heritage turkeys 7 months or permanent.

[leroy25780]

Hy guys i would like to know which option is better. if i bought a heritage breed of turkey and raised it for 7 months then slaughtered it or keep them and breed them on my farm their entire life. the first option of turkeys would be kept in a hoop coop tractor moved to new grass every 3-4 days until slaughter day and the second option of turkeys would have a movable coop on grass with nest boxes and everything nice. which one would work better for meat production.

 

[rjohns39]

Hy guys i would like to know which option is better. if i bought a heritage breed of turkey and raised it for 7 months then slaughtered it or keep them and breed them on my farm their entire life. the first option of turkeys would be kept in a hoop coop tractor moved to new grass every 3-4 days until slaughter day and the second option of turkeys would have a movable coop on grass with nest boxes and everything nice. which one would work better for meat production.

I do both. I select the best 2 Toms from each breed and generally all of the hens for the winter breed pens. I put the best hens with the best Tom of that breed to add to my breeding stock, Next year the other Tom will be in the breeder pen. Last year I had a Nari hen that wasn't up to par, so I paired her with a bourbon Tom and they produced red bronze poults. All of them are for the freezer. I'll have most for Thanksgiving and a few for Christmas. Next year I hope to increase in numbers, but my focus right now is on my breeding stock.

 

[Otis-Gussy]

I do both. I select the best 2 Toms from each breed and generally all of the hens for the winter breed pens. I put the best hens with the best Tom of that breed to add to my breeding stock, Next year the other Tom will be in the breeder pen. Last year I had a Nari hen that wasn't up to par, so I paired her with a bourbon Tom and they produced red bronze poults. All of them are for the freezer. I'll have most for Thanksgiving and a few for Christmas. Next year I hope to increase in numbers, but my focus right now is on my breeding stock.

Just curious what exactly qualifies as best Tom and best Hen?
Size, tempermant, health, coloring?
I feel like it's pretty difficult to get the whole package.
My largest hen with the prettiest coloring is kind of a jerk.
My little, plain black, mixed hen is just the sweetest thing.

 

[R2elk]

Just curious what exactly qualifies as best Tom and best Hen?
Size, temperament, health, coloring?
I feel like it's pretty difficult to get the whole package.
My largest hen with the prettiest coloring is kind of a jerk.
My little, plain black, mixed hen is just the sweetest thing.

Look up the SOP for the variety of turkey that you choose and select the ones that most closely fit the SOP. Temperament should be considered. Never breed a turkey that has a hereditary defect. Stay away from breeding siblings to each other. Not all toms are equal when it comes to breeding. Do not continue to use a tom that has bad breeding habits. At the least he will injure your hens and at the worst he may kill them.

Coloring matters more with some varieties than others. If you are breeding Royal Palms, any color other than black and white disqualifies the breeding prospect. If you are just breeding mixed varieties, choose by the colors that you like but don't be surprised when the offspring look differently than you thought they would.

Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys is a great source of information as is his Turkey Color Calculator.

 

[leroy25780]

I do both. I select the best 2 Toms from each breed and generally all of the hens for the winter breed pens. I put the best hens with the best Tom of that breed to add to my breeding stock, Next year the other Tom will be in the breeder pen. Last year I had a Nari hen that wasn't up to par, so I paired her with a bourbon Tom and they produced red bronze poults. All of them are for the freezer. I'll have most for Thanksgiving and a few for Christmas. Next year I hope to increase in numbers, but my focus right now is on my breeding stock.

how is your setup for raising the turkeys all year round. do they free range or are they in a pen and if you have chickens how do you prevent the turkeys from becoming ill. also what heritage breed makes the best all round meat breed

 

[rjohns39]

My birds all live together free ranging in a pasture surrounded by an electric fence. They almost all go into shelters at night. As they decimate the pasture I move the shelters and fence to new grass and replant the pasture mix I want behind them.

My younger turkeys and chickens tend to explore a lot more until they discover that the fence is there for their protection. Simply put they can all fly over the fence if they choose.

I'm in a warm climate so they only go into winter housing for 80-100 days. I use greenhouses for their winter housing. Last year I separated the Tom's and hens and when the hens start sitting, I'll move them and their selected Tom to the breed pen. That was horrible arrangement as the Toms would fight through the fence. My plan for this year is to add two more greenhouses put the bachelors in one and the breed sets in opposite corners of the other two with chickens and ducks in the middle.

I've been told that the best tasting medium sized bird is the red bronze (Bourbon Tom, Nari Hen). I'll be evaluating that in a couple weeks. RPs are the smallest of my turkeys, Nari's and black the largest with Bourbon just slightly behind the larger birds. Critically important when you process heritage turkeys is to let the meat rest in the fridge for 3-5 days before cooking or freezing. If you don't they'll be tough. Being older birds, they'll still have more tooth feel than a BB at 14 weeks. I'm told that resting in the fridge after thaw works but I haven't found any real success there.

 

[JonathanL23]

Heritage birds have the better meat but may take little longer then 7 months depending how fast they grow. I got a 6 month tom who is tall and full sized but if you feel his chest its still small. Go with Heritage