Zen For Turkeys Before Big Day

The holidays can be stressful, not least if you're a turkey.

But relaxed birds are better, so Britain's National Farmer's Union has come up with a soothing plan.

Officials said Monday the organization has sent 114 farmers a compact disk of sounds including birds twittering in the early morning, wind chimes, whale sounds and the gobble of "happy turkeys," to play to their birds.

"It is well known that a stressed bird is more prone to disease," said a spokesman.

"Most of its energy goes into being frightened rather than growing and putting on weight. Many farmers who already play radios in sheds where they keep turkeys also believe the birds taste nicer. The CD is designed to find out what type of music calms birds the most."

The National Farmers' Union came up with the plan after consulting animal behavior experts at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, where the world's first cloned animal, Dolly the sheep, was produced.