Turkey butchering age?

[Whitehouse Quail]

What age would you butcher a turkey for maximum meat?

If we bought one now, would there be enough time for one for Thanksgiving?

Thanks!

 

[jenjscott]

Much too late for thanksgiving. Heritage turkeys are about 28 weeks for best growth but can be butchered earlier for a smaller bird. BB turkeys I think is about 18 weeks.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Sorry for the dumb question!

 

[jenjscott]

Not a dumb question. We all gotta start leaning somewhere!

 

[ziggywiggy]

Quote:
Hey, I was wondering the same thing. I have some Midget Whites about 18 weeks and I'm wondering if I can butcher one now to barbeque. My feed bill is starting to get outrageous.

 

[Marlinchaser]

Quote:
Hey, I was wondering the same thing. I have some Midget Whites about 18 weeks and I'm wondering if I can butcher one now to barbeque. My feed bill is starting to get outrageous.

You can butcher them whenever you want. Sorta like with cornish cross you butcher young for cornish hen, older for frying, and oldest for stewing you just wont get as much meat if you butcher younger.

When I did BB turkeys I did a couple then skipped a week then did a couple more so I ended up with birds from 14-24 pounds dressed weight, and could have had larger if I had just kept feeding them.

 

[sonjaohull]

When are they too old to butcher?

 

[DaveOmak]

When are they too old to butcher?

Never too old to butcher.... They would be best used for stock.... lots of flavor.. like a roasting hen/turkey

 

[retlaw]

Never too old to butcher.... They would be best used for stock.... lots of flavor.. like a roasting hen/turkey

So what age would a heritage turkey fall into stock category?
I hear people waiting 18 months for full growth.
What about a heritage bird that is 4 years old?
Roaster or stock?

 

[DaveOmak]

A 4 year old bird should make great tasty stock.... Then you could remove the meat and run it through your meat grinder for "deviled turkey" sammies...

Wikipedia....
All heritage turkeys have a relatively slow to moderate rate of growth. Turkeys raised in industrial agricultural are slaughtered at 14 to 18 weeks of age, while heritage turkeys reach a marketable weight in about 28 weeks, giving the birds time to develop a strong skeletal structure and healthy organs prior to building muscle mass. This growth rate is identical to that of the commercial varieties of the first half of the 20th century.[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_turkey