A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[duluthralphie]

The owner showed up today and picked up his missing bird. She does come from either a Narragansett or part Narragansett hen that was bred by a Red Bronze tom which means that she probably does have some Bourbon Red in her.

He also took my 3 1/2 year old Self Blue tom with him. He was totally free range and not fed by me this past summer. He dressed out at 18 1/2 lbs. after the removal of many lbs. of pure fat. He has at least an 1/8" layer of fat under his skin and was so greasy after being cleaned that it was impossible to hold onto the carcass. I know he ate a multitude of russian olives.

How sad!!

I was reading a happy story about him taking your 3 1/2 year old Tom, thinking this hen will have company... Then the tale took a dastardly turn as I figured out he forgot to take the head with him..


BTW that's a nice sized carcass for a heritage.





My turkeys are not as dumb as I had hoped. I went out to put everyone to bed. Ethel and one other hen were in the chicken coop again. The others followed me, I saw they had lots of shell corn and BOSS on the ground in their pen. I went and got the bucket from by Bert's pen, and started walking back to the turkey pen. Not one turkey followed me. I shook the bucket pounded on the side of it, and they stood there and looked at me like I was an idiot. I called them. They stayed perfectly still talking amongst themselves. I figured out they must know the bucket is empty. I went around one shed snuck into the shed with the grain in it. I put 8 inches or so in the bottom and walked out. Every stinking turkey was right there, following me like I was the pied piper of turkeys. I went into the pen and pretended to dump some grain (treats) on the ground where the left over treats were.


Again not one turkey came into the pen. They just looked at me, staring waiting for me to actually dump them some grain. I tipped a few handfuls on the ground and they all came running in. except for Ginger and a couple others. I finally got all of them into the pen except one. A stupid little hen that I think Coffee should own. I chased her around and around and around. She ran by the door every time.

I went and ran the turkeys into the turkey house. No small feat, mind you. I blocked them in with a piece of OSB. When the turkeys were out of sight the hen went bat poop crazy! I caught her and carried her into the pen and let her go, she was making that " I am lost" noise and the "HELP he is going to hurt me" noise. which got all the turkeys and chickens screaming. It was not a fun time. I put her in the pen and she ran around screaming "the sky is falling" and "I am lost" I knocked the OSB down blocking the door.
JJ and Sidekick were the first two out, running to her side. I think I got the middle toe and was called Bellybutton again tonight.


Something is up though, the toms are really fighting. Even JJ was putting the run on Sidekick today. I am not sure if it is just JJ ensuring his top tom spot or the hens are in "heat". Do turkeys and chicken go into heat?

 

[memphis]

Yeah right! I was thinking the same thing Ralph! So R2elk....let me get this straight. You had a fat Tom running free for over three years eating Russian olives. ( What the heck is a Russian olive?) So fatso survived all that time without getting taken out by a predator or any free lunches? How did you even catch him? And his layer of fat....do you have to remove that before cooking? I've never heard anyone mention layers of turkey fat before. I'm assuming it's not a common thing.

 

[memphis]

Ralphie....those boys know the girls are getting ready to lay. Better get them separated into breeding pen!

 

[duluthralphie]

Yeah right! I was thinking the same thing Ralph! So R2elk....let me get this straight. You had a fat Tom running free for over three years eating Russian olives. ( What the heck is a Russian olive?) So fatso survived all that time without getting taken out by a predator or any free lunches? How did you even catch him? And his layer of fat....do you have to remove that before cooking? I've never heard anyone mention layers of turkey fat before. I'm assuming it's not a common thing.

My turkeys all had layers of fat. I took out huge lumps of fat when I processed..


Russian Olive is an invasive species with an edible fruit it is nitrogen fixing ( think Legume) and will grow on poor soil..... I looked it up on google, I want some for my poor soil, but Minnesota says they are illegal. I am thinking of driving to R2elk's and getting 55 gallon barrel full of seeds.

 

[duluthralphie]

Ralphie....those boys know the girls are getting ready to lay. Better get them separated into breeding pen!

I am afraid you're right, I need to get my butt in gear.

 

[memphis]

I just remember Aurora talking about Adam bleeding her hens well before she saw any eggs. That combined with how long a hen stays fertile after a breeding....you may want separate them before Penguin sneaks in under the radar. I got a kick out of Ethel. She's found a snug place to hang out. I can't fool my turkeys, they seem to know when I'm trying to fake them out. Twerps!

Aurora! So excited the turkey eggs are doing so well! Can't wait to see the babies!

 

[Lozuufy]

My turkeys all had layers of fat. I took out huge lumps of fat when I processed..


Russian Olive is an invasive species with an edible fruit it is nitrogen fixing ( think Legume) and will grow on poor soil..... I looked it up on google, I want some for my poor soil, but Minnesota says they are illegal. I am thinking of driving to R2elk's and getting 55 gallon barrel full of seeds.

