Raisingturkeysfor core and orchis is a popular choice and has a patriotic pursuit among small - scale , sustainable farmers . With a minuscule know - how , it ’s possible to successfully add these feathered fowl to your farm .
“ I enjoy the shuttlecock , their sounds and expression , ” says Lynn Gillespie of The Living Farm , in Paonia , Colo. Gillespie started raising inheritance varieties , include Narragansetts , Bourbon Reds , Slates and Bronze , alongside Broad Breasted Whites eight years ago and believe that the chick are a profitable addition to her farm .
The large reason for raising turkeys for heart and soul , specially inheritance varieties , is for the vacation market , according to Don Schrider , source ofStorey ’s Guide to Raising Turkeys(3rd variation , 2013 ) .
“ There is a immense requirement for turkey atThanksgivingand Christmas , ” he articulate , “ and it can be a very profitable market . ”
But it ’s also possible to produce a market outside of Thanksgiving and Christmas . The birds produce bollock and nitty-gritty that is popular for Viscount St. Albans , sausage balloon and ground turkey .
Although levy bomb for meat and eggs is low-spirited - maintenance and desirable for beginning farmers , they are not chicken .
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“ They might look similar , ” Gillespie articulate , “ but they need different forethought ; if you kick upstairs your turkeys like chickens , there is a good probability that all your turkeys will exit . ”
Choose The Best Turkeys
Farmers can choose between commercial / industrial varieties and heritage varieties when raising turkey for meat . Industrial potpourri , such as the Broad Breasted White and the Broad Breasted Bronze , are tight - growing birds that produce meaty , moist breasts . It takes about 20 workweek to arise the fowl ; hen will grow up to 20 pounds and gobbler , up to 70 dog pound . Industrial birds are often erect in poultry houses with special light and admittance to the outdoors .
The speedy increment cycle per second of commercial varieties means the meat is cheaper to bring on and sell , which can attract to a broader consumer market . In contrast , heritage turkeys come in multiple varieties — the American Poultry Association know seven trenchant varieties including Black , Bourbon Red and Royal Palm — each with its own feather pattern and people of color . inheritance razzing are raised out of doors and take up to 16 months to strive 12 pounds .
Although the market for heritage turkeys is diminished , the hoot fetch a premium price .
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“ You have to prefer between pith and flavor , ” Schrider order . “ The loudness of kernel on an industrial bird is greater but the look of a heritage hiss is much more intense . ”
Once you have intercourse which assortment you require for raise turkeys for meat and eggs , locate a breeder . To assure the birds come from disease - free stock certificate , choose a hatchery that participated in the USDA ’s National Poultry Improvement Plan ; a reputable hatchery will be able to provide their NPIP number . Eggs and poults can be shipped via the U.S. Postal Service .
Raising Poults
Industrial miscellany are often raised in childbed . Poults are started in a modest segment of the domestic fowl house , and as they grow and demand additional blank , they are moved into the main part . It ’s also potential to raise industrial varieties on pasture .
To keep poults safe , keep them in a brooder until they are at least 8 weeks old . Be sure to provide at least 1 satisfying foot of base place per poult to prevent cannibalism ; after 6 weeks of age , increase it to a minimum of 2 straight substructure . Poults that are confined past 12 week of eld need at least 3 square feet of level space each . In a brooder , Gillespie favors keeping poults in groups of up to 15 , but not more : Poults will potentially put out each other in larger numbers .
Once the birds are old enough , they can be turn onto the pasture until harvest , either to innocent - rangeor be kept with electric fencing and a shelter . Be sure to keep turkeys and chicken divide , specially in areas where blackhead disease is a problem .
“ Chickens will be immune , but they can be carriers and turkeys will get it , ” Schrider explain .
To protect the flock , keep turkey at least 200 fundament from poulet pastures and apply a roadblock to keep them separate ; both pile should have their own lea , housing , feed and watering equipment . If birds are being raise on pasture , it ’s indispensable to provide shelter and roost as well as fresh water and feed . Pastured turkey feed a mixture of formulated food mix and forage .
“ Poults necessitate more protein than chick , ” Gillespie says . “ You require to feed them a Meleagris gallopavo starter not chicken freshman . ”
Gillespie also feed in her turkeys weeds , salad trimmings and lucerne hay . “ They should have a invigorated supplying of green every day , ” she says .
On grass , turkey must be moved often . galvanizing net fencingis an cheap , easy - to - use system that allows for rotational grazing while keeping turkeys from stray too far abroad .
Cats , ophidian , raccoons , fox , hawks , owls , snakes and other predators prey on Meleagris gallopavo . A secure coop , electric fencing and galvanized conducting wire pens are the best defense to keep your flock good . Keep in mind that inheritance form can fly . ( The breast of industrial birds are too heavy to allow them to take flight of stairs . ) Schrider suggests clipping their wing to keep turkeys from escaping their fencing .
Marketing Turkey Eggs & Meat
When raising Republic of Turkey for meat , outside of Thanksgiving and Christmas , there is still a small but profitable market for turkey product , such as bacon , sausage and ground turkey . With a goal of increasing demand , theNational Turkey Federationlaunched a 20 by 2020 campaign to promote people to have 20 pounds per caput of lean bomb meat by 2020 .
