Dear Turkeys, you rock. That is all. -love, Farmer lady

I just want to take a minute and say that I have been raising turkeys for meat for about four years now. I sell at two farmers markets and do ground turkey (big hit) as well as your classic seasonal guys.

I have raised heritage birds and the industrial whites and bronzes. When I raise the BBW and BBB I don't max out their food and I make sure they have a biiiig yard to roam in (like 25 birds in a half acre kind of big)

I also raise meat chickens.

Why is it that the industrial chicken is surly, mean, disgusting, and utterly without merit (except for speed and carcass) while the equally industrialized turkey is charming, funny, healthy, easy to be around and generally a joy to raise? I have caught myself just standing in their pasture with a turkey herding stick, just watching them and listening to them (sometimes I bring them something shiny like a can for them to obsess about for an afternoon). I feel like a shepherd. I am a combat vet so soothing pastoral livestock is really good for me and the turkeys just seem to fit the bill!

I had a bolt of realization today that if meat chickens didnt sell so well I would never raise them again and if I could raise nothing else it would be turkeys. 

Just sayin'

We live in NC and you need to have a "meat handler's licence" which is free from the state. We used to butcher our own turkeys but when we go into the higher numbers it just became more economical to take them to a processor. So we take our chickens and turkeys to a USDA inspected place and get them back all packaged and ready to go. States have different laws and then farmers markets will have different rules too. It may not be too late to sign up for a market if you have something to sell in the meantime.

But honestly, turkeys are easy to sell. I have sold many many just by putting an ad on craigslist. People buy them live. You should get at least $25 for a mostly  grown bird and around $10 for poults. Let the buyer worry about butchering. Some keep them anyway as pets/breeders.

My processor only uses the breasts and thighs to do ground. Admittedly its one of those things that works with a big old BBW turkey really well. I know someone MUST have a chart that explains what percentage of a turkey's body weight is breast... You could use that to estimate what you will get.

But for all that ground turkey is really good. I use it instead of ground beef in almost everything. Like pasta sauce for example...

I would not try and get any from the drumsstick because of all that connective tissue. But the breast and thigh give a nice flavor since its white and dark together. (I add a little pork fat since we raise hogs too when we do sausage here at home. Its very lean.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by msmeower 

When you take them to a USDA place, do you do the 'killing' (I hate that word here!) or do they? If you do it, how do you do it? We are dabbling in turkeys now and I'd like to do the same type of thing that you are.

Our processor does the whole thing from slaughter to wrapping and freezing and labeling etc etc etc. You can use a state licensed place too, its just that my particular market asks for USDA. We pack the turkeys into crates or boxes or whatever (we build a kind of chickenwire pen in our trailer but that can be a SERIOUS pain in the behind.) Then we drive them the two hours over there. (holding our breath most of the way) 

So far its been fantastic!

Butchering your own turkeys is a chore but not that hard since usually you are only doing a few.