MW turkey cooked--REALLY!!!! WARNING--PICS

[BorderKelpie]

Wow, that looks good.
How hard are turkeys to raise and process? I like turkey but it is rather bland. I would love to try to raise my own Thanksgiving or Christmas treat. Are they noisey or could I maybe raise a hen for dinner? (if girls are quieter, I don't want to totally upset the neighbors - lol)
TIA

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

They can be noisy, the hens yelp, the toms gobble. Processing is somewhat more involved than a chicken - just the size of the bird, they are harder to restrain, scald etc. We pretty much only do whole turkeys for the holidays or special visitors. Most of the time we just skin them which gives you 2 boneless skinless breast fillets, leg 1/4's, & wings. We cooked some turkey thighs on the smoker grill last Saturday and they were soooooooooooooooooooo good.

Steve in NC

 

[PatS]

I'd like to know even more about the noise, since my roosters crow like crazy from 4:45 on.
So can you hear them through closed double pane windows during the time when people like to sleep, or do they just make sweet critter noises during daylight hours?

 

[longranger]

Turkeys are not as annoying as roosters but the toms will gobble any time during daylight hours. One or two don't make that much noise but get 4 or more together and each time any of them decides to gobble all the others do. Almost anything will set them off but the most certain noise is another turkey gobble. I personally like the "noise" and so far have not had complaints from neighbors who could not tolerate a single Roo for even a few days.

 

[PatS]

Thank you. I think there may be a few midget whites in my future...