queston

[Mother of All]

what is a heritage bird. I had three different breeds this year. one was a bourbon red. and one was a white bird but don't know the breed of that one and I have a brown one. but I don't know the heritage breeds please enlighten me.

 

[Denninmi]

I found this link that explains it pretty well (but it is in general terms, not specifically about turkeys):

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/heritage/

Basically, IMO, pretty much any breed EXCEPT the Broad-Breasted White and Broad-Breasted Bronze that are the standard in mass production would qualify as an "heritage breed."

More precisely in turkeys, I think people use the term to refer to the breeds other than broad-breasted which are actually capable of living and reproducing naturally. The broad-breasted breeds are genetic monstrosities that have serious health issues after they reach a certain age and size due to their having been bred for production of massive amounts of muscle tissue.