From: eastside.erik@gmail.com   
      
   On 12/3/25 1:49 PM, WolfFan wrote:   
   > On Nov 27, 2025, Rufus wrote   
   > (in article):   
   >   
   >> RonO  wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> On 11/27/2025 5:53 AM, jillery wrote:   
   >>>> On Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:35:43 -0600, RonO   
   >>>> wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>>> https://abcnews.go.com/   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> "Why some people are adopting turkeys instead of eating them" is a   
   >>>>> video. It is currently the top of the list, but it goes down as more   
   >>>>> are added.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> It gets to some people that turkeys are likely smarter than your dog or   
   >>>>> cat. They have a bird's brain, and it is more efficient (in terms of   
   >>>>> what it can do relative to it's size) than a mammlian brain. I've known   
   >>>>> people who treat their turkey like they would their dog. It can follow   
   >>>>> you around the yard and seems to want attention just like any other pet.   
   >>>>> We have likely selected them to be less mentally atuned than their   
   >>>>> wild counterparts just like we selected dogs to have around 30% smaller   
   >>>>> brains by body weight than wolves. Dogs were the major protein source   
   >>>>> before turkeys were domesticated for Mexico and South America.   
   >>>>> Basically you need a food animal to stick around long enough to be eaten.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Ron Okimoto   
   >>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>> I have read that domestic turkeys are dumber than rocks, but wild   
   >>>> turkeys are quite alert. OTOH I also read that wild toms can be   
   >>>> territorial and aggressive even with their owners, attacking the back   
   >>>> of a person's neck.   
   >>>   
   >>> Domestic turkeys have been bred so that a lot of the instinctive   
   >>> behaviors have been lost, just like domestic dogs, but my guess is that   
   >>> they might still be smarter in terms of observation, movement within and   
   >>> analysis of their environment than dogs. As I noted, I've known people   
   >>> that treat their turkey like they would a dog. They just have lost   
   >>> instinctive reactions to the environment. The turkeys seem to want the   
   >>> company. They no longer react to environmental stimuli in the same way   
   >>> that wild turkeys do, and lack the knee jerk reactions. My guess is   
   >>> that we have never evaluated just how intelligent turkeys and chickens   
   >>> are because we eat them. There was that article that I put up several   
   >>> years ago where they determined that baby chicks might be self aware,   
   >>> something that dogs and cats may lack. They noted that if they had a   
   >>> chick isolated even in the presence of mirrors that it would give the   
   >>> gathering call to be with other chicks, but if instead of a mirror they   
   >>> had a window where they could see another chick that they would not give   
   >>> the gathering call. They seemed to know the difference between their   
   >>> reflection and another bird.   
   >>   
   >> I raised turkeys a couple times, and I testify that they are really,   
   >> really dumb. Even dumber than the chickens. They have barely enough   
   >> neural activity to maintain consciousness.   
   >   
   > Ah. Domestic turkeys, the Dan Quayle of birds.   
   >   
   Dogs are definitely self-aware.  A puppy may respond to its reflection,   
   but they quickly recognize that it's just a reflection.  After all,   
   reflection doesn't have a distinctive odor.  They probably are at least   
      
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