Question about Turkeys

[ShashwatAcres]

Thats what we are wanting is a good family bird given the fact that there is anywhere from 9-12 people for holiday meals here

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

The Heritage Bronze is the largest of the heritage varieties. See http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/bronze.html Its one of the several that the Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch raise for their commercial heritage sales. http://www.goodshepherdpoultryranch.com Take a look at his ready to eat birds at http://www.reeseturkeys.net/main.sc

The difference in a heritage turkey and a BBW/BBB is the same as a heritage chicken and a cornishX.

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
Exactly my point... If you want tons of meat yield, with minimal feed input, and fewer days on feed... then BBW is the way to go; especially if you have 12 people to feed.

I just butchered a BBW tom a few weeks ago, obviously too big for most ovens and cooking methods, weighed 41 lb live, and skinned/ gutted weighed 27. Can't beat that for yielding potential. Right now, I've got a pair of BBW 'breeder' birds, and they're surviving on zero supplimental input, and look far better than my HERITAGE bronze birds.

 

[ShashwatAcres]

I think the WBB is the way we are going to go just because we have so many to feed at the holidays and sometimes it is more than that this year we got a store bought bird and it a 20lb bird and it wasnt enough bird for us.Thank you for the input on the birds and other advice would be great.
Thank you
Becky

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
We started butchering our April hatched BBW birds in Sept and the last one was the big one in November that I spoke of, of course, he was the smallest one in Sept, which is why he lived on extra time. Most reccomend butchering them earlier than that, and speaking in terms of economics- I can't say I blame them. I'd say for that extra 10 pounds or so of gain, they ate plenty more feed than it would have taken to grow out a second bird.

Most live weight on BBW birds is 36 lb- take that 70% average dressing percent.. and you're left with a 25 lb carcass.

 

[ShashwatAcres]

thank you for the replies I am always reading and learning and just in aww over everyones birds