The price of the turkey that will be served at Thanksgiving has increased due to increases in feed, chicks, fuel, and pretty much every other cost associated with raising turkeys.
Customers are urged to order in advance if they want a fresh bird or to buy now if they want a frozen bird due to the limitation of supply.
The manager of Adrian's Monahan's Meat Market, Stacy Frost, ordered fresh turkeys months ago.
The avian flu was mentioned, but it seems to have passed since it first appeared some months ago, even if Frost is still having trouble locating turkey deli meat.
Due to the difficulty in locating birds, Pat McAuliffe, proprietor of McAuliffe's Meats in Addison, stated that he is not even ordering fresh birds this year.
He had placed a turkey purchase for roughly 100 cases. Depending on the size of the bird, cases often contain two to four turkeys.
He claimed to have discovered turkeys weighing between 14 and 20 pounds, but anything larger was difficult to locate.
He raised fewer birds than the previous year for the first time in the previous 14 years.
Each year, he typically increases his turkey count by 12% to 20%. He had 240 turkeys the previous year, but only 200 this year.