Turkey Talk for 2014

[AmericanMom]

So question on eating old hens. How do you make them not be so rubbery? We tried an old hen and she was awful. I baked her like a normal chicken. Any suggestions? I hate to kill the old girls just cause and not even use them.

I don't bake the older ones, I have only used them for chicken soup, noodles or chicken pot pie.

 

[BullChick]

My Easter basket.

 

[SilkieSensation]

So question on eating old hens. How do you make them not be so rubbery? We tried an old hen and she was awful. I baked her like a normal chicken. Any suggestions? I hate to kill the old girls just cause and not even use them.

My birds go in the crockpot overnight on low. By the time I pull them out they are literally falling apart. I then pick all the meat from the bones & chop it, shred it & use it in enchilladas, quesedillas, noodles or creamed chicken sandwiches. (We aren't real big around here on chicken noodle soup so I have to make other things instead.)

 

[TherryChicken]

Motorcyclechick, that is so cute!

 

[kimerzde]

That's only their night time pen. They will share the acre with two geese and several chickens. I don't believe in keeping them penned up all day, seems mean to me. We will eat 5 of them so there would only be 3 in there if they had to be locked up for short period of time. That would be mean wouldn't it.

 

[kimerzde]

Is that a misprint, or are you planning on keeping 8 turkeys in an 8X4 foot run? Is that just their predator-proof night time enclosed pen, and they'll be free ranging during the day? If that's not a misprint, and they're not going to be free ranging, then that's not nearly enough space. That's only 4 square feet per bird. That's tighter packed that high density intensive factory farming. Please don't do that to such a wonderful animal. They'll be miserable.

oh I get how to reply to a specific post, lol... I'm a little slow, Sydney, no way would I keep that many birds in such a small enclosure. They will free range during the day and that will be their own private broody home when the girls decide to nest next spring.

 

[kimerzde]

My birds go in the crockpot overnight on low. By the time I pull them out they are literally falling apart. I then pick all the meat from the bones & chop it, shred it & use it in enchilladas, quesedillas, noodles or creamed chicken sandwiches. (We aren't real big around here on chicken noodle soup so I have to make other things instead.)

okay thanks, next time I will know better...

 

[Ellaluvsbirds]

In 2008, there was an independent blind taste testing of 8 heritage turkey varieties along side Butterball turkey. This was published in Mother Earth News, August 21, 2008. You can read the whole thing on line and I would give you the link, but can't seem to copy and paste a link here? But of all the varieties, the Midget White came in first with Bourbon Red coming in second, both receiving twice as many votes as all the other varieties. Butterball came in last, no surprise. So if you want them for meat, BR is a good choice although personally, if you brine and slow cook a heritage turkey? They are ALL delicious! For breeding purposes, if you breed two Slates to each other, you will get 3 colors---Slate, Self Blue, and Black. Some people like the diffrerent colors, but the Black birds tend to leave some dark staining on the meat from the feather pigment. Cosmetic only, so if you are only processing for yourself, shouldn't be a problem. What I do with my Slates is, I use a Self Blue tom over them, and that way I only get the Slates and Self Blue and no Black. I think there are variations in temperament, not so much within breed but probably different lines. My Slates are the calmest of all my turkeys. I have 3 different bloodlines of Bourbon Red, and the ones from Porter are calmer than the other two. They are both about the same size, and the Standard calls for the same size: 33 lbs for old toms, 23 lbs for young toms; 18 lbs for old hens, 14 lbs for young hens. But in actuality, unless the breeder is working to get the size up, the heritage turkeys tend to be smaller than the SOP calls for.

Thank you so much for your advice!!! I think that I will go for the Bourbon Reds.

 

[BullChick]

Motorcyclechick, that is so cute!

Thank you!

 

[Turkeytruff]

This is my first year with turkey hens - today for the first time I got 4 eggs from 4 birds.
My question is - how long can a turkey hen leave her eggs and they will still incubate - I know Brinsea actually cools them down a few times a day to simulate a hen going off her nest. But three of them lay an egg, stay on it 24 hours, then get off for 1/2 day or 1 day (I have taken to stealing their eggs and leaving golf balls). I would love to incubate them, but currently have an incubator stuffed full of duck eggs for a friend.
One possibility is that one of my broody hens is double bumming it with one of the turkeys. I was so excited I put 8 turkey eggs under but then after a day the turkey hen Madge (like in the Simpson's she's always talking LOL!) went off the nest leaving my hen to flatten herself even more -
which to her credit she is doing. Every other day Madge comes back to the nest, lays another egg, sits on it for 24 hours and then leaves it to the hen.to do the hard stuff!
Is this typical?...