Gobbling Up Records: Exploring the World’s Largest Turkeys

For most people, the turkey served on the Thanksgiving table is a standard supermarket variety, weighing in at a modest 15 to 20 pounds. But out in the wild and on specialty farms, turkeys can grow to monstrous sizes, setting records for the largest of their kind. Just how big can these supersized gobblers get? Let’s take a look at some of the chunkiest champions across turkeydom.

Setting the Record: Tyson the 86-Pound Giant

The Guinness World Record for the heaviest turkey goes to a British bird named Tyson, raised in 1989 by Philip Cook of Leacroft Turkeys Ltd. This is no run-of-the-mill tom turkey. Tyson tipped the scales at a whopping 86 pounds – heavier than some 3-year-old children!

To put that into perspective, an average male wild turkey weighs between 16 and 24 pounds. Tyson outweighed even the largest of the species by over 60 pounds. He was measured at the 1989 London Poultry Show’s annual “heaviest turkey” competition, where he smashed all previous records before being auctioned off for charity.

Thirty-four years later, Tyson’s record still stands as the greatest dressed weight ever recorded for a turkey. At his peak mass, he likely weighed even more than 86 pounds before processing. All hail Tyson, the Sultan of Swell, the Emperor of Excess, the Rhino of Poultry!

Runners Up: More Giant Gobblers

While they can’t compare to the almighty Tyson some other mega turkey toms deserve honorable mentions

• In 2004, a tom raised in Yorkshire, UK named Wallace tipped the scales at 82 pounds, just 4 pounds shy of the record.

• A turkey named Gobbles from Pennsylvania weighed in at 78 pounds in 2020, winning the title of America’s heaviest turkey that year.

• In Minnesota in 2019, a tom named Truett broke records at 70 pounds. He was adopted as the state’s official ceremonial turkey.

• Wild turkeys typically max out around 37 pounds for toms and 16 pounds for hens. But hunters occasionally bag extra chunky wild specimens weighing 60+ pounds.

Though most don’t reach such rhino-rivaling proportions, commercial broad breasted turkeys are bred to be far heavier than their wild ancestors. Average weights range from 28 to 30 pounds for toms and 16 to 18 pounds for hens.

Domestication Changed Turkeys Over Time

Wild turkeys are slim, athletic birds built for flying and evading predators. But after domestication, turkey breeds were selectively bred for meat production, favoring larger, plumper body types.

According to the University of Illinois, turkey domestication began among Native Americans at least 2,000 years ago. The Aztecs had domesticated the birds in Mexico as early as 1100 AD.

Europeans adopted turkey rearing from the Americas in the 16th century. By the 1930s, commercial turkeys averaged around 13 pounds, less than half the size of today’s breeds.

As consumer demand drove the market toward bigger birds, commercial breeds were developed that tipped the scales far beyond natural limits. The Broad Breasted White breed routinely yields the heaviest turkeys today.

Health Issues in Overgrown Turkeys

There are tradeoffs to pushing turkeys beyond their natural size. Analysis by the Humane Society of the United States found that:

• As weight increased 300% from the 1960s, reproduction dropped by over 80%. Heavy toms are too obese to successfully breed.

• Turkeys have extremely high mortality rates, as fast growth strains the body. Up to 5% may die before processing.

• Skeletal disorders, joint disease, heart and lung problems are common in large commercial flocks.

Basically, the breeding focus on weight has severe animal welfare impacts. A more moderate 30 lb tom would have far fewer health issues.

So while we marvel at record-breakers like Tyson, they come at a cost. Perhaps it’s time to shift the focus from turkey tonnage back toward quality of life. After all, it’s not just about quantity when celebrating Thanksgiving.

Record Weights Don’t Equal Record Taste

At the end of the day, while mammoth gobblers impress with their sheer size, many connoisseurs argue that smaller heritage breeds make for better eating.

The meat from comically corpulent Tyson may have tasted downright unpleasant – tough, dry, and swollen with fat. More reasonably trimmed 12-15 lb wild or heritage turkeys offer a balanced flavor superior to the swollen breast meat of commercial giants.

When choosing your holiday bird, consider that biggest isn’t necessarily best. An obese, overgrown turkey is less healthy for you and suffers more throughout its life. Focus on ethical sourcing and outstanding taste. After all, quality matters more than quantity when gathering around the Thanksgiving table with loved ones.