question about crossing

[syble]

i've been told that broad breasted white turkeys cannot breed naturally. i hope to have some beltsville whites to breed for next spring, but i was wondering if a BV white tom could be used on a BB white hen to make for a bit bigger offspring?
Sib

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

You can, and it has been done. But I think you would be better to stay with the Heritage variety. It would be similiar to using a White Plymouth Rock on CornishXRock hens. The Broad Breasted are not bred for egg production, but meet. In the long run you will better if you just stayed with the Beltsville Whites.

 

[syble]

oh i would want to keep mostly the BV, I personally am a fan of dark meat on turkeys, but many of my family wont touch it if it isn't breast meat, so i was thinking about keeping 1 BB hen with my BV and raising up a couple to satisfy the picky family members.
Thanks
Sib

 

[marquisella]

I have a broad breasted bronze pullet, not quite a year old, in with a Bourbon Red Tom, and she lays eggs and I've hatched a few, so she is letting him breed her. I'm careful to not let her get too big, I might not be able to control it that well, but so far its working.

My aim is to produce decent size table turkeys with better flavor. Size from the bb hen, & flavor from the Br tom.

 

[Taylor]

I keep the Heritage Bronze turkeys, don't cross the breeds cause they're hard to sell that way. keep the blood pure!