Turkey processing

[Robert Blosl]

Do any of you out there have White Beltsville Turkeys? Thinking of getting some this year I have been told they are very rare and need help to get the number of Standard Breeders up. Look forward to any leads that have them.

Alsol what is the difference in the White Beltsville and the Midget Whites???bob


Description:
Young Beltsville turkey hens weigh 10 pounds and young males weigh 17 pounds. The plumage is white, with the head red to bluish white. The beard is black, the beak is horn colored, and the eyes are dark brown. Shanks and toes are pinkish white.

Conservation Efforts:
Today, the Beltsville Small White is quite rare and primarily kept by a few exhibition breeders. Research flocks exist at both the Iowa State University and the University of Guelph, however, public access to these flocks is almost non-existent.
In recent years there has been a revival of interest in this variety. Efforts are underway to locate and conserve any remnant flocks in the United States and Canada.
Beltsville Small White
The Beltsville Small White is a breed of domestic turkey. The bird was named after its physical characteristics — a relatively small size and entirely white plumage — as well as its place of origin: the USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland. The Beltsville Small White was developed beginning in 1934 in response to market research that said consumers wanted a turkey of small to medium size with no dark pinfeathers.

In a breeding program at the Beltsville Center that lasted from 1934 to 1941, the USDA used White Holland, White Austrian, Narragansett, Bronze, and Wild Turkey genetics. The breed was used commercially in the 1940s, and was recognized officially by the American Poultry Association in 1951.
As a result of being developed specifically for smaller, urban households, the breed never had the size to satisfy the demands of restaurants. By the 1970s, it had nearly disappeared, and the Broad Breasted White had come in to prominence. It is still extremely rare today, and is listed as Critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.It retains interest primarily among breed enthusiasts and those interested in a heritage turkey breed.
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[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Bob, we raise both the Midget White and the Beltsville Small White. They are very close but their are differences. The BSW is a much older variety than the Midget, The BSW was at it's peak the #1 selling turkey in the US. It was developed in the 30's at the USDA research station in Beltsville, MD by Stanley Marsden and others. The Midget didn't come around until the early 50's. The BSW's peak sales were in the late 40's so I always figured the Midget was an attempt to get some of those sales.

You are correct in your post (is that from feather site or the ALBC?) that some of the flock was sent to Canada. Others of the flock were sent to Ames Iowa USDA research station. From there 2 people were able to get hatching eggs. One set was sent to the west coast and is still there today in Oregon. The others stayed in the mid west. The west coast flock (the Ames line) has remained pure stock from Ames. The other flock (Alberstson line) had some BSW blood introduced from the Canada flock. I spent quite a bit of time researching the history of the BSW and have been able to speak to the people that got them from Ames and trace them from person to person. It was a very interesting study.

As a side note the APA standard does call for brown eyes but the birds from Canada have blue eyes. At Guelph the flock was used for research and they weren't being bred to the APA standard so the story goes. I have never been able to get alot of info about the Canada flock since they were dispursed from Guelph.

Bob, do you know Paul Gingerich? I have been talking with him about the Mohawk line of RIR's and he mentioned your name in an email about them.

Steve

 

[Robert Blosl]

Hi I know Paul very well. The Mowhawk line is in Calahan Fla not to far from Lake City show in January. I hope he is there with some of this years chicks to sell or I hope to get some eggs from him and to have them shipped to some one like you, Paul and a new guy in Colorado that Paul sold eggs to. They have four chicks they hatched from a dozen eggs from Paul two ckls and two pullets. They look very much like my old strain. I am sending this family a pair of call grays tomorrow and hope to be partners with them in calls and help them build up this old strain of mine in large fowl reds.

I myself sold them about eight years ago and have a new bantam line of single comb reds which are the large fwol shrnk down to a bantam. It took 22 years but to tell you how good they have gotten my females are now beating my males in shows. Three shows by me a fellow in So. Calolinia and a guy in Arkansas both showed and all pullets this year won best of breed. Three years ago my females where scrubs.

I mated the best females back to the male that I have below my name and inbreed them three years in a row. This year we did it. got females with good type.

In the turkeys maybe I will order a mixture of half and half from you later in the spring when the weather gets nice. I would like to fool with them and see what I like best. At least they will be good eating compaired to the turkeys you eat in the store.

You will like the large fowl reds and I will help you breed them for type and color. The secret was to push them to lay 200 eggs per year and when I did the type and vigor was fantastic.

This line goes back to a lady in Decatar Georgia out side of Alanta to 1912.

Thanks for the information on the two breeds of turkeys I visited your web site and found it excellent reading. bob

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Thanks Bob, I look forward to talking with you more about them. I'll send you a pm

Steve

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
Got the feedback today from the deep fried turkey. Gives me that warm fuzzy feeling.

"Hey Sharon,

Wanted to say to you and your hubby, THANK-YOU so very much for Leroy, he made our family so very happy as we ate and enjoyed every bite of the guy! It was so very kind of you both to be so very generous, thanks from the bottom of our hearts!! "


Steve