--- title: Tinier Turkeys Are Trending for This Thanksgiving description: Smaller birds are becoming a bigger trend for Thanksgiving as eaters want less leftovers, grocers and turkey producers suggest. canonical: https://time.com/5455949/small-turkeys-thanksgiving/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-15T17:27:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:56:03.187Z og:title: Tinier Turkeys Are Trending for This Thanksgiving og:description: Research suggests smaller birds are becoming more popular for Thanksgiving og:url: https://time.com/5455949/small-turkeys-thanksgiving/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02503c6a9735a0a9/69893f3f97cdff22a06b6bc8/thanksgiving-turkeys.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Turkeys Raised On California Farm og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Tinier Turkeys Are Trending for This Thanksgiving twitter:description: Research suggests smaller birds are becoming more popular for Thanksgiving twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02503c6a9735a0a9/69893f3f97cdff22a06b6bc8/thanksgiving-turkeys.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Tinier Turkeys Are Trending for This Thanksgiving 2018  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 15, 2018 5:27 PM UTC  Broad Breasted White turkeys stand in their enclosure at Tara Firma Farms on November 21, 2017 in Petaluma, California. An estimated forty six million turkeys are cooked and eaten during Thanksgiving meals in the United States. Broad Breasted White turkeys stand in their enclosure at Tara Firma Farms on November 21, 2017 in Petaluma, California. An estimated forty six million turkeys are cooked and eaten during Thanksgiving meals in the United States.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 15, 2018 5:27 PM UTC We all know the saying: less is more. While that doesn’t normally apply to a [Thanksgiving feast](http://time.com/5392851/hurricane-florence-thanksgiving-turkeys/), it seems to be a mantra taking hold more and more for American eaters, according to new reports about poultry trends. [_Bloomberg_ reports](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-15/millennials-are-disrupting-thanksgiving-with-their-tiny-turkeys) that smaller [turkeys](http://time.com/5023275/thanksgiving-turkey-alternatives/) are breaking big this year, noting that inventories of whole hens are down, shoppers are snapping up smaller birds from grocers and some breeders are even developing a distinctive six-pound turkey type (not yet for sale). Experts are suggesting that smaller family sizes, alternative gastronomic interests and increased desire to avoid food waste could be reasons behind the new trend. (So, yeah, this one can be pinned on millennials too.) “People are starting to understand it’s not natural to grow turkeys up to 30 pounds,” Ariane Daguin of food company D’Artagnan LLC told Bloomberg. At Thanksgiving, as many as [45 million turkeys](http://time.com/5022315/turkeys-killed-thanksgiving/) are killed for the annual feast. But turkey has become somewhat less popular over the years, with vegetarian and vegan options proliferating, the American palate evolving and household residents dwindling. And as Daguin noted, the first Thanksgiving was just as likely to feature venison as turkey — making the traditional bird less of a centerpiece to the occasion than perhaps we’ve come to think of it over the years. Just don’t tell that to the turkey who [will get pardoned](http://time.com/5032154/turkey-pardon-2017/) at the White House this year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5455949/small-turkeys-thanksgiving/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5455949/small-turkeys-thanksgiving/"},"headline":"Tinier Turkeys Are Trending for This Thanksgiving 2018","datePublished":"2018-11-15T17:27:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:56:03.187Z","description":"Thanks, millennials!","url":"https://time.com/5455949/small-turkeys-thanksgiving/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink","Holidays","Thanksgiving"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02503c6a9735a0a9/69893f3f97cdff22a06b6bc8/thanksgiving-turkeys.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02503c6a9735a0a9/69893f3f97cdff22a06b6bc8/thanksgiving-turkeys.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Turkeys Raised On California Farm","caption":"Turkeys Raised On California Farm","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5455949/small-turkeys-thanksgiving/","name":"Tinier Turkeys Are Trending for This Thanksgiving 2018"}}]}] ```