Peas and Carrots, the official Presidential pardoned turkeys, have a new home at Virginia Tech.
Marty Gordon
Contributing writer
Peas and carrots are typical side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner, but this year they are also the names for two turkeys pardoned by US President Donald Trump. The birds will spend their rest of their life at Virginia Tech.
Last Wednesday, they met members of the media, and Friday, they were introduced to the public.
The practice of pardoning turkeys before Thanksgiving dates to President Abraham Lincoln who gave clemency to a turkey in 1863 but didn’t begun official until Ronald Reagan started having “pardoning” ceremony at the White House. Robert Kennedy also proclaimed that another turkey would be saved from Thanksgiving dinner.
The Virginia Tech connection was started three years ago as the pardoned birds have made their way to Blacksburg to Gobblers Rest, a comfortable coup at the university’s Livestock Judging Pavilion.
Rami Dalloui is world-renowned poultry immunologist at Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences. He said the university’s great relationship with the National Turkey Federation has spurred the trip here.
“With the large number of birds produced in Virginia, it has only been natural they come here,” he said.
An estimated 17 million turkeys are produced in the Commonwealth on an annual basis, and those numbers have continued to steadily climb over the past five years.
“The research here at the university has also helped to initiate their arrival on our campus,” Dalloui said.
Peas and Carrots were raised on a farm from South Dakota. An online contest chose their names before they met Trump in the Rose Garden. They were treated to fanfare typically limited to world-dignitaries and spent the night in a Ritzy Washington hotel before making the trip south to their new homes. Most of the time they were also guarded by members of the Secret Service.
Peas won the popular vote to be the official bird, and Carrots is his wingman. Trump said Peas won in a fair and open election, but Carrots had demanded a recount.
Dalloui said the bird’s presence on campus will also help to educate the public and is great for the university as a whole to continue its poultry research.
Signs at each bird’s roost describe the differences in the two. Peas has a height of 30 inches and weighs in at 39 pounds. His wingspan is 36 inches.
Peas is a little more country as he prefers music by Brad Paisley and his favorite snack is popcorn. His gobble style is more boisterous than Carrot, and his favorite sport is ice fishing. Peas’ favorite pastime is watching planes and jets, and his goal is to learn to fly.
Carrots is 32 inches tall and weighs in at 41 pounds with a wingspan of 36 inches. His music taste is definitely different than Peas as he enjoys Elvis. His favorite snack is M&Ms, and his gobble style is strong and confident.
Carrots’ favorite sport is listed as Telemark snow skiing, while his favorite pastime is yoga. His goal was to meet the Hokie bird, which he accomplished the day after his pardon by the President.
An estimated 1,000 people a day visited the birds last year during three different open houses. This year’s date drew hundreds as it was shortly before kickoff of the Tech and UVA football game.
The pardoned turkeys are bred to be eaten, so they have a very short lifespan. Others like them, Tater and Tots and Wishbone and Drumstick, have since passed to the great turkey heaven in the sky. But Peas and Carrots’ remaining years will be spent as celebrities in Blacksburg.
Calvin Hau is a clinical veterinarian at the university’s vet school who will be the bird’s personal physician while here.
“We will make sure their bedding, feeding and water are well-maintained, while making their experience here safe and happy,” he said.
