Quick grower?

[porkchop48]

Next spring I am pondering getting some turkeys.

I am looking for a breed that can be butchered fairly young but dress out to a decent sized bird.

We butchered 8 turkeys for a friend today and the smalled ones dressed out at about 10 lbs and they were 6 months old ( white bird not sure what kind they were)

Any suggestions?

 

[Arielle]

Define quick grower? 4-5 months for BBW/BBB or 9 months for heritage types. That's the quick answer.

Broad breasted whites and bronzes are much different than the heritage breeds. THese commercial types have a huge appetite because they grow very fast to a very large size. Very economical grain conversion.

Heritage grow slower and can utilize the land to feed off of as well as supplemented with grains.

Broad breasted WHites --hatcheries
Broad breasted bronze--hatcheries

Heritage types:

bourbon red
narrigansetts
black
auburn
and MANY more: see Porters Turkeys for a great reference on heritage types.

GL

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are lots of different breeds, some a lot smaller than others. You might look up Beltsville Whites, Midget Whites, or Royal Palm. Those are white birds much smaller than the "traditional" turkeys.

I have a Midget White tom hatched in May that will be Thanksgiving dinner. I have no idea what he will weigh but he is massively bigger than chickens. I have no doubt he will feed all six or eight of us with plenty of leftovers.

Don't get too hung up on what exact weights you can expect. How fast and how much they grow depends a lot on how you feed them. Mine has been running with the chickens, eating mostly 16% Grower and free ranging. If I had confined him and fed him a higher protein feed, I would expect him to be quite a bit bigger.

Be a bit careful with turkeys though. I think they are easier to become attached to than chickens. Interesting personalities.

Edit: Royal palms are not totally white. Really pretty birds though.