It is raised throughout temperate parts of the world, partially because industrialized farming has made it very cheap for the amount of meat it produces.

[4] Ancient Mesoamericans domesticated this subspecies, using its meat and eggs as major sources of protein and employing its feathers extensively for decorative purposes.

[10] Prior to the late 19th century, turkey was something of a luxury in the UK, with goose or beef a more common Christmas dinner among the working classes.

Advances in shipping, changing consumer preferences and the proliferation of commercial poultry plants has made fresh turkey inexpensive as well as readily available.

Adults can recognise 'strangers' and placing any alien turkey into an established group will almost certainly result in that individual being attacked, sometimes fatally.

A high-pitched trill indicates the birds are becoming aggressive which can develop into intense sparring where opponents leap at each other with the large, sharp talons, and try to peck or grasp the head of each other.

The skin of the head, neck and caruncles (fleshy nodules) becomes bright blue and red, and the snood (an erectile appendage on the forehead) elongates, the birds 'sneeze' at regular intervals, followed by a rapid vibration of their tail feathers.

Throughout, the birds strut slowly about, with the neck arched backward, their breasts thrust forward and emitting their characteristic 'gobbling' call.

[citation needed] The domestic turkey is the eighth largest living bird species in terms of maximum mass at 39 kg (86 lbs).

[citation needed] Due to their extreme size differences, domestic turkeys are semi-flightless, as younger or smaller specimens are still capable of short-distance flight, whereas the largest individuals are completely flightless and terrestrial.

After 28 days of incubation, the hatched poults are sexed and delivered to the grow-out farms; hens are raised separately from toms because of different growth rates.

Between one and seven days of age, chicks are placed into small 2.5 m (8 ft) circular brooding pens to ensure they encounter food and water.

Whilst in the pens, feed is made widely accessible by scattering it on sheets of paper in addition to being available in feeders.

The floor substrate is usually deep-litter, e.g. wood shavings, which relies upon the controlled build-up of a microbial flora requiring skilful management.

Rations generally include corn and soybean meal, with added vitamins and minerals, and is adjusted for protein, carbohydrate and fat based on the age and nutrient requirements.

Permitted stocking densities for turkeys reared indoors vary according to geography and animal welfare farm assurance schemes.

In the UK, the RSPCA Freedom Foods assurance scheme reduces permissible stocking density to 25 kg/m2 for turkeys reared indoors.

[25] The problems of small space allowance are exacerbated by the major influence of social facilitation on the behaviour of turkeys.

If turkeys are to feed, drink, dust-bathe, etc., simultaneously, then to avoid causing frustration, resources and space must be available in large quantities.

Long photoperiods combined with low light intensity can result in blindness from buphthalmia (distortions of the eye morphology) or retinal detachment.

Ultraviolet-reflective markings appear on young birds at the same time as feather pecking becomes targeted toward these areas, indicating a possible link.

Researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have patented a method of removing the stiff quill from the fibers which make up the feather.

Turkeys are sold sliced and ground, as well as "whole" in a manner similar to chicken with the head, feet, and feathers removed.

Around holiday seasons, high demand for fresh turkeys often makes them difficult to purchase without ordering in advance.

Deep frying turkey has become something of a fad, with hazardous consequences for those unprepared to safely handle the large quantities of hot oil required.

[38] Although most commonly used as fertilizer, turkey litter (droppings mixed with bedding material, usually wood chips) has been used as a fuel source in electric power plants.

The plant, known as Fibrominn, operated from 2007 to 2018, closing due to being unable to compete commercially with low-carbon sources of renewable energy.