Schaffner clan talks turkey

WAUSEON, Ohio - Let's talk turkey - 77 to be exact.

Right now they're in a pen in Tim Schaffner's barn in Wauseon, roosting, gobbling and listening to different genres of music piped in to annoy and discourage interested raccoons. By Thursday they'll all be stuffed and dressing dozens of area Thanksgiving Day tables.

"My dad used to say, 'The only thing dumber than a turkey is the guy that raises them,'" Schaffner says with a smile.

But it's a tradition within his family, one started in the 1940s by his grandparents, Alfred and Zelma Figy. Along with Dr. Lee Botts they began the Botts and Figy Poultry Farm, where they raised 10,000 turkeys a year. Then Schaffner's dad started raising a few, and since his death three years ago Schaffner and his siblings have taken over, providing for friends' and neighbors' holiday feasts.

"If you've ever had a fresh turkey you'll never go back to a frozen one," he said proudly. "It's kind of like comparing a Kia to a Cadillac."

Every June, the Schaffner clan buys about 80 two-week-old turkeys from Cooper Hatchery in Oakwood, Ohio. They are raised into the fall, eating their way through about 500 pounds of a feed mix each week. By November, they can weigh 25 to 30 pounds each, and more.

They're inquisitive birds and fairly docile, Schaffner says, although turkey personalities sometimes clash. Two of them in a group raised two years ago constantly fought, prompting them to be named Bob and Steve, after local political representatives Steve Buehrer and Bob Latta.

At approximately 4:30 a.m. the Tuesday before Thanksgiving the turkeys are shipped to a processing farm in Leipsic, Ohio, then picked up Wednesday fully-prepared and ready to be packaged. The birds are plucked up by Fulton County customers at a cost hovering around $50 each that allows the family to break even on costs.

"It's not your 39-cent (per pound) Kroger's bird," Schaffner says. "If you had one you would know. There's something about a locally-raised turkey. You know there's a difference."

He says because they taste so good it's not hard to raise them over several months, then watch them meet their fate: "After growing up with them, not really."

Schaffner remembers the old days, when his grandfather killed the turkeys by sticking their heads in a funnel before wielding a sharp knife. Occasionally, when he receives an early order, Schaffner himself will still do the honors.

"It's not a money-making process," he says. "It's kind of a family process. We just do it for a hobby. We just thought we'd continue to do what my dad and grandfather started."

His uncle, Jim Figy, was part of the mom-and-pop operation that started it all.

"It was nothing fancy, but we stressed a very clean finished product," Figy says.

Back then, Dr. Botts and the Figys raised open-range turkeys, and processed about 2,000 for the holidays.

"We took very good care of the birds ... and then we did what we had to do," he says. "My philosophy is, if you put a good turkey in the freezer, you'll take a good turkey out. A fresh turkey has an appeal to the consumer."

And yes, Schaffner says, turkeys probably are as dumb as their reputation holds, although "they're not really a lot of work," requiring about a half-hour's worth of attention daily.

The family venture will continue with his brothers and sisters as long as possible, then the next generation will likely take over, Schaffner says. Having gone on for decades, most everyone lends a hand, although one exception is his squeamish wife.

"She doesn't want to be anywhere around them," he says, grinning.

(The Fulton County Expositor newspaper is a FOX Toledo News media partner)