First Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatchathon- Join us! Set Day: Easter

[karimw]

So we have reached the culmination of my Cinco de Mayo hatch!

We put a 14.2 lb in the electric smoker, a 14.8 in the oven and a 17.2 lb in the roaster. They were the center piece of our first joint family Thanksgiving yesterday. We served 25 people a 90% homegrown meal. I can't say 100 because my sister brought green bean casserole and my sister in laws brought a rice dish and bread. Still, our garden yielded potatoes,sweet potatoes, corn, sour kraut, pickles, peppers, carrots, celery and fresh herbs for the stuffing. 3 years at our farm and we finally pulled it off!

I took pictures of the turkeys, but I can't seem to upload them now.

I'll try again later.

 

[Arielle]

I'm glad you are proud of your effort to put good food on the table--it is a lot of work. Cudos to you!!

My kids are boycotting homegrown birds, so I bought a commercial bird for Thankssfiving. We enjoyed it--very yummy.

Hope everyone had a nice THanksgiving.

 

[mlm Mike]

So we have reached the culmination of my Cinco de Mayo hatch!

We put a 14.2 lb in the electric smoker, a 14.8 in the oven and a 17.2 lb in the roaster. They were the center piece of our first joint family Thanksgiving yesterday. We served 25 people a 90% homegrown meal. I can't say 100 because my sister brought green bean casserole and my sister in laws brought a rice dish and bread. Still, our garden yielded potatoes,sweet potatoes, corn, sour kraut, pickles, peppers, carrots, celery and fresh herbs for the stuffing. 3 years at our farm and we finally pulled it off!

I took pictures of the turkeys, but I can't seem to upload them now.

I'll try again later.

Wow, that's wonderful!
My turkeys will be moving to the freezer Dec.7th.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

So we have reached the culmination of my Cinco de Mayo hatch!

We put a 14.2 lb in the electric smoker, a 14.8 in the oven and a 17.2 lb in the roaster. They were the center piece of our first joint family Thanksgiving yesterday. We served 25 people a 90% homegrown meal. I can't say 100 because my sister brought green bean casserole and my sister in laws brought a rice dish and bread. Still, our garden yielded potatoes,sweet potatoes, corn, sour kraut, pickles, peppers, carrots, celery and fresh herbs for the stuffing. 3 years at our farm and we finally pulled it off!

I took pictures of the turkeys, but I can't seem to upload them now.

I'll try again later.

That is so amazing, great job! What breeds were they?

 

[dsqard]

We also came full circle at Thanksgiving with one of the poults hatched on Cinco de Mayo. He dressed out at 16 pounds

 

[karimw]

That is so amazing, great job! What breeds were they?

Just some of my barn yard mixed colors with a Naragansett and a Black tom over 1 RP, 1 slate and 2 bronze hens. They were mostly bronze or black males and slate and black female. There were 6 toms ranging from 14.2 - 17.5 and 4 hens ranging from 7.8 -8.9. My butcher teased me about needing hazard pay. They were defiantly at prime fighting weight and gave him a bit of trouble. He lost one getting it out of the trailer in fact. It's still roaming about his timber I bet.

 

[karimw]

So we have reached the culmination of my Cinco de Mayo hatch!

We put a 14.2 lb in the electric smoker, a 14.8 in the oven and a 17.2 lb in the roaster. They were the center piece of our first joint family Thanksgiving yesterday. We served 25 people a 90% homegrown meal. I can't say 100 because my sister brought green bean casserole and my sister in laws brought a rice dish and bread. Still, our garden yielded potatoes,sweet potatoes, corn, sour kraut, pickles, peppers, carrots, celery and fresh herbs for the stuffing. 3 years at our farm and we finally pulled it off!

I took pictures of the turkeys, but I can't seem to upload them now.

I'll try again later.

Here they are!

 

[ChooksChick]

Those look awesome, guys!

I tried to eat mine, but since I only hatched 2 Bourbon Red hens, and couldn't bring myself to eat the Royal Palms I'd grown out from Craig'slist, I didn't have my own. We bought one. I'm soooooooo going to do it next year, and I'll be able to hatch my own, since I got a Bourbon Red tom for my birthday!!

I have to share with you guys the best turkey I've ever eaten. I brined it for 24 hours in my favorite brine, then used a new method to roast it, which scared me to death, since I make a mean turkey on my own, usually.

For the brine, use 1 cup of salt per 3 gallons of cold water, swish until dissolved, then add 1t ground allspice and 1c molasses. Add more of the stuff if you need more water, or diminish if you need less. I don't actually ever measure anything, so don't worry if you go over or under, as it's not a precise thing.

Now, go read this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/19/m...er-turkey-too-long.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

I will not lie- it seems like you're ruining your bird. Don't worry about drying the bird off, and put foil down on your oven floor before you heat it. Tent the bird loosely in foil to make it less smoky. It's incredible- best breast I've ever had. I hate white-meat usually!! Melts in your mouth.

I should have Reds' and Palms' eggs available for others this spring as well as a few mixes, because I ended up with a Bronze hen, a Holland White hen and a Blue hen, too...anyone have suggestions for whether these girls should be with the Red or the Palms for interesting mutt colors?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

How much are you planning on selling eggs for? I want some more birds for next year and am trying to decide if I want to go in on a hatchery order with someone else local or get some eggs. I'd prefer to get small farmer's eggs versus hatchery birds.

 

[Arielle]

Renee-- have you looked at Porters turkeys for the colors of each type of turkey?? He lists out the genetics, so that might help you. He has AWESOME pages and beautiful pictures, too.

SCG-- I'm hoping to have a few pens up in the spring. Auburns, sweetgrass, bourbon reds and narigansetts. THe boys are already displaying at 3 months old and bump chests and go at each other. Comical as they are still only 25% grown!! Hens walk away unimpressed. My birds started laying last year the week after we set eggs for this hatch along. ( thinking about how to set up lights for this year!)