Honest and Abe, the turkeys pardoned by Obama, reside in Virginia

If it weren't for former President Obama, Honest and Abe might have ended up on the turnstile of someone's Thanksgiving. "I'll admit that Honest looks like delicious food, but that's democracy," Obama said during the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony in 2015. "Abe is a free bird now. He CHTIA: Turkey of the United States" (short for Turkey of the United States). At the time, Honest and Abe were just a pair of 18-week-old, 40-pound turkeys from California, about the same age that other turkey breeds are killed and packaged for cooking.

While President Trump pardoned two more turkeys on Tuesday, Honest and Abe are enjoying their second chance at life and spending the rest of their days at Morven Park, a 1,000-acre historic property in Northern Virginia that once belonged to the late Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis.

Life on the estate

Life on the Estate Honest and Abe can't say anything about their life in Morven Park. (They did not answer questions about their lives as rehabilitated turkeys and their Thanksgiving plans). Answering questions on their behalf: Jackie Wright Lee, who runs Morven Park Museum (and deals with turkeys).

Honest and Abe spend their days in the pen at the top of the estate's Turkey Hill, along with another of their avian friends, George, who was raised in the same flock as Honest and Abe. But unlike his pardoned friends, he spent Thanksgiving 2015 ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange before retiring to Morven Park.

At first glance, it's hard to tell the three birds apart. George has a big right foot, so he's easier to identify. As for Abe and Honest, it's all about personality: Abe is the boss in the hierarchy.

"He likes to show his superiority," Wright Lee said. It usually happens at feeding time," she said.

Despite this, life for the three bird friends is far from poor. Honest, Abe and George are almost two and a half years old, which is practically an advanced age for turkeys created for food, which usually live only a few months. They are fed once a day and then roam freely in their enclosure.

Their life at Morven Park is an homage to the estate's past. Before entering politics, former Governor Westmoreland Davis turned some of his property into one of the largest turkey production facilities in the United States, despite having no experience in agriculture. The estate's bird farm was closed after Davis' death in 1942, and the estate itself now operates as a non-profit organization. The pardoned birds' enclosure is in an area that used to be part of the farm's turkey operation.

According to Wright Lee, a former Morven Park employee has campaigned to the National Indian Association, which works with the White House on the annual pardon, to send the turkeys to the estate. Prior to 2013, the pardoned birds were sent to live out their remaining days at Fring Pan Farm Park in Herndon, Virginia, Disney's Circle D (after serving as grand marshals of the Thanksgiving Parade at Disneyland thanks to President George W. Bush) and George Washington's estate, Mount Vernon.

Morven Park's lobbying eventually worked and the turkeys pardoned by President Obama from 2013 to 2015 made it onto the estate.

Maintaining the pardoned turkeys is expensive, however, as the cost of their annual care is estimated to be in the $20,000 to $25,000 range," Wright Lee said. No new pairs of presidential pardoned turkeys are planned for the estate in the near future. "We're not sure we're ready for more turkeys after these guys leave us," Wright Lee said, noting that the decision was based on resources.

So how long will Honest, Abe and George live next to each other before one of them flies into that building in the sky? Unclear, since they are already much older than most heritage breed turkeys should be. Turkeys pardoned in 2013 - Caramel and Popcorn, and 2014 turkeys - Mac and Cheese, all died of natural causes while on the estate.

For now, Abe and Honest can maintain their position as the oldest aged turkeys among pardoned turkeys in the United States. The 2016 couple of the year, Tater and Toth, lead their own best life in an aviary at Virginia Tech College in Blacksburg, Virginia. The 2017 couple of the year, Wishbone and Drumstick, will join them there after being pardoned by Trump.

Wish everyone enjoys the sauce!