Uggghh....Have I let them get too big? I did it!!!!!!!!!!!

[Armageddon]

I dont even know what to say....for a long time I have known these Turkeys are getting too big. I've been worried about this for a couple of MONTHS...

I've been meaning to get the the processing but, things have been amazingly busy and the Turkeys keep waiting.

Here I am a COMPLETE novice, with two ENORMOUS Turkeys!!

They are so big that there is NO WAY they are going into a cone....any suggestions on how to kill them kindly without a cone? I really dont want them to bruise themselves all up...Will they even be edible at this size?

At what age are they normally processed? I bought these two at a feed store in May....

Any advice?

 

[duck walk]

I feel your pain and I will share one of my supreme moments of total dumbness...one spring I bought 50 turkey babies...the broad breasted white ones...going to raise them and sell them at Thanksgiving...I fed them a lot and fed them well and fed them more...come November and time to process, the toms wheighed between 45 and 51 lbs dressed...my son and I were in charge of processing them...my husband was useless in that regard...cone? Oh hell no! We had to take them by the wings one on each side and march them to the chopping block they were so big...I was begging people to take them alive for free if they processed them...one of my friends said hers was so big they had to cut him in half to get him in the cooker...I had nightmares for weeks about killing T-rex sized turkeys...swore I would never have another live one...and I have not...they did taste good...roasted up very nicely...smoked nicely...everyone was pleased but dear God! It was a horror show for me! By the time it was all over and done with I think those turkeys were worth about 300 $ a pound...

 

[Tunastopper]

At what age are they normally processed? I bought these two at a feed store in May....

Hens are marketed between 14 and 16 weeks of age. At this age hens will typically weigh from 14.7 to 17.5 pounds. Toms are often marketed between 17 and 20 weeks of age and will weigh from 26.4 to 32.3 pounds.

They are so big that there is NO WAY they are going into a cone....any suggestions on how to kill them kindly without a cone? I really dont want them to bruise themselves all up...Will they even be edible at this size?

See if they fit in a large feed bag with a whole cut for the head. My oats come in a over sized bag. I sometimes use duck tape and twine where needed. You Tube has some video's to give you the idea of what I am talking about.

The hardest part is going to be scalding a big heavy bird. After they are wet they weigh even more. I was younger and fit when I did a big bird. I don't think I could do a big one now.​

 

[Armageddon]

LOL! That actually makes me feel better......for one, I am not the only one who has let this go one TOO long and two, they may still be edible...after all the work and all the worry.... I am worried about the whole process though...I dont know how to kill them properly. I have the rest of the processing equipment ready and maybe even a friend to help me.....Thank goodness I only have TWO!!! and not FIFTY.

 

[Tunastopper]

There is alot of info on You Tube.

I learned from talking to some homesteaders and books. I had nobody to show me. I made some mistakes with the first one. It also took forever and some of the skin ripped. Once I learned how to get a good scald without cooking the skin I did better.

 

[Armageddon]

OH!!! Yes!! thats a fabulous idea!! a feed bag might work!! I'll have to find a canvas one, more of my feeds come in paper...but, I have ahd some in canvas...

I have worried about the scalding and have rigged a pulley on my patio... AFTER the deed is done and they are bled I can tie up the feet and dunk up and down over a 55 gallon galvanized drum with scalding water.

I am sooo dreading this......WHAT was I thinking?!??!

 

[Armageddon]

Oh AND my DH and I are at odds over what is HUMANE......I've been reading here and I have chickens..and I KNOW that holding them upside down is calming for the bird....I would have doen this myself if it weren't for the size they have become.

However, HE says that it's cruel and that we need to shoot them with a shotgun...he says it will be INSTANT, that they wont flop around or bruise themselves etc....

ugh ugh ugh

 

[Chef]

Quote:
LOL... guys and their guns. It may be instant but I don't think that is gonna stop them from flopping around. You can chop the heads off and they still flop around. So I don't think the shotty is gonna be much different. Just a lot louder and dangerous

Good luck!


Chef

 

[duck walk]

SHOTGUN!!!??? What kind of little pellets do you like with your turkey? Sharp knife...steady hand...quick beheading...and hold on for dear life as they are going to flop around...I have to admit, some of those big birds we had were shot in the head with a .22...we just could not lift them...biggest darn turkeys I have ever seen...shudder...nightmares...

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Try this thread, Buster did some large turkeys last year.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=250526

Steve