Turkeys For 2013

[Momhunter]

Anyone ordering from porters from north central Texas next spring? I would like to split an order.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I love the Sweetgrass, Fall Fire and the Silver Auburn. Considering I already have Blacks and a RB and BS pair (yeah, red slates are on my agenda)... I can only chose one... maybe two new varieties. Of course, it look sliek there will be no Fall Fire for 2014. Guess that was easy, huh?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: It sounds nice now but I know next year, I will be pulling my hair out . This group loves to hide their nests in the large bush in front of the house and 3 of them love going to my neighbor's house and laying on the side of her barn. I have their behaviors down to a science. Now if the others get any bright ideas and go into the woods, then that willbe another story.

I just checked the Porter's site and I think i will order 8 poutls from them for 2014. I really want some Porter's BR. I hope to phase out all of my current blood line and have 100% Porters in 2 years.

Have you considered grading up your blood and that way continueing another line of BR. Just saying if we all have POrters, that is not a lot of genetic variability. A white feather is not the whole story, if you know what I mean.
Good point. I was thinking that too, I am still getting a few from porters but have one from you, and another private breeder.
Had an awesome birthday gift tonight...
My older and only sister came to visit Mom & Dad early this evening. I am out in the big coop, just finished shoveling out, and laying fresh hay down.
She asked me what I wanted for my birthday. since this is the "big one".

I said (of course) ...more birds! Her boyfriend wanted to know what birds, so I brought him out my littlest bourbon red poult snickers, he knew what he/she is!!!!
Wow, WTG Sissy!! (was thinking ) She has never liked farm life, or birds, livestock period. HATES geese!
She worked at an egg farm in the 70s and it turned her away from chickens all together. I sent a dozen duck eggs home with him

Sis got a dozen boring chicken eggs lol, didn't want to try the duck eggs. We talked birds quite a while. Wispered to her "he's a keeper

" and she laughed.
So later while grocery shopping my sis calls me. The BF had called a friend at a hatchery and got me hatching eggs

The surprise is how many, I told her to make sure its a post office pick up. Now I am really excited!!!!!
Sooo if I get the porters order, that may give me 4 different lines on my BRs if the hatch goes well. Dying to know which hatchery too!
What an AWESOME gift, she has no idea how excited I am!

Getting a battery backup set up before the eggs come, and kerosene.
Not taking any chances of a power failure again and no heat! I do love my RPs but the BRs are just the sweetest babies.

Yay, she made her nest and started laying eggs!

Congrats!! and some very pretty ones at that! This is the best thread to find out sizes and weights, I know you were asking earlier but my oldest hen is just over a year old.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: I plan on ordering 50 Cornish this month. There is a place near me that sells them for $0.25 each. I'm so excited about that.
WOW that is a good price, I would do a batch of 50 for that! Most i've seen here are at least $1.25 each, i need to look again.

Quote: I have been fortunate, one side of our property has a highway. The only birds that have crossed so far are (of course) my guineas. I screamed, yelled and scared the living daylights out of them when I saw them over in the cornfield

The cock that instigates crossing the road is gone now (unknown predator, suspect a dog), so far no more problems.

Quote: You are so right!

Any time I hear someone say they don't want a freezer anymore I jump on it. After our first pig we processed, I am ready to do a cow next. Have hunted, cleaned rabbit, squirrel you name it. Used to hunt deer but just can't do it anymore. I joined the DNR givein game program for unwanted deer, they let you get on the list of who hunts but doesn't use the meat.
(they just want the rack) Shotgun hurts my hands now too much to do it. Left handed bows are crazy stupid prices anymore. Really miss the venison.

One of my goals is to have most of my birds in the freezer by winter. This came about whenI was interested in becomeing more selfsufficeint. A number if issues are arising in the switchover. One is when natural feed from the land becomes unavailable is much earlier than I thought-- always going to the feed store and having readily available feed in a big is a totally different reality than providing my own feed. THis is a challenge, a bigger one than I realized. I need to slow down on my expectations and rework my model.

If any one knows----
DO the midget white or the beltsville mature quicker than the larger turkeys or do they require the same time to pack on the meat?

I think I know the answer but do not have first hand knowledge to be sure.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Double yolk from the bigger egg. Man those shells and membranes are hard. I broke the yolk on the smaller egg. Can anyone tell if these are fertilized? I think it is, but not positive. Thanks

Yolk on the right looks like it but i am a noob hehe

Quote:
Is there a different order minimum for different breeds? For the BR it's only 8 minimum.


Which breed is 15 min?

Minimum purpocahse number for shipping is 15 poults

EACH breed has a max number. SO to get 15, you will t need to order 3 breeds of turkeys. Which is why they need a list of subs. A least there is a chance of getting what you want.

I got a few Narrigansetts in my sub list . . wow I really like them. I'm liking all the turkeys I have . . .

but I cannot feed them all long term.

Very hard to deside what to keep. THe sweetgrass are gorgeous, but would sell them. THe narris are gentlemen in grey and the two boys are best buds, so how can I do in just one and leave the other lonely. THe bourbon red are eye candy.

