Give me the dirt on turkeys

[MichiganWoods]

Are the Royal Palms considered a heritage breed? My eldest DD (7) just walked over and after looking at all of the pics on the first page, announced we must get those.

I told her we'd see. I need to go find out more about them, and the BBBs.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

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[chickenannie]

Quote:
Based on your initial comment, I would definitely go with the BBWs or BBBs, not the heritage birds. The heritage birds need lots more space and you'll need a big run.
For BBW if you start them in the beginning of July, you'll have from 18-25 pound turkeys by Thanksgiving. The taste isn't the superior taste of the heritage birds, but still a BBW raised at home will taste better than store-bought. They're not as purty as Royal Palms. In fact, BBWs aren't pretty birds IMHO. Their feathers just don't develop as beautifully cause they're bred to grow FAST and large breast meat.

I would also buy several more than you plan to butcher, because to a new turkey grower, they can have a higher mortality rate as poults than chickens do. Best way to prevent this is make sure to get high protein and keep them warm and off dirt when they're very little.

 

[MichiganWoods]

We're only used to the frozen butterballs anyway, so anything we grow here at home should taste way better. I was totally unaware, but my husband's great Uncle was actually a turkey farmer. My father-in-law told me yesterday when I mentioned us getting turkeys. That's kinda neat. But anyway, back to the breeds. Despite the boohoo'ing I'll hear from the 7-year-old, I think the BBBs will be our choice bird for this year. I'll have to look into proper turkey housing to keep them up off the floor pretty much permanently. -- I've not lost any chicks to disease. Don't know how I will do with poults. Time will tell! I did tell hubby that I didn't want to start working with these guys for a few months. Glad you said July. -- I want to focus on quail first. Once I've got them up and running I'll be ready to dig into the turkeys.

ETA, Steve, your birds are all pretty amazing. Must be really neat to work there.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

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[LovinMyHensInNC!]

Henry'schickens :

LovinMyHensInNC! :

Thanks for the info! I will make a point of waking up early one morning

. They are Royal Palm turkeys.

Did they ever come back home??

BTW​

Thank you!!!

They have not come back nor have I found them (or feathers). It has still been less than 4 weeks so I am still hoping they will return with a bunch of babies following!!! Just today I found my guineas nest in the woods after hunting that down for over three weeks and I wouldn't have found it had my male guinea (who was at standby) had not been making a ruckus from seeing the hawks flying overhead. So, I can now understand how hidden they make themselves when they are sitting on a nest. Thanks for checking!

 

[ScoobyRoo]

LovinMyHensInNC! :

Henry'schickens :

LovinMyHensInNC! :

Thanks for the info! I will make a point of waking up early one morning

. They are Royal Palm turkeys.

Did they ever come back home??

BTW

Thank you!!!

They have not come back nor have I found them (or feathers). It has still been less than 4 weeks so I am still hoping they will return with a bunch of babies following!!! Just today I found my guineas nest in the woods after hunting that down for over three weeks and I wouldn't have found it had my male guinea (who was at standby) had not been making a ruckus from seeing the hawks flying overhead. So, I can now understand how hidden they make themselves when they are sitting on a nest. Thanks for checking!

I wish you the best and hope you do see some additon to your feathered flock soon.

We were just given 13 eggs by a friend and my DH is going to try his luck hatching them out. Those turkeys were a black colored (heritage maybe?) Looking forward to having turkeys along with everything else here. Just not gung-ho about them jumping up on vehicles. I hope we can prevent that.​

 

[chickenannie]

I drive an old Honda, and I just laugh when I get to work and see turkey tracks across the hood. I'm sure other people think it looks awful, but it doesn't bother me a bit! The cats climb on my car too at times. HOwever, if you like a shiny clean car that you wash frequently, you could just cover it with a blanket or car cover if it bothers you. My turkeys only walk on my car maybe once a month, if that.

 

[SGM]

What do people think about the Blue Slates and Chocolates? How do they compare?

 

[chickenannie]

Quote:
What aspect are you interested in? My friend had Blue Slates and another had Chocolates. They both did well. Steve (Sandspoultry) might have more info on size/meat, etc.