Turkeys For 2013

[TamTurkey]

They survived long enough for me to put them in the freezer. My Poultry PHD friend diagnosed them. Then I asked do I destroy them or can they be eaten and his response was "Sure they make great Fajitas" so we processed them ourselves and have plenty of hamburger meat and fajita meat

 

[kuntrygirl]

THis begs a question--

(Sorry TamTUrkey, I"m sure it is not fun. )


Are the birds immune after the exposure? ANd do all the birds get it, or do some have immunity??  Maybe it matters what flock they come from??

They are immune after exposure. Good question about do all birds get it. I would think that some would have immunity. Just like people who never get sick or colds and their bodies fight off those germs. I don't think that every chicken that has been bitten by a mosquito has gotten pox. What do you think?

 

[kuntrygirl]

They survived long enough for me to put them in the freezer. My Poultry PHD friend diagnosed them. Then I asked do I destroy them or can they be eaten and his response was "Sure they make great Fajitas" so we processed them ourselves and have plenty of hamburger meat and fajita meat

How far advanced was the pox? When did you decide to process them? At what stage of the pox? How bad off were they? How many did you process? How much meat did you end up having? Sorry to hear about that though.

 

[TamTurkey]

Not sure what "stage" they were in as this is my first experience with it. Although only 4 were showing signs of it I went ahead and slaughtered all 7 as to not affect any of our show birds. They were 17 weeks average weight I guess was about 17 pounds dressed. we had a lot of meat I did not weigh them we just skinned them and deboned the meat left the legs in tact for our next bbq. took the rest of the meat and made some whole boneless breast meat as well as some fajitas sliced and seasoned and then ground the rest for hamburger meat. it really saved space in the freezer that way and you can only roast so many turkeys in a year. I still sold 10 whole turkeys for this thanksgiving that were not affected by the fowl pox.

 

[TamTurkey]

I have been told that once they survive it they are immune. I guess if you have a breed that lives a long time that would be good to know. These were BBW and were at 17 weeks so by the time they got over the virus it would have been past time to process and the risk of them infected the show birds made the decision to process them easy. I know many of you have these wonderful creatures for pets and for some it's a business for us it's al about the show ring and earning my son some college cash

 

[TamTurkey]

How much do you all sell your processed turkeys for? Do you sell by weight?

You of all people will beat me for this. We raise BBW for show having said that as long as my son makes the sale the expenses are paid for and then some. Depending on the show we get 20-50 birds twice a year to raise. With all that in mind wen it comes time to process be do not have the freezer space to store these animals and because they are the same breed you can find at your local grocery store we have to sell them at a competitive price. So normally it's $1 a pound.

 

[Arielle]

I have been told that once they survive it they are immune. I guess if you have a breed that lives a long time that would be good to know. These were BBW and were at 17 weeks so by the time they got over the virus it would have been past time to process and the risk of them infected the show birds made the decision to process them easy. I know many of you have these wonderful creatures for pets and for some it's a business for us it's al about the show ring and earning my son some college cash

Good reason to process those that were affected, and those exposed to save the others from possible exposure. I was thinking that these were breeding stock, and the immunity would be valuable for that stock.


I processed 2 males that were about 6 months today. Not very meaty. Hope to get a few more done tomorrow, too. These are heritage cross breds.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I sold my red jake and slate jenny today. I lost my black tom overnight. I am assuming because of the cold...? No idea. Birds, you know. I have 2 black jennys left and going to try getting another jake this weekend. I decided to keep the blacks if the red and slate sold... Typical of my type of luck to have a vital part of the trio die.

I decided that I will be making a Porters order if I get the money in time. Only thing is, I want poults by April or May. I don't want to wait until June-August. So, I will have to decide if it's worth the wait. I do want to get Sweetgrass yet. I haven't decided if I want Silver Auburn, Self Buff or go back to the Reds.

Don't tell the chickens, but I like the turkeys more than them.

Oh, and my 3 BBBs are going to be processed on Monday. How long do I gave to leave them in the fridge to come back out of rigor and be tender? What's the best way to store them in the fridge? I put my ducks and geese in the fridge for 2 days and they started to dry out. Obviously I didn't have the cover sealed well enough, but I don't want that happening to my holiday dinner! I bought a 5gal bucket w/ a snap tight lid to store them in... I heard brining is a good idea. If so, how long should I brine? Can I over brine and make it salty? The BBW we bought fresh 2-3yrs ago wasn't this difficult, btw.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I sold my red jake and slate jenny today. I lost my black tom overnight. I am assuming because of the cold...? No idea. Birds, you know. I have 2 black jennys left and going to try getting another jake this weekend. I decided to keep the blacks if the red and slate sold... Typical of my type of luck to have a vital part of the trio die.

I decided that I will be making a Porters order if I get the money in time. Only thing is, I want poults by April or May. I don't want to wait until June-August. So, I will have to decide if it's worth the wait. I do want to get Sweetgrass yet. I haven't decided if I want Silver Auburn, Self Buff or go back to the Reds.

Don't tell the chickens, but I like the turkeys more than them.

Oh, and my 3 BBBs are going to be processed on Monday. How long do I gave to leave them in the fridge to come back out of rigor and be tender? What's the best way to store them in the fridge? I put my ducks and geese in the fridge for 2 days and they started to dry out. Obviously I didn't have the cover sealed well enough, but I don't want that happening to my holiday dinner! I bought a 5gal bucket w/ a snap tight lid to store them in... I heard brining is a good idea. If so, how long should I brine? Can I over brine and make it salty? The BBW we bought fresh 2-3yrs ago wasn't this difficult, btw.

Hehe.. If I had got turkeys first, there would probably not be chickens here

Minimum 3 days to stand or longer. 5 days I worry, but I know many people go even longer.
I free ranged mine, and locked them up a few weeks before I processed. I brine, and let the first one stand three days.
he was 5 months, 16-17 lbs dressed, and no fat. I raise our livestock lean to meet my parents nutritional needs.
I use 1 cup of sea salt, my seasonings and broth. warm it up to melt the salt down.
Add to the bucket and chill in the fridge. Add the bird, fill with cold water and close it.
The more often you swish the the bird in the brine the better, but once a day is fine.
Lift him out, lower, lift, lower... is the "swish".

I liked it but DH said the thigh was a bit stringy. So the next I brined 4 days, much better. That was about 2 weeks later.
I rinse the bird well after brining. I don't usually salt any of our foods and it wasn't overpowering, actually really good.
It is more involved, yes but for me worth knowing how it is raised and treated.
Its a good feeling for me to know I prepared that healthy meal from a poult to the table, and it was treated with respect.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

They survived long enough for me to put them in the freezer. My Poultry PHD friend diagnosed them. Then I asked do I destroy them or can they be eaten and his response was "Sure they make great Fajitas" so we processed them ourselves and have plenty of hamburger meat and fajita meat

I am so sorry, fantastic that the birds were safe to eat tho!
I have some favorites, "pets" but the majority of the birds I raise have purpose, raise more birds, lay eggs to feed my family.
Having trouble accepting the idea geese and goats as food tho, both were always pets to me growing up.
It would feel like I was eating a cat or dog

can't get past that yet.