Turkeys For 2013

[Celie]

its hard to get far enough back to get a picture...



Bronze and Auburn



RobertH
Bourbon Red (moulting Buff in the background)

If you plan to sell eggs in the spring or want to swap for Holland White eggs, Please PM me. I have a BR hen and am swapping more eggs in April, but diversity in genetics are good. I also want Nerrengsett eggs or poults, if anyone has any, to swap, too.

Arielle , you might want to hatch some Auburns from birds as pretty as these, instead of buying more poults? Just a thought.!!!! You should get to half and half with shipped eggs and usually will average 50% to 60% hatch rate, if well packaged . I would also suggest to anyone shipping eggs, Wrap the inner box with Heavy duty Aluminum Foil because the Feds are having a larger % of domestic shipping, X-rayed, lately.

Hm, I think butchering next year around Thanksgiving will work. I really wasn't sure if doing it after they were more than a year old would affect the meat or make them more difficult to cook. We have pretty mild winters down here in the Rio Grande Valley, TX, so feeding isn't much of an issue. So long as I sit out there with them, they'll graze. Unfortunately, they only seem to do it when I'm outside, haha! These crazy turkeys just love having company while looking for bugs.

Unlike chickens, turkeys don't get tough, even at 3 or 4 years old, but the flavor, like fine wines, only improve with age. Because of the fat content on all turkeys, low and slow is best, after chilling for 3 days to let the muscle go through rigor!

I like mine 17 or 18 months for the Max. meat on the bird. Poult cost has to be factored in, as well as size of the breed, when you are talking meat, Too. A meat steer will provide a lot more meat than a goat ram, costing the same amount to buy as just born animals! They probably would not cost the same, I am just trying to make a point!!! LOL

 

[LBejaran]

Unlike chickens, turkeys don't get tough, even at 3 or 4 years old, but the flavor, like fine wines, only improve with age. Because of the fat content on all turkeys, low and slow is best, after chilling for 3 days to let the muscle go through rigor!

I like mine 17 or 18 months for the Max. meat on the bird. Poult cost has to be factored in, as well as size of the breed, when you are talking meat, Too. A meat steer will provide a lot more meat than a goat ram, costing the same amount to buy as just born animals! They probably would not cost the same, I am just trying to make a point!!! LOL

I'm probably going to have to get mine to about 17 months (if all goes well, one of them will be for next Thanksgiving because I didn't plan everything out very well, haha). I think I paid about $9 for each poult (I bought 3) and I think the general size of standard bronze toms is about 20 lbs. I'm hoping to keep our jenny for awhile for breeding purposes. Also, she's is much nicer than the tom, haha! If I can replace the current tom next year, then I can maintain a breeding program while still having turkeys for eating.

Oh, I've got so much planning to do. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how everything turns out. For now, I'm stuck buying a BB turkey from my grocery store. That kinda stings, but knowing that my turkeys have a really good life is worth it. Even if they keep pooping on the patio and won't eat acorns unless I grind them up first, haha!

 

[yinepu]

I would also suggest to anyone shipping eggs, Wrap the inner box with Heavy duty Aluminum Foil because the Feds are having a larger % of domestic shipping, X-rayed, lately.

old wives tale.. thin sheets of aluminum foil will not stop x-rays unless you use a ton of them.. if aluminum foil would then the x-ray techs would have no need for those heavy lead lined aprons that they wear..


also... writing "do not x-ray" on a box marks it as suspect.. so those are the first ones they tend to grab to check (that info is from the USPS website)

the "proper" way to mark the box is "live animals - embryos"
marking it in that way is SUPPOSED to ensure it is handled as a live animal and is SUPPOSED to be hand carried and not subjected to the machinery and belts.. not saying they always follow their own rules.. but that's what the USPS claims..

 

[KrisH]

SO true!!


What do you all think??

I have 6 auburns, but no female. THEy are pretty rare so finding a female locally seems very unlikely. ORdering from Porters, would mean a big order, and he usually only sends about 6 as I remember.

So do I try to hold on to 2 -3 toms and order next year in hopes of a few girls? OR can them all and start a new???

All opinions are welcome.