We call them Autumn Olives here, they are probably my favorite fruit. They grow everywhere around here. I think the seeds have to go through a digestive system before they can sprout, but not 100% sure of that.

Oh and if you blend the fruit up and then strain it to get the seed bits out then pour a thin layer in a baking pan it makes the BEST fruit-leather EVER. Especially if you add a bit of apple cider when you blend them up.

Thought I'd jump in lol...

 

[R2elk]

How sad!!

I was reading a happy story about him taking your 3 1/2 year old Tom, thinking this hen will have company... Then the tale took a dastardly turn as I figured out he forgot to take the head with him..


BTW that's a nice sized carcass for a heritage.

Something is up though, the toms are really fighting. Even JJ was putting the run on Sidekick today. I am not sure if it is just JJ ensuring his top tom spot or the hens are in "heat". Do turkeys and chicken go into heat?

No need to worry about the hen having company, the owner has 23 turkeys. He would have left her with me if I had asked for her but she is the one he particularly wanted to keep because she is the only one of the bunch with the white wings.

The only way that tom was leaving here was without his head. After how many hens he injured last year he was not going to get a chance to hurt any more.

I have gotten over 22 lb. carcasses from Bourbon Reds and Blue Slates. The Self Blues seem to be slightly smaller. Fifteen pounds was the best I got from a mature Royal Palm tom but the cross between a Self Blue and a Royal Palm produced a heavier bird than either of the parents.

I don't know about chickens since they keep breeding all the time whether or not the hen is willing, but turkey hens certainly have a breeding season. Around here courtship and mating normally begin in February with egg laying starting around the middle of March.

I temporarily have three young toms who will get thinned down to one around the first of February.

 

[duluthralphie]

No need to worry about the hen having company, the owner has 23 turkeys. He would have left her with me if I had asked for her but she is the one he particularly wanted to keep because she is the only one of the bunch with the white wings.

The only way that tom was leaving here was without his head. After how many hens he injured last year he was not going to get a chance to hurt any more.

I have gotten over 22 lb. carcasses from Bourbon Reds and Blue Slates. The Self Blues seem to be slightly smaller. Fifteen pounds was the best I got from a mature Royal Palm tom but the cross between a Self Blue and a Royal Palm produced a heavier bird than either of the parents.

I don't know about chickens since they keep breeding all the time whether or not the hen is willing, but turkey hens certainly have a breeding season. Around here courtship and mating normally begin in February with egg laying starting around the middle of March.

I temporarily have three young toms who will get thinned down to one around the first of February.

I find that interesting. I thought it was just me.

My Self blues are noticeably smaller than my blues! The exception being Sidekick who is huge and my largest turkey. The Self blue hens are by far my smallest. Which is one of the reason I have trouble keeping them out of the chicken coop. A door big enough for the roosters allows the hens in.


I am trying to decide the fate of mine. I am thinking of letting my young toms stay outside, putting JJ and his girls in the turkey House pen, and Sidekick and his girls into the Creamettes pens. The creamettes will either go to breeding pens or frying pans, unless someone buys them.

22lbs is huge for a heritage turkey from what I have read. I doubt Sidekick would do that. If I could get him to hold still I would put him on a scale.

 

[R2elk]

Yeah right! I was thinking the same thing Ralph! So R2elk....let me get this straight. You had a fat Tom running free for over three years eating Russian olives. ( What the heck is a Russian olive?) So fatso survived all that time without getting taken out by a predator or any free lunches? How did you even catch him? And his layer of fat....do you have to remove that before cooking? I've never heard anyone mention layers of turkey fat before. I'm assuming it's not a common thing.

I have a "yard" that is approximately 2 acres enclosed with a 6' tall fence of 2"x4" welded wire fencing. The was my breeding tom for the past three years. He was only running free this summer and the only food he was getting was what he could find for himself. Most of the summer he got the company of the oldest hen with the batch poults that I allowed her to raise. I would put them back in the pen every evening and let them out every morning.

He must have gotten fat from eating the olives that dropped from the Russian Olive trees. He had access to water because I made a goldfish pond. The pond served the purpose of a water source for the native birds. There is a disease here (West Nile Fever) that is spread by mosquitoes and one of the symptoms of that disease is dehydration. The pond has practically eliminated me finding dead birds on the property. I do my best to eliminate predators before they can establish themselves in my "yard"

A layer of fat like that pretty much turns the turkey into a self basting turkey when being roasted. They come out really moist and tasty. You just have to make sure you drain the excess fat off before making the gravy. One woman that I gave a turkey to made the gravy with all of the melted fat in the pan and said it was the best tasting gravy she ever made but it was almost pure fat.

Most people won't find that kind of fat on their birds because most people are butchering young birds and not mature birds.