We're talking turkeys!

[keyt1969]

Well, we decided to try raising turkeys. We have chickens, ducks and rabbits but neither one of us has ever had turkeys. We want to pick some up in the Spring to raise them in time for Thanksgiving next year. My boyfriend has dressed out many birds for a neighbor but never his own so that's not the issue. We're curious, which are the best meat birds? We need the bigger the better because we have a large family.

Any other advice is welcome!

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

You can research the Heritage varieties at http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/wtchlist.html#turkeys

The Broad Breasted Whites and Broad Breasted Bronze are the cornishX of the turkeys. Lots of issues if not properly cared for and must be butchered by a certain age or they just won't survive. Try getting a heritage variety and keeping a pair or trio for breeders. Lots of fun letting a turkey hen set and hatch her own brood out!

 

[jasonm11]

If your after meat then you can't beat the production broad breasted white or bronze. In four to five months the will dress out around 18 to 30 lbs depending on hen or Tom and what you feed them. But of you want long term breeding flock eating a few each yer then go for a heritage breed. They will dress out about 20lbs after 8 to 9 months and will live for years. The broad breasted birds take a lot of work if you decide to keep alive past 6 months because they eat constantly and get too large for heir frames.