86-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 22, 2003 Before There’s Thanksgiving Turkey, GAY BROWNLEE Virginnia Correspondent MX. CRAWFORD, Va. At Sonny Meyerhoeffers Double M Farm, some 10,000 turkey breed er hens are kept. That’s because if you want a turkey at Thanksgiving or any other time, first you start with a turkey egg. The breeder hens lay the eggs that hatch poults at a nursery. The nursery then distributes the young birds to turkey growers who manage their growth, until the turkeys have arrived at the stage of maturity where they are shipped to the market. “Breeder hens are at the fore front of everything,” said Meyer hoeffer. Every year, Meyerhoeffers breeder hens produce some 1.4 million eggs for a hatchery oper ated by the Pilgrims Pride organ ization. Beginning at 3:45 a.m. and going until 5:30 p.m., the Double M staffers work on shifts that vary, seven days a week. The eggs daily are collected 13 times. The precious eggs are gathered from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are taken to the egg room, where au tomatic washing and sanitizing takes place. In the drying pro cess, excess water is evaporated by a fan. The eggs are placed in a cool place immediately thereaf ter. “You get them in, wash them, and cool them off,” Meyerhoeffer said, “That’s what keeps them from incubating.” In conjunction with a comput er clock, some 80 percent of the birds lay eggs on nests that are operated automatically. Air pushes the big girl off the nest Oriana exhibits a few things that remind her of Thanks giving a Pocahontas doll that usually displayed at the living room window, her own drawing of the first Thanks giving, and the turkey candy dish of golden glass thats al ways filled with goodies. On the lawn of their Mount Crawford home, Sonny Meyerhoeffer, Double M Farms, stands with his wife, Marie and their children who are still at home Benja min, 13 and Oriana, 11. The dogs are Lady, a golden re triever and Junior, a border collie still in the puppy stage. Double M Farm produces breeder hen eggs. Upon being hatched, the poults grow into chubby birds, especially popular for Thanksgiving feasts. Photos by Gay Brownlee, Virginia Correspondent and the egg deposit is gathered. At the nests, remaining manual labor is necessary to persuade the turkey to briefly vacate the roost, because in a snug environment the incubation process can start before it should. The Double M crews experi ence has developed to a fine skill mainly sight and touch. The workers have handled so many eggs it is possible for them to identify a reject in a hurry. Double-yokers, for instance, all-white instead of spotted Shells, eggs with dirt, cracked or soft shells, and eggs that are too small these will be infertile. “Its all done by eyesight,” said Meyerhoeffer. Fertile eggs represent money. Its imperative that no defective specimens reach the hatchery. There is a limit on how many re jects are allowable per thousand eggs. If the number goes higher, there will be a penalty. A big shift in the environment has occurred in the years since Meyerhoeffer’s dad also raised breeder hens. In todays con trolled atmosphere, the birds no longer roam the range as they were permitted to in days gone by. In regard to laying her eggs, light plays a critical role in the life of the breeder hen. The amount of light around the bird is closely monitored in terms of hours of exposure. Meyerhoeffer estimates his grandfather purchased the farm in 1939. He is the third generation on the land, and his kids, the fourth generation. The acceptable eggs are on the flat at left. They are shipped to the hatchery. Oppo site them is a flat rejected for reasons of dirt, double yolks, inferior shells, and small size. You Must Have An Egg Benjamin, 13 and Oriana, 11 are the only children living at home. Their mother, Marie Meyerhoeffer, home schools them. Thanksgiving Day is always special to the Meyerhoeffers. Marie said even though you give thanks all year long, Thanksgiv ing is a special time to be thank ful for blessings, especially for health and freedom. Its also a day of deer hunting for Benjamin and his granddad. “If theres any football on (tele vision), we watch,” Benjamin said. His team would be the Washington Redskins. As far as the meal, the mashed potatoes and gravy are the best part for him, plus pumpkin pie, but Benjamin said it can’t be too sweet. “I’m thankful for food and family and that we are in a free nation,” said the teen-ager. Oriana loves Thanksgiving Day for a host of reasons, but pri marily, “because my whole fami ly is together and we have good food,” she said. Last year Oriana did a wonder ful colored pencil drawing of the first Thanksgiving. The represen tation shows a well-dressed Pil grim and Indian woman, appar ently urging guests to join them at the long table with its platters of steaming food. “I love drawing. I basically draw a picture for every holiday, she said.” This year for a very different experience on the big day itself. The Meyerhoeffers are going to Charlotte, N.C. to assist with Op eration Christmas Child. Benja min and Oriana, meanwhile, will be visiting with their maternal grandparents. The Meyerhoeffers will be as sisting those who check the fes tive shoe boxes the final time be fore the Christmas shipments are s6nt around the world to children who would not otherwise receive presents. Operation Christmas Child was founded by Franklin Graham. “We will be the last people to see them (gift-filled boxes) before they are shipped,” Marie said. According to trivia statistics found at the National Turkey Federation Website www.eat turkey.com an estimated 46 million turkeys were consumed on Thanksgiving Day 2002. In general, about 95 percent of Americans “gobble” down turkey at Thanksgiving. Overall in the U.S., 271 million turkeys were grown in 2002. Marie raves about her mothers homemade stuffing and reports that she and her siblings were taught to wash their hands in order to tear two loaves of white bread into small pieces. The bread cubes dried either on top of the counter or speed dried in the oven. Following is that recipe (half the original amounts) and two Thanksgiving salads that Marie herself makes. STUFFING 1 loaf white bread, broken into pieces and set out to dry or speed-dried at a low tem perature in the oven. 2 onions, chopped 1 stick of butter, melted 'A of a large bag of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuf fing Mix } A tablespoon salt Pepper to taste Enough water to moisten the batch In a large bowl, combine all in gredients with the dried bread and toss loosely. Stuff in the tur key cavity and around the out side if necessary. For roasting the bird, follow directions specified on the turkey wrapper. Note: Chopped celery is op tional. You can use sage and chicken broth instead of water. CARROT SALAD 2 pounds carrots cooked ten der but not soft 1 medium onion sliced thin 1 green pepper sliced thin 1 can condensed tomato soup Vz cup sugar Vz cup salad oil 2 A cup vinegar (part lemon juice, if preferred) 1 teaspoon dry mustard Cook carrots in salt water until tender, drain. Mix other ingredi ents together and pour over car rots. Store in refrigerator over night. CRANBERRY ORANGE RELISH 3 packages fresh cranberries (9 cups) 3 oranges, including peel, but with seeds removed 3 cups sugar 3 cored apples with peel left on Handful of nuts (optional) Grind everything to a relish consistency (overgrinding will re sult in a mixture that is too wa tery). Chill well and serve.
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