40 years ago (10/30/82): I swore they could fly.

[Warpy]

17. Overbred, overfed domestic turkeys can only flap around a little

but that's all, making them great for domestication. Local vet back in New England used to grow his own and they were way too muscleblound to get very far off the ground.

Factoid: Buzzard's Bay in Mass. was misnamed. What the religious nuts thought were buzzards flying overhead were actually wild turkeys. I suppose the Wampanoags clued them in, but the damage was done and the bay stayed misnamed.

Archaeology has shown that most turkeys here in NM died of old age. They were kept for their feathers, the turkey being the only bird that does not bleed when a feather is pulled out. They wince, then just grow another feather. The tribes made them into cloaks and blankets, woven together with yucca fibers. Such items were both waterproof and very warm.