – and loud – pets
© Gregg Yan

a man stands in a field and holds a turkey — Homesteader Jiaco Ordejan shows off one of his free-range turkeys at the foothills of Mt Timolan in Pagadian, Mindanao. “They multiply by themselves with very little input,” he says. His gobble, or flock, live alongside chickens, ducks, geese and even a few pet guineafowl
© Gregg Yan

plastic eggs hang in a net — Plastic toy eggs, such as these sold at a market in Manila, should be left in turkey nests, as real eggs might get crushed by the heavy hens. Empty nests might prompt hens to find more remote and inaccessible areas
© Gregg Yan

Female turkeys, or hens, have less-developed snoods and less-impressive tail feathers. They are, however, prolific layers, laying around 40 eggs yearly. There should be about 15 to 20 hens for every tom to ensure continuous breeding and laying

A turkey tom struts, flexes his bod and shows off to a female – typical male behaviour, regardless of species!

Gregg Yan

Environmentalist Gregg Yan is the founder of the Best Alternatives Campaign, which works to promote sustainable seafood while transforming the trade in wild-caught ornamental fish and invertebrates. He formerly helmed communications for WWF and Oceana and now leads CSR efforts for the Asia Pacific Association of Communication Directors.