What is the best breed to start out with?

[jodief100]

My experience with turkeys is limited to raising the Mammoth Bronzes I buy as pouts and eat or sell at 6 months. I have been raising chickens off and on for 30 years and now woudl like to start raising turkeys. I want a nice meaty bird that will breed naturally. Something with market value as a table bird not just decorative. I want to pasture raise them like I do my chickens. I really want to raise Midget Whites or Beltsville Whites. I spoke with a few turkey breeders and they have encouraged me to start with something else. They say those breeds require some experience to work with.

Does anyone else have that opinion? What breed would y'all recommend? What do you like or dislike about the certain breeds?

 

[chickenlover54]

Quote:
I wouldn't understand why a Midget or Beltsville would require anymore experience than with any other variety

 

[mamawolf544]

I raise 5 heritage breeds and one of them is MW's. They are just like all the other's. The only difference I can tell is they are much friendlier and they are BROODY. But I love mine, they are very easy to care for.

 

[Lagerdogger]

If those are the birds that appeal to you the most, those are the birds you want to start with. My very limited experience with midget whites is that they are not as friendly as narragansetts or bronzes, but others on this site will tell you that they can be very friendly.

 

[MissTurkey4]

If your planning to sell them, research what is in demand where you live. Where I live people want big turkeys that look wild. White does not sell good.

I raise what I like. I find all breeds need a little more TLC than a chicken. All breeds if raised right are friendly.

 

[sebastopol]

Royal Palm and Mallorquín (Turkey of Mallorca) are very healthy and beautiful. Mallorquín turkeys are solid and extremely shinning black, small but with a lot of meat. Sadly, it's a breed in extinction because there isn't interest in preserve the autochthonous breeds for the next generations.
I also have wild Turkeys, the subspecie of Florida.

 

[blkwdw]

to sebastopol : you have the osceola turkey? Are you raising them?

 

[Lotsapaints]

I love my Midgets they are good eating and very friendly and yes they are broody too they lay lots of eggs and I had eggs all through the fall and spring and still laying. I have Bourbons they like to fly and are beautiful too but lay in the early spring and mine are still laying none of those have gone broody yet. Get some of what you like and try it out raising some up right now would work out for spring laying so you could raise some of your own next year.

 

[sebastopol]

Quote:
Yes, but I think this year I'm not going to have good luck because I lost the only male that liked to the female. Besides I live in Spain and it's very dificult to find osceola.

Photos:

Female

Male

2010 babies

Wild babies and 1 Mallorquín

 

[jodief100]

Thank you for the suggestions. I have to add, I live in Kentucky and any of the "wild" strains are illegal to raise here. There are also strict regulations about keeping them contained. So I need a bird that is less flighty.