I decided to add turkeys for sustainability. I'm currently hatching genuine Beltsville White from what I've found to be the three last known remaining lines.
We substitute a lot of beef and other meats with turkey in our family diet so we eat a lot of turkey. Fresh locally raised turkey is hard to find on a regular basis because most local markets raise them for the holidays. It's a shame that most families only eat turkey dinner once a year. They are totally missing out. Beltsville were also commonly slaughtered at 5-7lbs for fryers with a feed conversion of 2.5lb feed to pound of weight gain.
The Beltsville was custom developed by the USDA for meat production in the 50's when families had those tiny apartment ovens. It was a very popular commercial turkey for a while. The Beltsville is a small family sized or "chicken dinner" type turkey. These Beltsville are not descended from the Midget White which is sometimes incorrectly interchanged with the name Beltsville. These turkeys are not typical heritage birds. The body shape is stocky and similar to the BBW only smaller (12-20lbs). Unlike BBW they can reproduce naturally. A perfectly sized homestead turkey.
I am very excited to start raising this breed. I hope to bring my new flock back to the original carcase standard that they were once famous for.
