With Thanks-giving dinner about two weeks away, the second part of an Indian Lake High School/Ohio Hi-Point FFA project is drawing to a close.
FFA member Allix Cotterman has been raising turkeys on campus this fall. They arrived as poults in August. The turkeys are now fully grown and about to be processed, so they can be served on plates this holiday season.
Allix said raising the birds has definitely been a learning experience.
“The turkeys are larger and much more aggressive than the chickens I had in the summer. We’ve had to come up with ways to keep them from pecking each other all the time,” she explained.
Cotterman, with help from several of her fellow FFA members, has fed, watered and cared for the turkeys all fall. A few had to be moved out of the flock to keep them healthy.
ILHS/OHP FFA Advisor Tanner Schoen said the FFA received a $6,000 two-part Impact Grant from the United Way of Logan County in the spring.
Part of the money was used to purchase feed and bedding for 150 chickens. Cotterman raised those chickens over the summer and won Grand Champion at the Logan County Fair.
The remaining chickens were processed and more than 500 pounds of meat was donated to local food banks. The rest of the grant money was used to purchase the turkey poults and supplies to raise them.
Cotterman was able to pre-sell 25 of birds to local buyers and the other half will be donated to area families who need a turkey for their Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.
The project is part of Cotterman’s official supervised agricultural experience for FFA.