Delaware turkey production in the 1930s
Members of the extended Loockerman family have been involved in poultry production for many years including a current chicken operation near Bridgeville. This photograph shows Mary Loockerman in May 1930 holding a hen turkey on the family’s farm.
Turkeys of this variety have the characteristic colorings of a wild turkey but adapted for domestication. The more prevalent variety of turkeys raised for food in the past several decades have white feathers.
On the wild turkey side of things, we’re currently in the midst of Delaware’s spring gobbler hunting season, a time of the year when gobblers - the males - are looking for hens to breed with. The wild turkey story in Delaware and across the Delmarva Peninsula is one of great success over the past four decades when they were reintroduced here from other parts of the country and have since flourished.
