got my first bourbon reds today!!!!!

[Big Dan]

I have pick up the beginning to my red flock. We currently raise BBB and standard bronze. We have been really wanting to start raising them. We will be raising them for meat and breeding. I was wanting to know, is there anything different I need to do as compared to my bronze that I need to fill em with high protein. My wife and I are very excited to get our reds up and running! Could we breed a BBB hen to a BR tom and get a giant delicious bird? At what age do you typically process them? Thanks

 

[kuntrygirl]

Congrats on your new turkeys.

 

[Big Dan]

Thanks I can't wait to get them going. They already seem a lot different than my BBB.

 

[Big Dan]

Does anybody know about the breeding of them and butcher age?

 

[Scottingitup]

Does anybody know about the breeding of them and butcher age?

What would you like to know? I've been breeding them for a two years now. Let me tell you 2 year old hens go broody at the drop of a hat!

You must separate the toms from hens once they start nesting. If you are incubating it's exactly like a chicken egg except for 28 days.

I butcher mine at 19-20 lbs which usually takes 9-10 months for the toms. Hens are 14-16lbs at that age.

 

[Big Dan]

How many hens should I have compared to toms to keep a good breeding plan going? I have plenty of room for a lot of birds and want to have a good sized flock going. Also I have done a lot of bbb's and and was wondering if I can breed a coiuiple BBB hens to a br tom to try and get bigger reds. We raise meat chickens for our local school district and I raise the turkeys for our local market. I really want to have a productive flock of be that I can introduce to my local market because those birds are impossible to find in my area. I have 6 poult br right now that are a couple weeks old now. I want to have a lot more I just wanted to make sure I have the br figured out. I have never lost a BBB poult and I don't want to lose one of these guys. Another question I have is should I have a few different kinds of turkeys to expand my options or just focus on be. Thanks!

 

[Scottingitup]

2-3 hens per tom - breeding trio's are the most common. It is recommended to keep the breeders separate from each other - toms will push other toms off in the middle of breeding. The rest I wouldn't know about so I'll let someone else answer.

 

[Arielle]

Dan,

It is my understanding that you can cross the BBB x BR, as in Br tom on a BBB hen. HOwever, I think the red disappears. I have a few cross breds to narri and auburn and the BR coloring is gone. They should taste good though and grow faster and meater. Keep us posted--this is a project I have wanted to do to.