Best pet Turkey breeds

[Gemjar82]

Hi there

We have lost 2 female Kelly bronze turkeys and, as we are new to keeping them, would like to get our Tom a couple of new hens, but would like to stay away from breeds that are really meant for the table. The 2 hens we had ended up with a lot of leg problems from size/genetics.

What would be the best breeds to have as pets?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

Adding your general location to your profile might help peeps make the best suggestion possible at a glance.

Never heard of Kelly bronze until now.. looks like you might be in the UK? Over here in the US I have decided to go with Bourbon Red. But turkeys are going to be a new adventure.

I would suggest that you go with a heritage breed. Not sure if any of the breeds I know of will be available to you.

The following link is a hatchery that sells several of them... but they have good descriptions regarding size, foraging ability, and personality traits if you click on the variety and read about them...
https://www.meyerhatchery.com/productlist.a5w?cat=1024

Good luck!

 

[Gemjar82]

Thank you, yes I'm in the UK, I'll update my profile Haha!

 

[R2elk]

Hi there

We have lost 2 female Kelly bronze turkeys and, as we are new to keeping them, would like to get our Tom a couple of new hens, but would like to stay away from breeds that are really meant for the table. The 2 hens we had ended up with a lot of leg problems from size/genetics.

What would be the best breeds to have as pets?

Any of the heritage varieties of the breed Turkey will be fine.

You can find out about many of the heritage varieties at Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys. Unfortunately you will need to find a UK source for whichever variety you choose.

 

[conny63malies]

I’m a sucker for bourbon red turkey, but I live in Kentucky, so I’m a bit biased. Midget White might also be a good option since they are smaller.