“Since Turkey had been eaten for many years before the question came up”
Actually that is not true; no Jew ever saw a turkey until 1493. The Rema lived from 1520 to 1572.
“A turkey unto G-d”
LOL! The “hodu” as applied to the bird comes from India, from where it was mistakenly thought to have originated. (“Hodu” is also the Hebrew word for India, from “Hindu”. You find the word in Megillat Esther.)
Rabbi Ari Z. Zivotofsky has a nice article on the kashrut issues regarding turkey; it was published in *Journal of Halachah and Contemporary Society* in 1998 and can be found through a quick internet search. As always, CYLOR.