Keep in mind an Auburn tom with a bronze hen will give you Auburn hens and Red Bronze toms
thus they can be sexed at hatch.

I'll have to get a pic or two of our Auburn hens

RobertH

 

[Celie]

I'm probably going to have to get mine to about 17 months (if all goes well, one of them will be for next Thanksgiving because I didn't plan everything out very well, haha). I think I paid about $9 for each poult (I bought 3) and I think the general size of standard bronze toms is about 20 lbs. I'm hoping to keep our jenny for awhile for breeding purposes. Also, she's is much nicer than the tom, haha! If I can replace the current tom next year, then I can maintain a breeding program while still having turkeys for eating.

Oh, I've got so much planning to do. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how everything turns out. For now, I'm stuck buying a BB turkey from my grocery store. That kinda stings, but knowing that my turkeys have a really good life is worth it. Even if they keep pooping on the patio and won't eat acorns unless I grind them up first, haha!

Standard Bronze is the second largest American Heritage breeds, The hen might only weigh 25#s or so, but the Tom, should be about 45# at 17 months. Heritage turkeys, in my experience, take about 8 or 9 months to grow their frame, bones, organs, etc. They will be big and fluff up their feathers to look bigger than what they are, but when you pick them up and weigh them, you will be amazed, they are skinny with very small breasts and a third of the breast will be a layer of fat. At maturity, 17 to 18 months, they reach their max. weight and will have triple the meat, and taste so much richer and flavorful ! I raise HW, which are slightly larger, by about 10%, last year, we processed 2 for Thanksgiving and I didn.t have a scale to weigh them live, but at 18 months, they weighed 34# 12 oz and 35 # exactly. Neither would fit into the new smoker, so we processed a third that was close to 10 months, all toms. The younger one weighed 20 pounds and was mostly bone and legs, with a small breast. All were toms, I do not process hens unless they are injured, and then I do it as quickly as possible, so I don't have time to weigh them. I sold a 10 month old tom to a guy, last week who wanted a young tom for Thanksgiving(I now have a set up to weigh them live. He was almost 8 months old and weighed 22 pounds to the ounce, live. I told the man to feel his breast, he thought it was large, I warned him it was mostly fat and for the next month or so to use a high protein feed to finish him off for meat. Corn or bread will put on more fat, not meat. Meat protein,(bugs, crickets, meal worms, even ground trimmings of table meat, plus soy beans and acorns, etc. would increase the protein. I finish mine off with 28% protein wild game bird pellets, over ripe or bruised fruit from the orchard and allow them into the spent spring garden to forage for more bugs. from 6 months old, mine forage on a lot of pasture and get lower protein treats like bread and kitchen scraps to keep them out of the summer garden, so that and raiding the chicken's feed, they ar probably closer to 22%. After they reach 15 months, again I increase the protein for a 17 to 18 month harvest. After 18 months, additional weight gain is very minimal, but can be held until you want to process them, because turkeys do not get touch and stringy like chickens do. I have processed turkeys over 3 years old and could not tell any difference. They will continue to eat, but after they reach a year, their feed consumption really drops drastically. I have 10 toms, approximately 18 to 20 months old, that I do not plan to winter over, so I am processing a few for the freezer, halfing the breasts and making "beef roasts" out of the thighs, (everyone who says they do not eat dark turkey meat, think they are eating the best roast beef they ever had, when I cook them in left over beef gravy hehehe), and grinding the rest and making stock out of the bones. 3 or 4 will be processed 3 days before Thanksgiving and Christmas and I hope to sell the remaining. I have about a dozen 7 to 10 month old toms for next year(2 for breeders and the rest for Holidays and freezer camp), a dozen or more hens for breeders, a few Midget whites to breed and one Bourbon hen who needs a young tom. BTW, I like to use a yearling tom( around 1 year old) for breeding rather than an older tom, because they are lighter and not has heavy on the smaller weight hens. Your hens produce more eggs with less injuries!

A 50# tom mounting a 25#hen can cause internal damage as well as rip open her side with his more developed spurs.
That reminds me, it is time to remove some rooster and tom spurs, before mating gets going too strong again!

