No post-Thanksgiving rest for weary turkey farmers

You'd think a turkey farmer() would get a day off once the Thanksgiving bird reaches the table.At best, chinaim Rischer gets something far less. "I try to work a half-day instead of a full day," says the patriarch of the family that owns Raymond's Farm. "Then I get ready for Christmas." After selling 10,000 birds in the three days leading up to Thanksgiving, the Rischers have to reload to sell another 2,000 before Christmas four weeks later. Then they have to scout out breeding stock. Then they have to plan the spring hatch. Then they have to manage growth through the summer heat. And by late fall, it's time for another , when they sell over half of the 20,000 turkeys they raise each year. The same cycle plays out annually across New England at the dozens of family owned turkey farms offering an alternative to commercial processors. "People just see how busy this is this week," wife Patt Rischer said as the first customer arrived at 6:20 a.m. "It's busy all year." There were no from her son, Jamie, sporting a pair of work gloves and bundled against the outdoor cold. "I love the ," he said. "It's a rush for me." Associate Agriculture Commissioner Scott Soares chinasaid Massachusetts also gets a jolt from the . "With that surge comes the additional employment opportunities," he said. "They bring in part-time help to get them through this holiday rush." Recent video of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin conducting a news conference while a small turkey grower slaughtered his birds created an Internet sensation. Here birds roam in covered pens, their concrete floors buried beneath wood shavings, food and water available in automated bins. When it's time for the slaughter, the turkeys are knocked out with an electrical charge before being processed both by hand and machine.