Does anyone cross BBW x heritage types?

[Arielle]

I've retitled my post in hope of more help.

Over ten years ago we raised 6 BBB; everyone loved the taste and we enjoyed raising the birds. We kept them in a large open sided coop and only fed commercial feed.

I'm wondering 2 things:

Why did they taste so delicious, definitely not grocery store bought turkey?

And can I raise a cross to get a large sized turkey that grows fast AND can reproduce naturally???

 

[MissTurkey4]

Home grown birds are always going to taste different if not better than the plumped up store bought turkeys. Taste is very individual.

People have been trying to create the perfect bird for some time. Many crosses on BB turkeys have failed. Even the Midget white that is a BB crossed on a Royal Palm was almost lost because it was a failure.


Most people do not know that the Broadbreasted turkeys are a hybrid. They are a special line that incudes a Hen and a Tom line that goes back to specialy breed Grandmother and Grandfather lines to create the parents. Even if you breed two broadbreasted turkeys together by AI, you would not get the results that the orginal hybrid cross will give you for rate of growth and size.

You can breed BB hens to heritage toms. Not saying you will get poults that have the confirmationto be superior or even walk for that matter. I have a little experiment going on myself. It might not work out. But I can hope.

 

[Arielle]

I just wondered if anyone is crossing the BB types with heritage, for a bigger breast than the heritage but still able to breed like a heritage.

 

[teenchik]

I have been wondering the same thing for a while, I even posted on here as well, I am going to experiment with a spiral breedinng line if it turns out to work at all....

 

[Arielle]

Which heritage bird will you use? Which one is the biggest?

 

[Frosty]

I have the birds and am planning to try this myself, but first I need to seperate my BBW hens from the heritage so that I know whose eggs are whose. I lost one of two buildings for the turkeys to snow load this past January so my experiment will be a bit late starting. I am attempting White Holland x BBW. I say 'attempting' because the only egg that I am certain came from a BBW hen (I saw her lay it) has been in the incubator since 23 April and doesn't look like it's doing anything. The other three put in at the same time (one a WH for certain) look like they are forming. Go figure...

 

[eggbuster]

I have 5 eggs from a beltsville small white tom and a BBW hen (Fat Momma) in the incubator as of today. Not sure if any are fertile as they are both only a year old. I know they are too young for breeding, but with BBW there might not be a next year although both hens are doing very well and are free ranging and healthy.

I have a BBW (Big Momma) brooding 12 chicken eggs and her last egg (x beltsville tom) which again, I don't know if it is fertile. So far she hasn't broken any of the eggs and she isn't called Big Mamma for nothing. If any hatch and the chicks don't get squished it will be a miracle, but she is brooding in deep hay and has made a very deep nest so who knows. Maybe she will hatch some tunnel rats.