Another turkey mating question

[Gloria]

I have a pair of Bourbon Reds. We decided not to have them for the holidays. So we can have babies next spring. I'm not sure if they are brother and sister or not. Does it matter? I was told you can't mate siblings when it comes to turkeys. Is this true or not?

Thanks guys!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Yes you can mate them, it takes alot of inbreeding before you will ever run into problems with poultry.

Steve in NC

 

[Gloria]

Cool! Thanks Steve, I was just a little worried about it. It's nice to have BYC to get an answer quick.

When do you think I should get another one? I'll probably just get another one next spring. I don't want more than a couple, but I also don't want to have to worry about any problems because of this either.

What do you think would be a good number for me to have and not have to worry?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

It would take quite a few matings from the pair you have before you would have any problems. Plus if you are going to raise poults for the table or to sell you won't be mating the offspring back to the parents anyway. If you get one from a different blood line next spring you are good to go. When you breed them for yourself you will have mix of 2 bloodlines.


A good number of turkeys....... that's a hard one, it depends on what you plan to do with them. A tom can cover about 4 or 5 hens easy.

Steve in NC