Are turkeys stupid?

Have you heard that turkeys aren't very smart?  Many of us have heard stories about how turkeys are so stupid, they will keep their heads turned up to the rain with their mouths open until they drown.  Do you believe this? 
Here is my turkey, Cherokee.  What do you think he's doing?

He's making me laugh for one thing!  He knows that his feed is kept in this can and as soon as I open it,  he is trying to get in to get as much food as he can.  When I picked him up and took him out of this can his mouth was so full of food he couldn't swallow.  Probably hard to eat upside down!  Often, I will find him lingering around the can during the day sometimes trying to open it.

Check out this video of my four Tom turkeys.  When I let them out of their house, they have a habit of running down our driveway to cross the road.  Why do turkeys cross the road?  That I can't figure out.  But I do know that as soon as I call 'Gobble Gobble' in a loud voice, they come running!

My turkeys all respond to my 'Gobble Gobble' call because I have said this everytime I've fed them since they were little.  If you come to the farm and yell 'Gobble Gobble' they will often all answer back. 

So, are turkeys stupid?  I don't think so.  As for the rumor about drowning in the rain, I have read many theories.  One that makes sense is that sometimes, in spite of their coat of waterproof feathers, a turkey will get cold in the rain and actually die of hypothermia and not from drowning. 

We'll talk more about turkeys this month!