Which ones should I get??

[Amigatec]

Narragansett, Bourbon Red, or Royal Palm?


I want a Heritage Turkey that is a good eating bird.

 

[Frosty]

Part of the answer is how many you plan to feed... if you have a small family, the Royal Palms tend to be on the smaller side. Narragansett and Bourbon Reds are about the same size, so if you want a bird that is a bit bigger you can go with either of those. In that case, pick whichever you like the looks of best.

 

[Amigatec]

It will be mostly the wife and me, but I really like the Narragansett the best.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

If you like it best.... by all means get them!

 

[u8sushi]

We went with Narragansettes. We just love them. Friendly and tame, they are great around children. Good tasting too. They are the oldest heritage birds in the country and back in 2003 there were only about 300 of them left in the USA. We feel like we are doing our part in bringing back this proud bird. They are the most beautiful ugly birds in the world.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

The Royal Palms have a shallow shaped breast bone so you don't get as much meat from them per bird, taste wise they are fine. The BR is larger and has a very good flavor. Narri's I don't know we have never raised them.

The Narri's aren't the oldest variety. in 1874 the Bronze, Narri, White Holland, Black and Slate was admitted into the APA. The Black and White Holland are the oldest, they were brought back to Europe by the Spanish from Mexico and the South west. The Europeans bred those two and the settlers brought them back to the colonies, the Narri's were bred in New England using Eastern Wilds and black.

Steve

 

[Amigatec]

Quote:
Since you don't raise the Narragansettes, you have the best price so far. I will have to go with the Bourbon Reds. When will you be taking orders?? I want to have at least one ready for Thanksgiving.

Also are turkeys harder to incubate?

I plan to buy a Gensis Hovabator this spring and try to incubate a few chicken eggs.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We are now taking orders for 2011, turkey eggs aren't any harder to incubate than chicken eggs. The key thing is having your 'bator set up and the settings right.

Steve

 

[Amigatec]

I sent an email.

 

[vtgirls]

We have currently have 4 Narragansetts and 1 mix - hatched them from eggs from a friend who also loaned us a bator - some ancient styrofoam thing which we had to fill a tray inside with water in. It rattled and hummed and drove us crazy but we hatched 11 of 18 eggs - our first eggs ever. Found it to be a rewarding and educational experience. We love our turkeys - will be tough to eat them!