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
I've ordered from him several times and he's never had to substitute any of the birds I wanted.. He told me once that he asks for substitutions in case he runs short on a specific type.. so if you asked for 6 Sweetgrass and said Chocolates would be acceptable as a replacement.. and when he got to filling your order he only had 5 Sweetgrass he would toss in a chocolate in order to get your order out instead of putting you off for a few more weeks..
You're always free to order from other hatcheries though.. I happen to like his birds and his service.. having gotten poults from other hatcheries I can honestly say I prefer the ones from Porters..
When I ordered I did tell him I was planning to breed these, which is why I was able to get far more than the max number of auburns. SO I was initally happy, until all survuving developed into toms. Several have gone to freezer camp. Leaving 6 for final inspection.

As far as substitution goes, that worked in my favor. THe two other breeds that I really wanted were already sold out for the season,but I put them in as subs. ANd then hoped he had exttras-- got the narrigansetts -- both toms!! So I was happy for the substitutes.

Full price is more than I care to splurge when they go for 6-7$ on sale, or they did that year, not sure about 2013. I didn't look or I would have been tempted!!


Generally all my birds seem to be good examples of their breed. THe 2 narri are almost identical and of the 6 Auburns I am struggleing with who stays and who goes. THe sweetgrass are beautiful.He does sell mixed breeds, they are listed as project birds-- are those the ones you are referring to??

If I"m going to do cross breds I think I would like a little BBW in the mix!!

 

[Celie]

old wives tale.. thin sheets of aluminum foil will not stop x-rays unless you use a ton of them.. if aluminum foil would then the x-ray techs would have no need for those heavy lead lined aprons that they wear..


also... writing "do not x-ray" on a box marks it as suspect.. so those are the first ones they tend to grab to check (that info is from the USPS website)

the "proper" way to mark the box is "live animals - embryos"
marking it in that way is SUPPOSED to ensure it is handled as a live animal and is SUPPOSED to be hand carried and not subjected to the machinery and belts.. not saying they always follow their own rules.. but that's what the USPS claims..

You may be right about the aluminum foil, even though there is also a shell and people wearing the aprons don't, and I do mark my boxes both ways with pictures of baby animals, for those postal employees, who can't read. They do not handle boxes by hand in Baton Rough or New Orleans, I know, because I know the USPS Regional manager, he went to school with Hubby, they get delivered in a bin, similar to a dumpster, dumped out onto a sort of a platform and travel mechanically on a 3 foot high conveyer belt while being sorted and passing under scanners, being sorted. Several layers of foil and double boxed, may not protect them completely, but I can only hope! LOL

My local PO is great and even write notes sent with my packages to distribution centers along the way, but most civil servants are BAFOONS !!!. I shipped eggs for 5 years, averaged 4 packages a day and had only 4 that I know had a total no hatch due to being X-rayed. One customer did have the usps driver place her box of eggs on the ground, step on it, fold it in half to fit it into her mail box, because he was too fat and lazy to walk to her door and ring her doorbell! LOL TRUE STORY!!! Government employees should be evaluated every year and the ones like that, get fired!!!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Keep in mind an Auburn tom with a bronze hen will give you Auburn hens and Red Bronze toms
thus they can be sexed at hatch.

I'll have to get a pic or two of our Auburn hens

RobertH
Can you share one of those hens???

(just kidding)

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Keep in mind an Auburn tom with a bronze hen will give you Auburn hens and Red Bronze toms
thus they can be sexed at hatch.

I'll have to get a pic or two of our Auburn hens

RobertH
Can you share one of those hens???

(just kidding)
question--- what do I get if an auburn visits a bourbon red or a sweetgrass??? I have lots of beautiful young girls running around that are of unk parentage. Only the mixed males are bronze--no females.

 

[chicken pickin]

Keep in mind an Auburn tom with a bronze hen will give you Auburn hens and Red Bronze toms
thus they can be sexed at hatch.

I'll have to get a pic or two of our Auburn hens

RobertH

That is very cool. I wasn't sure if their were turkey crosses to produce sexlink offspring. What would sexable poults be called? Would they be Sexlink Turkeys?