Thanksgiving is homegrown in Howard County
Every summer, Maple Lawn Farms in Fulton brings in 20,000 newborn baby turkeys to their grounds. For several months, they feed them, raise them and let them grow in time for Thanksgiving. Farm manager Chris Bohrer says they take a lot of pride in their turkeys because they eat them, too. Learn more about Maple Lawn Farms and its turkeys in the video below the gallery.
- Thousands of turkeys wander in the large outdoor pen at Maple Lawn Farms in Fulton. Within a few weeks, they will all be processed and on dinner tables around Howard County and beyond. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- A turkey perks its head up and looks around at Maple Lawn Farms. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- Maple Lawn has approximately 20,000 turkeys on the farm. They are brought in in June or July when they are very young – in some cases only a day old. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- A turkey at Maple Lawn Farms in Fulton. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- Thousands of turkeys pack into a barn structure at Maple Lawn Farms. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- Chris Bohrer, a police officer in Montgomery County, spends time in the fall on his wife’s family’s turkey farm, Maple Lawn, in Fulton, helping them raise turkeys and get them ready for the Thanksgiving season. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- Turkeys mingle and meander on the Maple Lawn farm. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- Turkeys pack into a barn on Maple Lawn Farms. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- A close-up shows a Maple Farms turkey after it has been harvested, processed and packaged. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- Brothers Derrick Thompson, left, and Jeff Thompson, both of Rockville, prepare boxes for turkeys to be placed in them and shipped. The Thompson brothers are Bohrer’s cousins and help out on the farm. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
- A curious turkey approaches the GoPro camera placed inside the pen. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group)