Profit with Turkeys for Thanksgiving?

[Birdie2019]

If we were to try to make a profit with turkeys what would we do? ->

I am curious and have a few questions.
1. Are they much different than chickens when raising them? (In the brooder, feed, etc.)
2. Is it too late to raise turkeys?
3. What breed is about 14-20lbs per bird? I’d prefer not to raise BB turkeys (the white ones that get huge).

I think it’s a good idea and would love to try it. Has this worked for you before?

 

[R2elk]

If we were to try to make a profit with turkeys what would we do? ->

I am curious and have a few questions.
1. Are they much different than chickens when raising them? (In the brooder, feed, etc.)
2. Is it too late to raise turkeys?
3. What breed is about 14-20lbs per bird? I’d prefer not to raise BB turkeys (the white ones that get huge).

I think it’s a good idea and would love to try it. Has this worked for you before?

If you want to make a profit from turkeys, you have to sell them as day old poults. The second that you start feeding them, the profit disappears.

1. Turkeys are different from chickens in many ways. The worst part is that they are far too easy to get attached to. Many people that started out wanting to raise them for food end up keeping them as pets instead. Turkey poults should be started on a high protein turkey or game bird feed that has the higher concentrations of lysine, methionine and niacin that they require for proper development. This should be fed for 6 to 8 weeks followed by 6 weeks of Turkey grower which is usually about 24% protein. After that they can do well on a good all flock or flock raiser feed.

Turkey poults should not be on wood chips until they are getting an appropriate sized grit. They can eat the wood chips and without the grit in their gizzard they cannot grind the wood chips up and can become plugged up and die.

Blackhead can be a death sentence to turkeys kept with chickens. Make sure that blackhead is not a problem in your area.

2. It is too late to start heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving this year. It is not too early to start them for next year.

3. All domestic turkeys are the breed Turkey. Most of the heritage varieties will have the toms process out in those ranges if harvested at the proper age. Royal Palms are a smaller variety with adult toms not likely to make it to 20 lbs. dressed weight.

If you live in an area where people will pay reasonable prices for a processed heritage turkey, you might be able to break even. If you don't live in one of those areas, you will lose money trying to produce turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Most turkeys sold in grocery stores are sold as a loss leader at Thanksgiving. This means the stores sell them for less than cost and in many cases even have free conditions as an advertisement to get people shopping for the accessories. They lose money on the turkeys to boost their other sales which have high profit margins.

 

[Molpet]

They need higher protein turkey or gamebird starter for at least 8 weeks. They haven't been domesticated as long, so they are less likely to roost and brood in a coop. They need 10x the amount of space.

Takes me 6 months to get a heritage jake dress out 10 to 12 lbs,
17 lbs takes 18 months.

I have no idea how to make a profit... I sure don't... But I imagine it would take a good marketing plan to find the right buyers

 

[Birdie2019]

Blackhead can be a death sentence to turkeys kept with chickens. Make sure that blackhead is not a problem in your area.

It is too late to start heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving this year. It is not too early to start them for next year.

So what is blackhead exactly? We wouldn’t put them with the chickens, just in the same yard. It’s about roundworms apparently? Our chickens used to have roundworm larvae but we treated for it (went to a vet for what others told me was a respiratory infection, but actually an eye infection).

Since it’s too late, what would be a good time to get some and then be butchering next year IF we decided to do this?

 

[iwltfum]

We've been selling thanksgiving turkeys for a couple seasons now. We added it to our egg and roasting chickens business a couple years ago. The hardest part is finding a market to sell them. For every one person that's willing to pay a fair price for a pasture raised and organic bird, there are at least 10 that will scoff at you and accuse you of trying to steal their money. We grow BBW because they eat less per pound of weight gain than other varieties. We grow them for 16 weeks and it is by far our most profitable portion of our poultry business. Not saying that it's not difficult as heck to establish a market though. We sell our whole turkeys for $7 per pound frozen and we have a pre order list that fills up for thanksgiving turkeys by mid-summer. So there are pros and cons. You have to be willing to put in some hard work and don't expect to be profitable for at least a couple seasons.

