I get mine from the local feed stores too. You have to call around. Our chicks were $11.99 last year. The cost keeps going up and up. Buy more than you want, turkeys are weaker as chicks. We always get 4, and usually have at least one die. One of our feed stores is nice enough to give us replacements if they die before the weekend (they always come in on Wed/Thurs). The turkeys that go fast are the specialty ones, not BBW's, and they must order a lot of bronze. We wanted Red Bourbons this year, and only ended up with 2, our replacements were a BBW, and a BBB. We still have the 2 BR's in the backyard, and they are toms. Not "big enough". The BBB we have left is a hen, she's acting like she's going to lay eggs here soon, and the toms were pretty aggressive with her yesterday. I kind of thought they were going to kill her, so everyone is separated. I DO think it's so neat hearing them gobble all the time in my backyard. They are better than a guard dog. Every little thing makes them do it.
To debri1966---if anything, I would at least process the BBW tom first!!! They get SOOOO big!!! Ours was about that age, and we did him in a month before Thanksgiving! Yes, you will probably have to cut him in half. We've done that in the past. Actually, probably more work. The guy we did a month+ ago, instead of cutting in half, my husband just cut him up into pieces. Leg and thighs, wings, and just cut the breast off, and cut that into 2. ONE breast weighed 9LBS!!! He was 40LBS dressed out!!!
We are pretty simple with wrapping our birds. I actually use at least 3 waste basket bags (from costco-the more clear smallest bags they sell) and then one regular trash bag over that. I always get all the air out. Never really thought about saran wrap! Next time, maybe I will use that too.
