sweetgrass TURKEYS

[Arielle]

Very pretty!!

Turkeys are interesting creatures!!

 

[jenisis77]

They really are

 

[Arielle]

ANd some are just prettier than others-- like the sweetgrass.

 

[Epona1]

Thanks, I will.

 

[unioncampfarm]

Love my sweetgrass pair. Their coloring is really nice and they've been doing a good job tilling up the manure in the garden. They are terrible beggars and tattle on me when they get treats...

 

[Ardizzone7]

They are gorgeous! I am getting some this spring from Porters. I can hardly wait!!!!

 

[cracked egg]

Couldn't believe I missed this until now. The sweetgrass is one cool bird, I never tire of watching my toms transform into something so beautiful when they strut. The birds I have are gentle and have never had a problem with them. If I could post pics off my phone I would.

 

[Arielle]

I sure hope you will find a way to post your pictures-- they are truely very beautiful.

So . . . . until then . . . here is one of my boys. Tail feathers a little wrecked . . .

 

[RoboDuck]

I am interested in getting some Sweetgrass turkeys after seeing the ad on the BST forum. But I want to know more about them before buying them. I don't buy any new breed without learning about them first to see if they will fit in at our place. I have already read Porter's site. And pretty much every other one that popped up until I got to links that had nothing to do with turkeys. Most birds have a wiki page and other sites that give more details. Like their general personalities, how many eggs they lay a year, how their meat compares to other species as well as the standard sizes that Porters mentions. I have not put as much time into turkeys as I have my geese and ducks so maybe turkeys don't get that kind of write up? Ducks and geese have such a diversity of personality that you really have to research them to get what you want. Are turkeys not like that? Maybe other than color and size they're all pretty much the same? Is a turkey is a turkey is a turkey?

I have learned the hard way that some species should not be bought as shipped eggs as some are more susceptible to the hazards of shipping than others. You can find eggs or babies of pretty much anything but you can find one species, ex. Cotton Patch Geese, and one place won't ship eggs and another place won't ship live birds. So you learn from other people with more experience which you should get as eggs and which you should have shipped live. Or you learn from trial and error which can get expensive if it doesn't work out.

So I say all that to ask, do turkey eggs ship well or should I be looking for poults? How hardy is this particular breed?

Everything I have learned from people who have hatched eggs or bought poults is that baby turkeys are stupid beyond words. I have been told they need to be put with other baby birds like chicks or ducklings so they can learn from them how to eat. Really?

If anyone wants to jump in here and help me out, I would appreciate it. I intend to try and purchase some eggs from Arielle as long as I can get enough info to know that I'm not just going to waste 6 eggs.

 

[cracked egg]

The birds I have are extremely hardy. We get -30,lots of wind and snow. Summer it can get hot and the birds have never shown any discomfort. One of my hens laid over 20 eggs before letting her go broody, my other two hens each laid 14 and 12 before turning them loose. I have never had a Tom show any kind of aggression except to each other during the spring.
One thing you cannot confuse is the commercial turkey poult with a heritage breed. The poults I have hatched for me behave like a wild game bird. They will hide from you if they get out of the brooder. They are very smart making chicken chicks look really dumb.
My toms are friendly, they will gather around me but won't let me touch them. The hens seem a little more cautious around me. However I have seen people pack them around like pets. It just depends on how you raise and interact with them. My birds free range and take care of themselves for the most part.
They are very curious birds and entertaining to watch.
I have not butchered any of mine so on taste I can't help. For weight, I am estimating, 20-25 lbs for toms and 12-15 for hens.
I shipped some eggs earlier but until I hear how the hatch went,I can't tell how they shipped. My birds were obtained as adults. I do know that the hens have large broods every year and free range poults encounter lots of mishaps. The poults that are hatched for me do very well,I believe I have lost only 3 in the last few years.
I also have my birds with chickens,guineas and peafowl.