Butcher age for standard bronze

[project7030]

I have two standard bronze turkeys, a hen and a jake. What is the best butchering age? I believe theyre about 16wks now.

 

[ColbyNTX]

If on a good diet, 28-30% protien for about the first 12 weeks and not less than 20% after that then 8-9 months old will be the youngest you would want to eat them. 1 to 1 1/2 years is even better! Pick them up and feel the breast and legs. They will be much smallet than they look right now on the feathered bird.

 

[Breezy Acres]

O My Gosh! I am so glad this question was on here! I have 3 bronze broad breasts that my husband and I have fallen in love with! They are also about 16 weeks old and we are having a hard time figuring out how old they could get before we had to dress them. We have already decided that they are almost pets so we were going to take them over to a poultry processing plant in our Amish community (who do a beautiful job with our chickens!). If I can keep them through next summer, I would love it. They are free range on our farm with our chickens and so personable. I even added them to my youtube channel!

They have just become part of the family! Isn't that sad?

 

[ColbyNTX]

Quote:
Broad breasted bronze is totally different than a standard bronze per the question. BBB's are ready to butcher around 4-6 months. Some BBB's with good feed and good genetics won't fit in your oven at 8-9 months!

 

[Arielle]

Some BBB's with good feed and good genetics won't fit in your oven at 8-9 months!

This is my goal with 2 of the toms! Two, for company, and see how big I can get them before the really cold weather sets in. THen dressed and cut into manageable portions, of course, for the freezer!

Really though, how big is too big? Should I slow their growth? Or give them room to walk and roam around?​