what did your bourbon red weigh for thanksgiving dinner

[julieschickens]

wondering what your BR weighed? mine were only 10 pounds

 

[chickenannie]

Mine ranged from 10 lbs to 14 lbs. One tom (same age as the others) came in at 17.7 lbs!! He was always big, even as a poult he used to trip over his own giant feet.

According to the ATTRA heritage turkey book I have, heritage turkey hens will weigh in at 8-10 lbs and toms up to 12 and 15 lbs.

How old were yours? mine were 7 to 8 months old. I supplemented with lots of sunflowers seeds for the last month too because they weren't interested in more corn (but loved the seeds), though I don't know what difference it made.

 

[julieschickens]

mine were 6 months old. i have never cooked one before and hope it goes ok. i am going to cook it at 375 until 155 degrees????? how about you

 

[chickenannie]

Would you believe I sold 10 Bourbon Reds for Thanksgiving, but not one for myself! They are more valuable to me as cash than as food! However, I'll be eating one on Sunday that a family member bought. I am not the one to ask about cooking times.... but would be a good question for posting on here tonight because heritage birds are different than Butterballs in terms of cooking. i'm sure you will enjoy yours very much. By the way, the last month of growing made in difference in the size of mine, so maybe next time get the poults a month earlier.

 

[julieschickens]

thanks. i will eat another one for christmas if it is good and that one should be much larger i hope!!! happy thanksgiving

 

[chickenannie]

Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Enjoy your turkey!

 

[ChanceRider]

The one I gave my next door neighbors weighed in at 19 lbs, processed, and the one I kept for myself is about 17.5. I hatched these guys from eggs I bought early this spring for the purpose of starting a breeding flock. I butchered out the 2 "extra" toms, hoping that at 27 weeks they'd be decent sized birds for the table.

Midget White toms that I hatched at the same time weighed in at between 13 and 14 pounds, perfect for when I cook one for just DH and I. I'm letting a couple of the MW's grow out until a week or two before Christmas as I have orders for Christmas turkeys.

This is my first year hatching and raising turkeys, and I'm already hooked, without even tasting them yet!

 

[chickenannie]

Chance,
What breed where the 17 and 19-lb turkeys you gave to your neighbor?

 

[longranger]

I did 2 BR toms that dressed out at 14 and 17 pounds. about 28 weeks. One will be smoked and the other will go in the oven.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Our White Holland hen dressed out at 16 1/2 pounds.

Steve