General Turkey FAQs
Q: Which turkeys are free-range & cage-free?
A: All our turkeys are cage-free, hormone- and antibiotic-free, and have access to the outdoors. Lancaster Farm Fresh and Snowdance Farm keep their turkeys out on pasture with access to shelter for most of their lives. Wise Kosher Organic, Koch, D’Artagnan Organic, and D’Artagnan Green Circle are raised cage-free indoors with access to pasture.
Q: Do we have organic turkey?
A: Yes, we do. D’Artagnan and Wise Kosher are organic. Wise arrives frozen and is available in the freezer case.
Q: Why is organic so expensive?
A: Organic turkey costs more per pound due to feed and organic certification expenses.
Q: Why is pasture-raised so expensive?
A: Pastured turkeys are labor intensive and typically come from small family farms that do not raise the same volume of turkeys as larger producers, so they must charge a higher price to cover their costs.
Q: Which turkeys are locally raised?
A: All our turkeys are raised either in New York State or Pennsylvania, except for D’Artagnan Organic, which comes from farms in Minnesota.
Q: Do we carry Heritage Breed turkeys?
A: Yes, we will have Heritage Breed turkeys from Greenane Farm and Northwind Farm.
Q: Do we buy turkeys from small farmers?
A: Yes! This season, we purchased turkeys from small farmers, including Snowdance Farm, Lancaster Farm Fresh, Northwind Farm, Greenane Farm, and D’Artagnan Green Circle.
Q: How do I store my turkey correctly? And will it last until the big day?
A: Keep it cold, baby. Get a thermometer for your refrigerator. Ideally, turn your fridge down to its coldest temp the day before you buy your turkey. If you can get it to 35 degrees or below, that will help keep the turkey fresh if you store it for more than 48 hours.
You can also put your turkey in the freezer overnight to give it a hard chill (it won’t freeze all the way through) and then move it to your fridge.
If you take these steps, your turkey should be fresh until Thanksgiving.
Q: If I wait to buy my turkey until the week of Thanksgiving, it’s fresher, right?
A: Nope. All the turkeys from any given supplier were slaughtered at the same time. We stagger the deliveries to manage our limited cold storage space. Depending on the size of the farm and proximity, turkeys might have been slaughtered several weeks before Thanksgiving and deep-chilled or up to the week before Thanksgiving.
Turkey Terms at the Coop
Pastured: The flock was provided shelter, food, and water, and a good portion of its life was spent outdoors foraging for food to supplement its feed.
Organic: Production methods meet USDA organic standards. No use of synthetics, hormones, or antibiotics. Must be fed certified organic, non-GMO grain.
Cage-Free: Indicates the flock could roam freely in an enclosed area. In some cases, turkeys also had access to pasture.
ABF: Antibiotic-Free
If you have further questions, please page for a Receiving Coordinator to assist you when you are shopping. We do not answer turkey questions over the phone.