Proud Farmer moment!

[mandelyn]

I used to raise Bourbon Red turkeys on my last farm and the difference between them, a farm raised Broad Breasted type, and a store bought/commercial BB type turkey were huge! Both in texture and depth of flavor!

I love our Bourbons! My MIL insists on cooking a Thanksgiving bird along side ours, for whatever reason. Last year, her $0.99/lb Butterball that she cooked in a bag was grey in color. GREY!! Ours was a much more appetizing color. She tried to send the grey left overs with us and I accidentally forgot it when we left...

We don't raise any of the more commercial birds, husband doesn't want me relying on hatcheries. Occasionally we find a favorite bird in a group too, it's nice to be able to keep them going indefinitely.

Being dual purpose has really helped the breeding effort in what we do have, since I can shop for breeding stock more extensively with the boosted hatch quantity. I wouldn't be able to hatch as many if I had to rely on selling boys or wasting them. Girls are easy, everyone wants female poultry. It's the cockerel dynamic we had to figure out.

I always over complicate things too, so it's not like I'm going to get a batch of sexlink pullets and a box of Cornish Cross for meat. That'd be too easy.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

I love our Bourbons! My MIL insists on cooking a Thanksgiving bird along side ours, for whatever reason. Last year, her $0.99/lb Butterball that she cooked in a bag was grey in color. GREY!! Ours was a much more appetizing color. She tried to send the grey left overs with us and I accidentally forgot it when we left...

We don't raise any of the more commercial birds, husband doesn't want me relying on hatcheries. Occasionally we find a favorite bird in a group too, it's nice to be able to keep them going indefinitely.

I started the turkey adventure when I wasn't able to find a safe bird to make for thanksgiving because my then youngster was allergic to all the stuff that is injected into the birds. Now we are spoiled, though I'm currently turkey-less after a recent farm move and miss having my trio around.
Eventually I'd also like to be self reliant and not reply on hatcheries for anything.

Being dual purpose has really helped the breeding effort in what we do have, since I can shop for breeding stock more extensively with the boosted hatch quantity. I wouldn't be able to hatch as many if I had to rely on selling boys or wasting them. Girls are easy, everyone wants female poultry. It's the cockerel dynamic we had to figure out.

I always over complicate things too, so it's not like I'm going to get a batch of sexlink pullets and a box of Cornish Cross for meat. That'd be too easy.

Love the amount of meat from the CX...everything else about the bird, not so much.
Earlier this year I picked up an incubator and have been having fun hatching shipped eggs for the first time and now have some young Bielefelders to work with. I'm already in love with the auto sexing feature.

 

[Tre3hugger]

Wow @mandelyn that's wonderful!! Great job sticking with it. This is my first year with meatbirdds but you have really gotten my gears turning for a more sustainable flock in the future.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Can I ask your but ch er method? I'm trying to figure out what the best way for butchering is since I have Cornish bantams that need to go bye bye