# Are Turkeys Ungodly Expensive EVERYWHERE?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2011, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930 "2011-12-21T06:20:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/21 "2011-12-22T03:58:24Z")
First of all, NEVER buy Jennie O. I don’t know what it is, but they suck. Butterball’s okay, but we’ve found that the Winn Dixie brand browns much better. Maybe because it’s not all shot thru with fat. A few weeks ago our Winn Dixie had their turkeys on sale for $.59 a pound. We always buy one that weighs right around 15 pounds, because that’s what fits in my roasting pan. It should have cost around $20.00. We got it for $8.00. We bought two. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/22 "2011-12-22T04:14:42Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Think about it from the other perspective. The farmer, be it a family farmer or a multi-national conglomerate, needs to raise that turkey from birth to a weight of 12 pounds. This takes approximately half a year. It takes food. Let’s estimate that at a staggeringly low 4 cents a day. I don’t think your estimate is staggeringly low. We raised ducks when I was a kid during the 90s, and it’d take 4 months for 10 ducks to eat a 50lb bag of feed. $12 for a bag of feed was $3/month divided by 10 birds was 30 cents a month each, divided by 30 days…and this was at Agway’s prices (these days it’s gone up to $13-5 according to [these fellows](http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=217802). Unless you buy organic, then it’s almost 3x that. I found non-organic turkey feed for $12.50 per 50lb bag too); I’d imagine that any sort of farm would pay far less than retail consider they buy it in such bulk. Our ducks were a mixed flock of domestic mallards and [pekins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekin_duck), the latter of which are in the 8-11lb range, so I don’t imagine the turkey farmers going through feed too much more than twice as fast, either. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/23 "2011-12-22T06:04:12Z")
We don’t have Winn Dixies here. I would have bought the Jennie O if it were reasonably priced because it’s going to be BBQ’d. But since I got a reasonable Honeysuckle, I’ll happily eat a meal off it just roasted and then BBQ the rest! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/24 "2011-12-22T14:57:03Z")
I will say that I can get damn near 10 days worth of food for my family out of a good sized turkey between the meat itself and then boiling it down into broth and making a crapton of turkey soup from the carcass. The initial layout is a little large but the per meal price is really very good. This assumes you make soup out of it and aren’t dead tired of turkey flavored meals by Day Four and junk it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/25 "2011-12-22T15:05:56Z")
A fresh turkey from Costco will cost me over $40. Mind you, that’s for an 18 or 19 pounder. And as **Jophiel** says, we’ll get leftovers for a few days and then I’ll make soup or enchiladas or something to freeze and we’re good for another half dozen meals. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/26 "2011-12-22T15:07:51Z")
I bought a 15.3 lb. partially frozen Butterball yesterday to try deep frying for the first time. It was $30, so roughly $2 bucks a pound. The standing rib roasts looked awesome and were around $10 / lb. I haven’t really thought out our holiday meals yet though and probably should before I drop $80 on a package. I did just pick up my venison from the processor. That’ll be the most per pound I pay for any kind of meat by an extremely large margin. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/27 "2011-12-22T15:49:17Z")
Don’t you get free turkeys with your store savings card? Every store in my area has their own version of this deal. Like this: \*Spend $300.00 from Sunday, October 16 thru Thursday, November 24, 2011 to qualify. Here’s How It Works: Present your same Price Plus® club card to cashier each time you shop from October 16 thru November 24, 2011. Price Plus club membership is required to participate. If you are not a member, sign up today to get your Free Price Plus card and start saving right away. Spend the required amount to get a Free Turkey, Ham, Turkey Breast, Kosher Chicken, Lasagna or Tofurky. Or, you can get the equivalent savings per lb. toward the purchase of any other whole turkey, turkey breast, ham or Tur-duc-hen. \* ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/28 "2011-12-22T16:50:56Z")
Nope, no free turkeys to be found at the 2 stores I frequent the most. Hell, the cheap bastards I work for didn’t even give us a turkey… not even a dinner at work. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/29 "2011-12-22T17:08:27Z")
As a further comment to the price of turkeys, a “utility turkey” is typically just a normal turkey with an imperfection, like a missing wing or a tear in the skin or something. Utility turkeys are about half the price in this neck of the woods, ~ $1 lb vs. $2/lb. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/30 "2011-12-22T18:13:04Z")
For ungodly expensive, check out an “heirloom” or “heritage” turkey. As is repeated on numerous nightly news and trivia shows, most turkeys today are created through artificial insemination because they’ve been bread to have breasts so big that they can’t reproduce naturally (and in fact they can barely walk). There are, however, some farms that breed turkeys that are, essentially, the same as the Pilgrims/Native Americans/early settlers would have eaten. The birds are scrawnier, leaner, much smaller breasts, bigger legs, and they still reproduce the old fashioned way (i.e. a bottle of sweet red wine, putting on some Barry White albums, velvet bedspread if possible). Cost of these turkeys is closer to $10 per pound; expect to pay well over $100 for a single turkey. I’m guessing that they taste like the wild turkeys I ate a couple of times as a boy in which case they are gamier and- yes, I would say ‘better’- but not “10 times” better than regular store bought turkeys. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/31 "2011-12-22T18:17:38Z")
$24 for a turkey sounds pretty reasonable. I was expecting you to say something way higher. ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/32 "2011-12-22T18:19:57Z")
I just paid a bit over $13 for a chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/33 "2011-12-22T22:35:07Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > As a further comment to the price of turkeys, a “utility turkey” is typically just a normal turkey with an imperfection, like a missing wing or a tear in the skin or something. > > Utility turkeys are about half the price in this neck of the woods, ~ $1 lb vs. $2/lb. I feel ripped off. We opened our turkey two nights ago and it had a gimpy wing and we still paid 1.49 a lbs for it. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/34 "2011-12-23T17:21:43Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Think about it from the other perspective. Try thinking about it from the _other_ other perspective – what it cost the turkey. > [@Enderw24](#): > > It’s just that I’ve never understood how meat (any meat) actually comes to us so cheaply given the cost of what it takes to bring that meat to the store. Government subsidies. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930/35 "2011-12-23T17:47:18Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > It’s just that I’ve never understood how meat (any meat) actually comes to us so cheaply given the cost of what it takes to bring that meat to the store. > [@Sailboat](#): > > Government subsidies. Indeed. [Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac?](http://www.pcrm.org/good-medicine/2007/autumn/health-vs-pork-congress-debates-the-farm-bill) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-turkeys-ungodly-expensive-everywhere/606930.md?page=1)