“What happened when the turkey got into a fight?”/“He got the stuffing knocked out of him.”

A popular Thanksgiving turkey riddle is:
 
Q: What happened when the turkey got into a fight?
A: He got the stuffing knocked out of him.
 
Jokes about a turkey getting “the stuffing knocked out” have been cited in print since at least 1889. The Thanksgiving riddle has been cited in print since at least 2001.
 
 
13 December 1889, The Daily Citizen (Asheville, NC), pg. 3, col. 2:
“There is a great deal of difference between a game rooster and a turkey,” remarked the sporting editor to the snake editor.
 
“The turkey won’t fight.”
 
“That’s it. No matter how well trained or “tough’ it may be, it always gets the ‘stuffing’ knocked out of it.”
 
28 November 1912, St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch, “Wray’s Column,” pg. 14, col. 4:
TURKEY has a right to feel all cut up, today. It had the stuffing knocked out of it recently, too.
 
19 November 1995, Greenville (SC) News, pg. 2F, col. 3:
Answer to Nov. 19 Cryptoquip:
WHEN THE WARLIKE TURKEYS DECIDED TO FIGHT, IT SEEMS THEY LL GOT THE STUFFING KNOCKED OUT OF THEM.
 
21 November 2001, The Star Democrat (Easton, MD), , “THanksgiving Riddles and Jokes,” pg. 8A, col. 2:
What happened when the turkey got into a fight?
He got the stuffing knocked out of him.
 
Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
Kids Puns Of The Weak 11-30-04
Stan Kegel
11/30/04
(...)
What happened when the turkey got into a fight?
He got the stuffing knocked out of him. (GMNI Rising)
   
Google Groups: Angelique’sSmorgaabord
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11/22/07
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Q: What happened when the turkey got into a fight?
A: He got the stuffing knocked out of him…
 
Twitter
karlameachem
‏@karlameachem
What happened to the turkey who got into a fight?  He got the stuffing knocked out of him.  LOL
4:20 PM - 12 Oct 2008
 
Google Books
The Happy Classroom:
From Ha-Ha to A-Ha
By Janet Aaker Smith
Marion, IL: Pieces of Learning
2011
Pg. 87:
What happened when the turkey got into a fight?
He got the stuffing knocked out of him.
 
Google Books
Insults Anywhere Kids Presents
Hundreds Of Kids Jokes They Can Tell Anywhere!
By Franklin Yantz
Published by Insults Anywhere at Smashwords
2011
Pg. ?:
Q: What happened when the turkey got into a fight?
A: He got the stuffing knocked out of him!
 
29 November 2013, Filipino Reporter (New York, NY), “New meaning, new directions,” pg. 25:
What happened when the turkey got into a fight?
He got the stuffing knocked out of him!
   
Google Books
Thanksgiving Jokes For Kids
By Peter Crumpton
PeteyRF Creative
2015
Pg. ?:
What happened when the turkey got into a fight?
He got the stuffing knocked out of him.