 

[R2elk]

So what is blackhead exactly? We wouldn’t put them with the chickens, just in the same yard. It’s about roundworms apparently? Our chickens used to have roundworm larvae but we treated for it (went to a vet for what others told me was a respiratory infection, but actually an eye infection).

Blackhead is histomoniasis.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/blackhead-histomoniasis-references.1404177/

Since it’s too late, what would be a good time to get some and then be butchering next year IF we decided to do this?

Anytime now but no later than early next spring. Now if you want to reach the upper end of your desired weights and no later than early next spring for the lower end of your weight goals.

Don't forget to check your state laws for the requirements necessary to sell processed poultry.

 

[Parront]

If we were to try to make a profit with turkeys what would we do? ->

I am curious and have a few questions.
1. Are they much different than chickens when raising them? (In the brooder, feed, etc.)
2. Is it too late to raise turkeys?
3. What breed is about 14-20lbs per bird? I’d prefer not to raise BB turkeys (the white ones that get huge).

I think it’s a good idea and would love to try it. Has this worked for you before?

Before I would try to make a profit, I would try a few. The chicks can be difficult to raise, from what I read here. I also am interested in turkeys, mostly the heritage breeds that might be tastier than a store bird.
A question -- are you selling any other of your birds at a profit? If you sell organic, pasture raised chicken at a living wage, you might already have the customer base needed for your turkeys. Chicken is much better home grown, in my opinion. If you are not raising and selling chicken yet, you could start there now.

 

[Birdie2019]

Before I would try to make a profit, I would try a few. The chicks can be difficult to raise, from what I read here. I also am interested in turkeys, mostly the heritage breeds that might be tastier than a store bird.
A question -- are you selling any other of your birds at a profit? If you sell organic, pasture raised chicken at a living wage, you might already have the customer base needed for your turkeys. Chicken is much better home grown, in my opinion. If you are not raising and selling chicken yet, you could start there now.

Okay. Yes, I was thinking we could also do CX, maybe not at the same time as turkeys, just whenever since they can be butchered at 10 weeks.

 

[Parront]

Okay. Yes, I was thinking we could also do CX, maybe not at the same time as turkeys, just whenever since they can be butchered at 10 weeks.

Start small and work up! CX are small-er than turkeys! They all have their learning curve. Once people learn that there is better-tasting chicken, they might be ready for better-tasting turkey. What I first grew years ago -- because it was no-where to be found in the grocery store -- was Christmas goose. Our German family was always talking about the old days and having goose for Christmas, so I raised 4 one year. One went to the neighbor who helped me process, one to me, one to my Grandmother, one sold and paid for all the feed they ate. This was 1987, things could be different now. Geese eat a lot of grass, which was free for me. Expensive, if you can even find it in the store. Tastes sooooo good!

 

[Birdie2019]

Start small and work up! CX are small-er than turkeys! They all have their learning curve. Once people learn that there is better-tasting chicken, they might be ready for better-tasting turkey.

I am wondering. There are different kinds of chicken that you could raise for meat (ex. red ranger/ red broilers, forgot what they’re called). But CX are very easy to get, as lots of TS and farm stores just openly sell them. Hoping they may have some. But we’d need a place for meat birds nonetheless. My CX: (10 weeks old) She’s almost as big of my biggest hen.

But for turkeys, I’d want a heritage breed like Bourbon Reds or Blue Slate. I’d probably get one of those 2 if I could. Sell some babies, and raise some for meat, eat some, and sell some. It may not be profit, but hopefully we could get some for free. Then work our ways up. But we are in a ‘farm area’ sorta. NW Florida (South Alabama) has an area with lots of land. But 20 mins away, a road with all the stores, restaurants, and everything in that city, is all on that road. Head in a different direction, another ‘city’ city. I think we could do good finding at least a few people who’d want chicken and maybe, in the future, turkeys.