Turkey Talk for 2014

[Momhunter]

I have 14 eggs going into the bator tonight. 1/2 royal palm and half royal palm x blue slate. Eggcited!!

 

[chickadoodles]

I have 14 eggs going into the bator tonight. 1/2 royal palm and half royal palm x blue slate. Eggcited!!

Good luck

 

[Sydney Acres]

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I could also be way off price wise, but I would think $75 a pair would be really high. These are meat birds, with almost no capacity to reproduce without artificial insemination. They make absolutely wonderful pets, but their very short lifespan and high pain levels as they become increasingly disabled are a predictable heartbreak to anyone who adopts them for that purpose. If a heritage tom were placed with a BBB hen the breeding might be successful, but the eggs should be incubated, as the BBB is often too big to brood successfully, and many crush their eggs, and many die from the stress of brooding (such as sweet Scarlett, owned by KEpp on this thread, whose eggs are currently doing well in the incubator). The BBB toms are usually too large to breed successfully, and their huge size quickly makes them disabled and painful as they age (actually, as they grow up, as they rarely reach more than 18 months old without extensive care, and many die before 12 months). So with rare exception, these are meat birds, and should be sold at meat prices.

 

[piglett]

I like the weed block fabric instead of the black plastic... granted it doesn't often flood here.. but when we do have a good downpour I want it to stay in my garden and not flow down the hill!

i didn't find the fabric in my area but everyone had the plastic

granted if i was doing a huge garden i could get a roll shipped in

 

[yinepu]

Quote:

I found it at lowes and home depot.. but buy it from eBay since it's a lot cheaper even with shipping figured in.. lol

 

[AmericanMom]

I have 14 eggs going into the bator tonight. 1/2 royal palm and half royal palm x blue slate. Eggcited!!

 

[BullChick]

Quote:

I have seen the fabric, and it says not to use in vegetable gardens. It claims it is only for flowers, trees and shrubs. Are you telling me I can use it anyway? I never did understand why I couldn't. Maybe there is a chemical weed repellant on the fabric?

 

[Sydney Acres]

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Costco has it

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

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I have seen the fabric, and it says not to use in vegetable gardens. It claims it is only for flowers, trees and shrubs. Are you telling me I can use it anyway? I never did understand why I couldn't. Maybe there is a chemical weed repellant on the fabric?
X2 I am planning mine out too, am really curious about it. If it saves some of the hoeing and weeding I am all for it!

 

[Sydney Acres]

Ok here are my pair of turkeys. BBB or bronze heritage? Got them from my neighbor who only knew he ordered bronze. The rest of the flock was butchered at about 9 months or so. His tom weighed approx 25 lbs at that time.

It's really hard to tell from the pictures, as the tom is displaying and the hen is not standing in a typical pose. Color-wise, the heritage bronze and the bbb look exactly alike. The only difference in appearance is the amount of muscling, especially on the breast. Because of the huge size grown in such a short period of time, they have severe health problems before they reach full adulthood, which is why most are slaughtered between 4-6 months of age. I know one person who didn't slaughter his until it was 7-8 months old. He said it dressed out to 35 lbs. They got it all ready to bake, fit snuggly in the roasting pan, only to find that it wouldn't fit in their oven. They had to cut it in half to cook it!! I suspect your pair are heritage bronze, especially if they're healthy birds, because the breast muscling on healthy bbs is hard to hide regardless of pose. And most bbb toms are 25 lbs before they're 5 months old, and 40-50 lbs by the time they're 9-12 months old, unless they're sickly and not growing properly, or unless someone is intentionally slowing their growth in an attempt to get better longevity.