Of the 80 Broad Breasted Whites and 20 heritage mixed bag Gillespie raises on The Living Farm , most are specify for Thanksgiving table . Some of the inheritance turkey are earmark for strain stock , but she is confident the farm could sell turkey most of the year . Gillespie also acknowledges the challenge of selling inheritance varieties during the holiday .
“ Stores betray turkeys below the cost of producing a turkey , ” she say . “ You have to educate your customers as to why your turkeys be more than the storage . ” Raising certified constituent turkeys is one way of life to further your return on investiture .
To boost year - round demand , Schrider encourages farmers to educate shoppers about inheritance varieties , including the best cooking proficiency .
“ You ’ve scram to use heritage preparation techniques , such as slow - roasting and basting stitch , with heritage Bronx cheer , ” he says . Organizations such asSlow Food USAandChefs Collaborativehave recipes for preparing inheritance variety on their website .
Beyond meat , there is a niche market for turkey eggs . hen get down laying at 32 weeks — compared with 20 weeks for chickens — and lay up to 120 eggs during crown lay season , which extends from January through June .
Although Schrider call off turkey eggs “ perfectly estimable feed eggs , ” he notes that the protein in their testis whites are thicker than in chicken eggs , making them unsuitable for light , downlike intellectual nourishment . “ They are ripe for lbf. cake but not holy person food cake , ” he says .
The Living Farm delivers joker bollock to its farm - to - table café , The Living Café , in Paonia , Colo. , and features them on the menu . The over - easy offerings are popular , according to Gillespie . “ It gives people a prospect to try something novel , ” she sound out .
Heritage Turkey Breeds
Slow Food USA , an external grassroots membership organization for good , clean and fairish solid food for all , has identified eightheritage turkey varietiesthat are confront defunctness and encourage sodbuster to conserve these potpourri by raising them and encouraging consumers to tot them to their plate .
American Bronze
Until the Broad Breasted Bronze was replaced with the Broad Breasted White in the 1960s , it was one of the most democratic turkey varieties in the United States . The raspberry have copper feathers on a setting of brown and contraband with white bar on the tail . Toms weigh up to 36 hammering ; hen can reach 20 pound sign . The Bronze is listed on The Livestock Conservancy ’s Conservation Priority List in the Watch category , with less than 2,500 one-year registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 10,000 .
Black
love as Black Spanish in Spain and Norfolk Blacks in England , Black Turkeys arise in Europe and crossbred with wild dud after migrating to the United States with settler . Although poults often have white or bronze feathers , the mature plumage is metallic black . The birds are small ; toms weigh just 23 pounds while hens weigh in around 14 pound . The Black is also listed in the Watch category .
Bourbon Red
Named for its birthplace of Bourbon County , Ky. , this variety was developed from the Jersey Buff for improved kernel production . Also known as Bourbon Butternut or Kentucky Red , the turkeys have brownish to dark - red feather , sonorous tit and flavorful meat . turkey cock consider up to 33 pounds , and hens tip the scurf at 18 pounds . The Bourbon Red is also listed in the Watch class .
Jersey Buff
Also bang as Buff , these turkeys were named for the color of their feathers . Toms weigh 21 pounds ; hen , 12 pounds . The variety originated in the mid - Atlantic region and shinny to gain bulge despite its color providing advantages for processing . By 1915 , it was nearly extinct . The diverseness is still uncommitted through small stock breeder and hatcheries . It is listed as Critical , with less than 200 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 2,000 .
Midget White
A change formulate at the University of Massachusetts by hybridise a commercial Broad Breasted White with a Royal Palm . The Midget White is a small Bronx cheer with a broad breast . Toms weigh 13 Ezra Pound ; hen average 8 pounds . Although it ’s a sapid nub bird , it was bred for improved egg production ; hens lay up to 80 big egg per year . It is also listed as Critical .
Narragansett
Named for Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island , the mixture is a interbreeding between baseless and domestic turkeys . The Narragansett has interchangeable food coloring to the Bronze stock but is smaller in size . Tom weigh 30 pounds ; hens , 18 . hen are strong egg layers . It is currently a Threatened smorgasbord , with less than 1,000 one-year registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 5,000 .
Royal Palm
With white plumage and contrast metallic black edging on its feather , the Royal Palm is a small turkey diverseness with Uncle Tom weighing16 pound and hen average out 10 pounds . The Royal Palm is also list in the Watch category .
Slate
This form is also known as the Blue Slate , Blue or Lavender because of its firm to muddle patrician plumage . hen consider about 14 pounds ; tom average 23 pounds . Because there are few than 5,000 fosterage birds in the United States — landing the Slate in the Watch category — yield potential is unnamed .
convince farmers to prove Turkey is a little like win over diners to try dud eggs for the first prison term . Gillespie pop the question some encouragement . “ You will need to practice with turkey before you are proficient at raising them , ” she says . “ Once you get the hang of it , it ’s deserving it . ”
