To turkey or Not to turkey...and HOW?

[henherder]

I am a small farm with a market and I am thing of getting turkeys to offer next year. I want them to be able to breed and brood, would like a good quality breast and flavor and would like the dressed weight to be between 10-25lbs. I have been looking at and considering Midget Whites and Holland Whites. I raise on pasture and feed, we are all natural and would like to know if anyone has any suggestions. Am I on the right track?

 

[ChickyBoy417]

White midget turkeys are a good choice. It's great to feed them all natural, and organic. Just make sure those turkeys don't breed too much. Then it will be hard to take care of them.

 

[Celie]

I raise Holland White Heritage and plan on taking orders for the Holidays next year. We raise our own food here on our little 5 acre farm, so we eat turkeys year round. I am selectively breeding the best to the best to try and get the breast up to a bigger than heritage size, and still be able to breed naturally. I don't expect the breast of a BBW, but I get better than average. I am only in my third generation of breeding, so I have a long way to go and will be culling a lot, but with culling goes a lot of meat for the freezer. Heritage turkeys take at least 9 or 10 months to fill out to a halfway decent size. I get 20 to 35 pounders with my Holland Whites, but the 35 pound weight comes with the second year growth., but still tender and succulent. I have never raised or know anyone who raises Midget Whites. The reason I did not is the size, I read they are, I have chickens that get that big and for about a year of feeding and raising, for a chicken hawk or a coon or possum to make a meal for, isn't my idea of worth the effort. I can harvest a smaller hen Holland white at about 15 pounds dressed out weight for someone who wants a smaller turkey, but most that come around inquiring, want a larger bird to feed more people on Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is when turkeys are in demand. I sell the hatching eggs and day old poults during spring and summer. I hope I was of some help, but this is what works for us and something may work better for you, so you need to investigate your options and decide!