Turkeys that can't perform.

[Lu King]

I understand there is one breed of turkey that has to use artificial insemination instead of the natural way. What breed(s) is that?

Thanks

 

[monarc23]

all broad breasted breeds if i've read right on here from past posts.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

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[chickenannie]

The breed is Broad-Breasted Whites, which make up 99 percent of commercial turkeys (basically every turkey you ever bought at the store).
Trade-off is large breast meat versus ability to reproduce. funny, isn't it, how we farmers decided that was a good trade-off to make?
Think about it... we have bred a turkey that cannot reproduce!

That is exactly why many of us buy heritage turkeys... so that the turkey species can survive! Heritage birds have smaller breast meat, but they reproduce on their own.

 

[farmerlor]

Did you see that episode of Dirty Jobs where they were inseminating turkeys? Eeeeewwwww! If that's not a good enough reason to grow heritage type turks I don't know what is.

 

[chickenannie]

I haven't seen it, but I can imagine how gross it must be!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

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[chickenannie]

Quote:
I agree 100% Annie, one of the bad things about the heritage turkeys becoming popular is now people are trying to breed them for the size and fast weight gain. Exactly how the BB types were developed, that's a scary thought to me and why we are breeding ours mainly towards the APA standard or the original bird.

Steve in NC

That's interesting, Steve.

Honestly, when I had my 20 Bourbon Reds butchered last Thanksgiving, I thought they had nice breast meat. It wasn't like a ragged bony breast or anything that I was afraid they'd have. My customers were very satisfied, too. We (I mean Americans) have come to believe anything less than the enormous breast meat is somehow not good enough, but now that I can speak from experience, I completely disagree. And the flavor!! Wow. I'll never go back to eating a BBW.

 

[wilds of pa]

Don't know for sure if this is true and not trying to get off subject..

But is there any truth to this:

The Beltsville White is the only Turkey in which the females can produce fertile eggs without a Male.

do any Members raise these here on BYC that can confirm this..

Parthenogenesis in Turkeys..anybody ever have this happen to them
http://4hpoultry.osu.edu/Tremendous Turkey05/Parthenogenesis.htm

Charlie

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

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