America's largest producer of Thanksgiving turkeys has announced a shortage of fresh birds, just as millions of families begin clearing space in their fridge for the holidays. Butterball said Friday that it had fewer than usual fresh large turkeys because its poultry has had trouble gaining weight on some of the company's farms. While there are ample supplies of its frozen large varieties, Butterball told retailers, including East Coast grocery chain Big Y Foods Inc, their orders for fresh turkeys 16 pounds and bigger have been cut by 50 per cent. Shortage: Butterball said Friday that it had fewer than usual fresh large turkeys because its poultry has had trouble gaining weight on some of the company's farms
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Butterball has announced that it has fewer than usual fresh large turkeys this Thanksgiving
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This is because its poultry has had trouble gaining weight on some of the company's farms
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While there are ample supplies of its frozen large varieties, retailers' ordered for fresh turkeys 16 pounds or more have been halved
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The company doesn't know why its birds failed to gain weight and is 'continuing to evaluate all potential causes'
Big Y said it immediately sourced additional turkeys from other suppliers in order to have ample supply for its customers, adding 'All of us at @placeholder will do our best to ensure that our customers have a wonderful turkey for their Thanksgiving meal.'