SOME of the most exclusive turkeys in the country are being reared at the College of West Anglia and will be ready for collection in Wisbech in time for the Christmas festivities.

Students at the college are learning how to care for the award winning KellyBronze turkeys as part of their farm studies - and prestigious customers of the birds include TV chefs Jamie Oliver and Delia Smith.

This is the second year the college has been a franchisee of KellyBronze turkeys, and students at the Milton Campus of the college have learned about handling and caring for the poultry, as well as getting involved in marketing.

The birds arrive at Woodside Farm in Milton at five weeks old and stay there until maturity. They are given fresh straw every day and have the choice of being inside or outside during the day, and are housed at night.

KellyBronze turkeys have won numerous awards, including winning a Quality British Turkey Award for eight years in a row and most recently, the Pig and Poultry Award for Welfare. A food magazine produced by The Observer said they were “bred, fed and reared under optimum ethical conditions”.

“The 100 award-winning turkeys on the farm are a valuable teaching resource for the students,” said farm operations teaching support officer, Fran Cook. “Students learn about the day-to-day handling of the birds and help with marketing.”

The turkeys sell for an average of �40-�80. Birds reared at Milton can be ordered from the KellyBronze website from now until mid-December at www.kellybronzefarmers.co.uk/collegewestanglia or by calling Fran on 07901 260794.

Turkeys can be collected from Isle Campus in Wisbech on 23rd December from 3pm until 7pm or from King’s Lynn Campus on 24th December from 3pm until 6pm.