Bronze heritage turkey or BBB?

[moetrout]

I have one tom turkey that I was sold as a poult and told it was a bronze heritage turkey. There is no mistaking he is a bronze. What I wonder though is if he isn't really a broad breasted bronze and not a heritage? There is a slight difference isn't there? He is getting so big and it just makes me wonder if he truly is a heritage. He was bought for TG dinner, but is so sweet the family wants him to stay on as a pet. If he were actually a BBB then would he live long? Is there any sure way to tell? I could post a pic later tonight. He really is a fantastic looking tom! Nice feather coloring, terrific blues in his face and red on his neck, beautiful tail fan.

I tell my kids he looks so big and uncomfortable that the look on his turkey face is saying "I'm so big fat and uncomfortable. Won't someone please eat me?!". They're not buyin' it!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Size is the biggest difference between a BB type and a heritage. People have raised and kept the BB types but more often than not they get so heavy that the legs can't support them and that ends up bad. If it is a BBB there is no way to tell how long it will make it.

Steve

 

[Tunastopper]

The age they get to market weight and natural breeding is the biggest difference.

Interestingly, the turkey known as the Broad Breasted Bronze in the early 1930s through the late 1950s is nearly identical to today’s Heritage Bronze turkey – both being naturally mating, productive, long-lived, and requiring 26-28 weeks to reach market weight. This early Broad Breasted Bronze is very different from the modern turkey of the same name. The Broad Breasted turkey of today has traits that fit modern, genetically controlled, intensively managed, efficiency-driven farming. While superb at their job, modern Broad Breasted Bronze and Broad Breasted White turkeys are not Heritage Turkeys. Only naturally mating turkeys meeting all of the above criteria are Heritage Turkeys.

From http://albc-usa.org/cpl/turkdefinition.html​

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
From http://albc-usa.org/cpl/turkdefinition.html

Since I don't think the OP got the bird in the early 30's to late 50's i'm still saying size and weight will be the biggest factor in figuring out if it is a BBB or Standard Bronze. As your cut and paste said the modern BBB is not like the old BBB.

We raise standard bronze turkeys and have in the past raised BBB's there was a night and day difference. A pic will tell

Steve

 

[Tunastopper]

You must have missed the part that says "nearly identical to today’s Heritage Bronze turkey". Its not about size as much as it has to do with slow growth and natural breeding and long life.

 

[moetrout]

So a pic would help to tell? I could post a pic tonight. I wish I could weigh him, but I doubt I could get him to cooperate for that. What I am trying to avoid here is keeping him as a pet and then having him die from being so huge. He is 19 weeks right now and looks very large to me, but what do I know, it's my first turkey.

 

[Tunastopper]

Stand on a scale and hold him. Then weigh your self. At 19 weeks we should be able to tell how fast he is growing. I have both BBB and standard bronze. Both can get over 40 pounds but not at 19 weeks. Bronze is one of the largest of the heritage turkeys. They can get big. Steve might have small ones but mine are hard to tell them apart.

 

[Lagerdogger]

Yes, a picture will probably help. Knowing the weight will help as well. Growth rates can depend on the quality of the feed, but if it ways 25 to 30 lbs at 19 weeks, I would go with BB. If its 20 lb or less, I would go with standard.

There was a thread about 3 weeks ago that showed some BB whites growing up with some heritage birds. They were the same age, and the size differences were unmistakable. The BB birds looked twice as large as the heritage.

 

[moetrout]

My turkey is so large I really don't think I could pick him up. I'll get a pic on here as soon as possible.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
If it's that big it's a BBB

Here is some pics of our standard bronze that we took last fall/winter so they were about 6 months old... ish. They are big, the toms are now over waist high on me and go around 40 pounds easy.

Steve