Turkeys For 2013

[Arielle]

Quote: x2

I love chicken, and turkey. Turkey is tastier than chicken IMHO.

 

[MumsyII]

I love the pic's! What kind of smoker is that Mumsy? It looks like an old apartment oven or something... I just ate but after your pics I could go eat some Turkey or leg of lamb!

Thank you. We got it in 2006. Use it all year round. Pretty much an old seasoned beast these days. I had to replace the bowl for wet smoking once already.

 

[chickadoodles]

Thanks for the pic Mumsy! Your smoker is very cool! I'll bet you do get alot of use out of it! I know I would be using it all the time!

 

[joshm97]

Thought I would share with all my turkey friends . . .those that love turkeys, NOT that you are turkeys, lol . . .  I am buying a presto 7 qt pressure canner.  Do wish I could buy american made but finiances are too tight right now.  ANy way,  I'm planning to roast a few birds and can them to save freezer space. Hoping to order it this weekend for next week. Time to knock down the feed bill and lessen the chores. 

DOes anyone else can?

I do but the only meat that I've canned is venison.  It makes the meat so tender.

I have never canned venison. Do you can steaks or sausage? We just butcher then freeze defrosting as we eat it. Are you near Mass? Season starts in October!

 

[joshm97]

So my Tom has claimed the five poults are his. He dust bathes with them eats drinks sleeps and protects them. If he hears them screech he comes running and will go after any hen or Tom bothering them. He drapes his wings over them at night too. Weird Tom but he is happy. Don't think I have the heart to butcher this guy now

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

So my Tom has claimed the five poults are his. He dust bathes with them eats drinks sleeps and protects them. If he hears them screech he comes running and will go after any hen or Tom bothering them. He drapes his wings over them at night too. Weird Tom but he is happy. Don't think I have the heart to butcher this guy now

Someday I"ll have a smoker!!

 

[Arielle]

So my Tom has claimed the five poults are his. He dust bathes with them eats drinks sleeps and protects them. If he hears them screech he comes running and will go after any hen or Tom bothering them. He drapes his wings over them at night too. Weird Tom but he is happy. Don't think I have the heart to butcher this guy now

He is a keeper--- eat the offspring.

Josh, anything canned becomes tender and mushy by nature of the process. Canning tough cuts will make them tender. Sausage by tradition would be dried for long term storage but these days we toss them in a freezer as sausage hanging in storage with mold is frowned upon.

 

[Sally8]

As I recall, you pack the jars tightly with raw pieces of meat, and a little salt. Then can according to directions for that type of meat. Can't quite remember. You pack the meat in as tightly as you can up to the rim (1/2 - 1 in from the top). It will create it's own juices and it makes it's own flavorful gravy. We usually can the tougher pieces of meat but I like to use some of the good as well. Deer season starts in October for bow and Nov for gun. Not necessarily slugs but ammo is very hard to find around here for handgun especially.

 

[desertmarcy]

I am wondering what is a fair price for young hen turkeys. I have a couple of people call me wanting 2 or 3 hens. Just hens! Well, one might want a tom. People wanting just hens should expect to pay more, don't you think? If I sell any of the Lavender hens I got from Porter, I already have $12 each in those since that was his poult price. I don't think I will sell any of my other Porter hens, those I will keep but I have extra Lavender. I am thinking $30 for hens. They are almost 3 months old. Feed has become so expensive and I feed only organic which costs me $29/bag plus the fish meal I add in to boost the protein. I am the one having to raise them all out, old enough to sex, then people want to pick just the hens without taking the risk themselves of raising a bunch of poults to get hens---maybe! That is just another $20 over my poult price, less than $7/month! Looking at it that way, doesn't seem that much to me, but people always want a bargain. Don't know if $30 is too high or not. Opinions?

 

[Dragon Lady]

I have processed at many ages due to unexpected injuries. THey taste good at any age. HOwever for more meat the older the better.

THe increase in size from 7 moonths on seemed to slow down. Yes the 12 month olds are larger, but I would also consider putting a 7 month old inthe oven too. I prefer larger birds for the amt of effort I put into processing. ANd I have a HUGE roasting pan to hold a big tom.

If you like the pretty bird or are keeping a hen for breeding, you can keep a few hens. We keep some of both. Hens gointo the breeding pens and the extra toms are free to roam OR put into another pen. My point is that you can cull the hensdown to good breeding stock so it is alright to eat them too.

Fortunately usually more males than females are hatched, and make for good eats!!

Nice that you can spread out the processing and enjoy the turkeys dinners over a number of months. We eat turkey all year 'round.

thanks Arielle,
what sort of weights do you expect from a standard sized heritage turkey at 6 months? Mine should be ready for Canadian Thanksgiving in October.
Do you continue to free range them until processing or confine them for a couple weeks beforehand?

thanks