Turkey Talk for 2014

Chad Cool said:

Hello everyone I need help. I have a person that said they will sale me a breeding pair of Bourbon Red Turkeys for $120 they are 2 years old also included is a hen that is not one year old yet but will be by June. Is this a good deal or not.

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dheltzel said:

It's not a bad deal, depending on what you want. If you want to breed them and hatch poults, this will probably be cheaper than buying eggs, considering you may get 120 eggs or more from 2 good hens. $1 each is cheap for eggs and you still have he breeders for next year. Not sure how to figure feed costs in that.

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dheltzel said:

Quote:
So basically you're getting 3 turkeys for $120, a breeding pair (does this mean proven fertility, or just seen breeding?) plus an extra young hen. If their quality is good and you want them for hatching eggs, then it's a steal -- Buy them now! If their quality is poor and you want them for hatching eggs, then even free would be too expensive, because you only want to breed good quality birds, or at least the best quality birds you can afford, to get good quality poults. Otherwise it's a really long road to go towards the breed standard. On the other hand, if you want them for just the pleasure of having a trio of turkeys, with lots of eggs for breakfast as a bonus, then that's a good deal, if you prefer to start with adult or teenage birds, and if they're not aggressive.

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Sydney Acres said:

So basically you're getting 3 turkeys for $120, a breeding pair (does this mean proven fertility, or just seen breeding?) plus an extra young hen. If their quality is good and you want them for hatching eggs, then it's a steal -- Buy them now! If their quality is poor and you want them for hatching eggs, then even free would be too expensive, because you only want to breed good quality birds, or at least the best quality birds you can afford, to get good quality poults. Otherwise it's a really long road to go towards the breed standard. On the other hand, if you want them for just the pleasure of having a trio of turkeys, with lots of eggs for breakfast as a bonus, then that's a good deal, if you prefer to start with adult or teenage birds, and if they're not aggressive.

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SilkieSensation said:

Turkeys don't get tough with age like chickens do. Heritage birds do get more flavor with age though. Your only concern is if they will get bigger than you want them.

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Sydney Acres said:

SilkieSensation said:

Turkeys don't get tough with age like chickens do. Heritage birds do get more flavor with age though. Your only concern is if they will get bigger than you want them.

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By not getting tough with age, do you mean they're not tough at 1 year, or they're still not tough at 5 years? 

I was at a farmer's expo last week and sat next to a group talking about their last Thanksgiving turkey during lunch.  He was a BBB, and was 9 months old by the time the holiday arrived.  They said he was 35 lbs, dressed weight.  At that point I had to stop ease dropping and join the conversation.  I asked if he still tasted good, and if they had to cook him differently because of his age, referring to putting him in a dutch oven or some other method of tenderizing tough meat.  They said he tasted great, better than most in fact, but that they did have to change the way they cooked him.  They normally bake their birds breast up, but he was too big to fit in the oven, so they had to cut him in half, from breast to back, and bake each side separately, thigh up!

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Chad Cool said:

This is the breeding pair.

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Chad Cool said:

This is the breeding pair.

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chicken pickin said:

very pretty! But that Tom is not a Bourbon Red.

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