Yes, it is true. Benjamin Franklin, as immortalized in the musical 1776, wanted the turkey to be the national bird. He also enjoyed copulating with french trollups and may (or may not) have died of syphilis. In honor of Ben Franklin and Thanksgiving, here are some images of turkeys (including a couple of fornicating ones) that I captured this weekend at Miloski’s Poultry Farm in Calverton, New York.

Click here to visit the gallery.

16 images.

P.S. For you PETA-inclined folks out there, these were very HAPPY birds (despite their soon-to-be holiday fate). There was LOTS of space for them to run around. They literally flocked to me when I approached with my camera.

It was mighty chilly so I betcha’ they prefer togetherness. I’m sure they were thankful that they weren’t in Alaska…

Why am I craving cranberry sauce?