I am emptying the freezer of lesser valued foods like breads, frozen watermelon, and fozen meals. I wish I had a better way to store dried milk replacer and bran so the pantry moths can't get into either.

I need a third freezer!!!!!

I've been canning this summer and can can more ( 24 qts empty and waiting for a job).

I'm ready to make jerked meats to put in my kids lunch boxes--- so hard to get fresh foods into them --
I may have to work on finding someone to split an order. Not sure I want 15 poults and I only want 1 breed, so I'm in a pickle of a delimna.
Me too, wanted mini whites. they dont sell them. Would settle for holland and BR. I want pretty, friendly also.. but a bird that can be put on the dinner table too and taste GOOD

.

With the cloud cover and the smell of rain, I asked DH about a weather reaport. DH told me weather was only a cloudy day, no rain until next week.

IT is raining . . .

Ugh.. its been here too and I really need dry weather a few more days.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I made a chart on my computer of proposed breeding pen set up for next year. I have 7 pens for breeding and one large grow-out pen I use for turkeys. If I am going to keep my Mottled Blacks, I am a pen short. Right now, most of the pens are being used to grow out turkeys. I have 3 pens with young hens and 3 pens with young toms, and 2 pens with my older, established breeding stock.
Then I made a list of which birds to keep and which are available for holiday processing. This is ridiculous, but I have down to keep 21 hens and 14 toms!! With so many rare color varieties, I am feeling like I should keep an extra tom for each breed. I have Narragansett, Royal Palm, Slate, Lavender, Red Slate, Lilac, Bourbon Red, Mottled Black, and Penciled Palm. I am also raising 2 other bloodlines beside Porter's of the Bourbon Red. So to keep an extra BR tom of the Porter line, and a tom from each of the other lines---that is 4 toms just for Bourbon Red. For all of you thinking about ordering from Porter for next year, just be aware that it doesn't always turn out the way you want. This is not just from Porter, but from anybody selling poults. Your plans can change depending on what you end up with. And not every bird may be of breeding quality. Of my 6 BRs from Porter, 2 didn't make it, so I only had 4---which is why I got the other bloodlines. I wanted to make sure I had enough for a good breeding group. Good thing, too, because 3 of the 4 are toms. Only one Porter hen. Now on the Penciled Palms, I only got 2, which luckily are a pair, because the tom he was using early on in the season was not very fertile. So I got 2 Red Penciled Palms and 2 Chocolate Penciled Palms as substitutes. All 4 of those are toms! I will keep one Red Penciled as my spare, but I am in limbo what to do with the Chocolate Penciled. Then with the Lilacs, I ordered 6 but only got 4 and Red Slates were my substitute, so I got 3 of those (one extra). Now that I have them, I am finding they are turning into a favorite color. So I am setting up a pen to breed the Red Slates, a pen I was not planning on!! See how this can get out of control?

I do, but I also see how you are planning ahead. Go with your gut feeling, and hang on to that chocolate penciled!
Try crossing back to a royal palm and see if you get more, or another solid chocolate maybe?
I don't know a thing about color genetics but sure looks fun to get into.

Quote: Thanks

Quote: Oh, I"ll have eggs alright. I'll put you down on the list. Thanks
me too please

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: I love some of the lighter toms pictured. interesting color differences.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Mine are big mushes, but visitors don't know that, and are afraid of them. lol

X2!

Quote: It is so cute to see them show off! My palms are usually less friendly than the BR, my first 2 RP poults I fretted over a lot. They get more distant as they get older. My BRs can't seem to get enough attention.

 

[Arielle]

If everyone doesn't mind I would like to post some links for turkey info. Hopefully these work as links.

THis is a basic eraring article by SHaron and steve of S and S Poultry.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/raising-turkey-poults.aspx#axzz2gqovS3xv



https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...us-beltsville-small-whites/0_20#post_10023078

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/623640/beltsville-small-white-turkey/20_20#post_11860738

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/463293/beltsville-whites/0_20#post_5864148

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...beltsville-vs-white-holland/0_20#post_5748056

 

[chicken pickin]

WOW that is a good price, I would do a batch of 50 for that! Most i've seen here are at least $1.25 each, i need to look again.
I have been fortunate, one side of our property has a highway. The only birds that have crossed so far are (of course) my guineas. I screamed, yelled and scared the living daylights out of them when I saw them over in the cornfield

The cock that instigates crossing the road is gone now (unknown predator, suspect a dog), so far no more problems.
You are so right!

Any time I hear someone say they don't want a freezer anymore I jump on it. After our first pig we processed, I am ready to do a cow next. Have hunted, cleaned rabbit, squirrel you name it. Used to hunt deer but just can't do it anymore. I joined the DNR givein game program for unwanted deer, they let you get on the list of who hunts but doesn't use the meat.
(they just want the rack) Shotgun hurts my hands now too much to do it. Left handed bows are crazy stupid prices anymore. Really miss the venison.

$0.25 is a fantastic deal Id jump right on that. Even your $1.25 is good. I paid $1.34 per chick and then shipping. But I like Meyerhatcherys CX so I opted to not buy from a feed store so I didn't really look around for better prices. Here are my CX from this morn. Today is process day.