dont know anything about turkeys

[irishsilkie]

i dont know anything about turkeys but i am looking at keeping a few for christmas dinner what age do you slaughter and what gender what are the best breeds and what sort of height are they as i need to know what size coop many thanks and overall are they worth it what do you feed them would rolled oats or barley do or is it special feed

 

[GitaBooks]

Turkeys are pretty awesome.
Here is a really good book to help: "A Storey's Guide to Raising Turkeys" by Don Schrider (the new edition one, not the older edition).

Best of luck!

 

[JonathanL23]

Turkeys are pretty awesome.
Here is a really good book to help: "A Storey's Guide to Raising Turkeys" by Don Schrider (the new edition one, not the older edition).

Best of luck!

Was going to recommend the same book. Stay away from the meat turkeys. go for a heritage breed. also anything after 6 months is good to eat.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Toms (males) get bigger than hens, but both get big enough to eat.

Here is a list of turkey breeds.

http://albc-usa.etapwss.com/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list#Turkeys

Midget White and Beltsville Small White are smallest, so you probably want one of the other kinds.

The Livestock Conservancy has a free book you can read online all about raising and selling turkeys here:

http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/resources/internal /turkey-manual

If you want, they sell a hardcopy. I don't know how good the book is, I'm just reading it now.