Turkeys For 2013

[chicken pickin]

Yes pics. I didn't get too many since the house was hectic and everyone was STAAAAAAAARVING lol. Family just left for the night, it was a GREAT day. I think I cooked it a smidge too long it tasted just a little dry to me though everyone else said it was great.





My Sister and her kids



and Me

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

You need a bigger platter.

 

[chickadoodles]

Yes pics. I didn't get too many since the house was hectic and everyone was STAAAAAAAARVING lol. Family just left for the night, it was a GREAT day. I think I cooked it a smidge too long it tasted just a little dry to me though everyone else said it was great.





My Sister and her kids



and Me

Chicken that is a great looking turkey! And you have a nice looking family.

 

[Celie]

If we packed on pounds every time someone on this thread posted a delicious recipe or mentioned food, we would all be Santa Claus fat.

Who's ready to start a diet after the Holidays?

 

[Celie]

Celie are you saying you get 300. for a dozen hatching eggs?

No, my hens average about 100 eggs a year x $3 each. My hens are still laying 2 to 4 eggs a day here in Southeastern Louisiana. I picked 4 yesterday and 3 today. I have 5 in the brooder, 2 weeks old, 6 have peeped in the incubator today with 4 eggs to go, for now, a dozen or so in 2 weeks. My Holland hens all but quit when they molted last month, laying only 1 or 2 a day and once in a while I got none. Last year they stopped in October and started laying again mid December, but this year, so far they are still laying. I don't know how this hard freeze for the next 3 nights will effect them, but Hollands are Prolific layers. I sold another mature tom yesterday, for $105. and Sunday I have a customer coming to pick up 2 young 8 month old pairs for$200. I was selling poults, last year for $10, this year I will be charging $12., since feed prices have gone up, but I find, after turkeys reach 9 or 10 months old, they eat a lot less than when they are younger and growing their framework. After that they are turning their feed to meat very fast!

 

[Celie]

I think you have to ask yourself a few questions before thinking price per pound. 1. realize you will not get the cost of all your feed out of that 1 bird for all your birds and thats the tough thing as 1st thing you think is, I spent 500 in feed. Maybe that was for 20 birds though.

Next, and don't laugh, but are you trying to make money, break even, or believe in good karma and help someone out but not totally lose your *** on the selling.

If you google price per pound, you see a lot of #s from 3.00-15.00 a pound. I think 3 is low, and 15 is sky high, but they base it off a lot of factors. Free range? Organic? Free range and regular feed? penned up like at Tyson chicken? Also supply and demand.... Is this the 1st time your selling, and do people even know who you are? What I mean is, do you sell some to break even for a couple years so people get to know your passion you have, and understand the hard work,time, and money you have invested in your birds, and than you go to make money once you build up buyers in a year or two. If you only have 1-2 turkeys, its no big deal as you are not going to make much money even if thats what your in it for. When I roof, I try to think of it as this... I could charge you an arm and a leg and most would pay it, or I could charge you what I think is fair considering tough times in the economy, and I will not make as much as I know I can, but you will remember me for your friends, and you will call on me again in the future, so I call it Karma, I need to make something, but I do not need to get rich on your one roof, so I think of my birds like that.

If you go on live weight, I think your more about making money, and some ppl are, they are only about money know matter how they paint the picture, but you know better by how they word stuff. I am not saying live weight is bad, thats where you make your money. Let me give you an example. I had a 30 pound Tom 2 weeks ago, and I thought omg, when I butcher him it will be to big for my oven.. Once it was butchered, it weighed about 23 pounds, so if I was charging 3.00 a pound, I made an easy 21.00 off meat that ppl did not eat. That is life I know, but I would call my self a greedy &^%$. I got into the birds for my familys nutritional needs, and I want to also help others who are less fortunate, however, they are tired of the crap they buy at the store. So it all boils down to what you are in it for, a hobby or a job? If its a job, get what you can... if this is a hobby and about building relationships than you know what to do. I would like to compare building relationships to "working" and "networking" one word difference... If your working and nobody knows you, who will you sell too each year, besides the one or two random ppl? If you are networking, that means your building relationships, and people will not only most likely come back, but they will tell others how good your turkey tasted, talk about how caring you are as you can tell when ppl talk to you if they are passionate or not, and most importantly, you had great communication skills, and they look fwd to buying, and continuing on a relationship for future business in the future...


Sorry its rambled, but should help you decide what you want to do as far as your purpose on raising them and selling.

Live weight and processed weight are different prices! No one I know would rob people like that. I charge $2.50 a pound live weight and $4.50 a pound only for the after processing weight of the bird! I have very large heavy birds for sale for meat. The one I sold yesterday for $105. weighed just over 42#. If I processed him, the processed weight would be about 33-34#@ 4,50= $150.

 

[uphilljill]

Our young turkeys were still a bit small to process for Thanksgiving, so we ended up buying 2 20lb BBB from a local farm. We bought them from the same farm last year and they were great, but I just can't wait to eat our own.

In the meantime, all the poultry got pumpkin & apple peel treats this morning. Left over from my pie baking frenzy last night, but they don't need to know it wasn't a special holiday treat just for them. Lucky birds.

 

[Arielle]

Yes pics. I didn't get too many since the house was hectic and everyone was STAAAAAAAARVING lol. Family just left for the night, it was a GREAT day. I think I cooked it a smidge too long it tasted just a little dry to me though everyone else said it was great.





My Sister and her kids



and Me

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I started last week--- on Atkins I can eat lots of turkey!! Lots!! Roasted turkey, turkey soup, etc. TUrkey turkey turkey

 

[Arielle]

Happy Turkey Day!!!!!!