This Also Is for the Good

There is an encouraging saying in Judaism, "Gamzu l'tova," which means "This also is for the good." Today we received a call from our hatchery telling us they underestimated the demand of turkeys this year and were all sold out of the type of turkey we ordered 2 months ago. What?! No turkeys?! What about our pre-orders?! We are dead in the water! Or so I thought. While the hatchery was out of all the large production breeds, they did still have some heritage breeds, which were small in size and 50% more expensive. Yikes! That's not what first-time turkey growers, who may or may not kill them all the first week, wanted to hear. However the gracious supervisor at the hatchery offered us a substantial discount on the birds so that the difference was less than a dollar! Now we had to rush around and educate ourselves on these different type of turkeys before they arrive next week, so we got out the "Backyard Poultry" magazines and fired up the google search engine and what we found was very exciting. Our turkeys, Bourbon Red and Blue Slate, are rare heritage breeds that have not been genetically bred for super-production, but are very beautiful and natural birds that have outscored production white turkeys in taste test after taste test. These breeds have retained the natural instincts such as, mating, brooding, mothering, and best of all for us, foraging on native grasses. Wow! All of the sudden the pit of despair and disappointment in the bottom of my stomach became a flutter of excitement in my chest. I know we will feel better about raising this type of historical, natural bird, and we hope our customers will, too. We are already planning to hold a few back this year to start a breeding program in order to have a continuous supply of these regal birds. So yes, I think "This also is for the good!"