Raising Turkeys at Home

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Narragansett turkeys are attractive, and some strains are particularly good at hatching eggs. WATT Publishing

Turkeys first came here to Locust Grove Farm in southern Ohio in 1991. After a year of living without animals I announced, "Fences or not, I am going to get some livestock." My wife, Linda, said I could if I wanted, but she was much too busy to participate. About a month later my livestock — baby chickens — was delivered. But she took one look at those tiny baby birds, and I could tell from the expression on her face I was out of the chicken picture. So I ordered some day-old turkey poults and decided to try raising turkeys at home. That's how my love affair with these beautiful, friendly birds of many colors began. After my first taste of flavorful, farm-fresh, roasted turkey, I knew I would never go back to bland commercial birds again.

Growing Gobblers

Raising a few friendly, handsome turkeys for your family's use is both fun and worthwhile. If you raise them to eat, you'll have a much more wholesome and flavorful turkey than anything you could buy at the supermarket. Several of the old "heritage" breeds are still available, as well as the "modern" Broad-breasted Whites.

Heritage poultry specialist Glenn Drowns of Sand Hill Preservation Center in Calamus, Iowa, says the Traditional Bronze and White Holland varieties are well suited for small flocks of under 20, particularly for consumption, and that Narragansetts and Bourbon Reds are beautiful medium-size birds better suited to foraging and pest control. I also recommend the striking white-and-black Royal Palm for those desiring a smaller (10- to 16-pound) turkey.

Frank Reese, a long-time turkey aficionado and breeder from Good Shepherd Ranch in Lindsborg, Kan., also suggests the Standard Bronze and White Holland varieties for meat production. He adds that his Sadie Lloyd strain of Bourbon Reds is an excellent all-around choice and mothers very well — no need to worry that chicks won't be looked after. Other good "setters," according to Reese, are the Black Spanish and small strains of the Narragansett.

If you want to raise turkeys to sell, my personal favorite is a medium-size strain of the Broad-breasted Bronze. However, this bird has only been available recently from private breeders because of a temporary outbreak of a slow-spreading, chronic respiratory disease in commercial breeder flocks. This fast-growing modern bird has the abundance of breast meat that U.S. consumers have come to expect. A Broad-breasted Bronze usually has two to four times the amount of breast meat as a wild turkey. A Bronze generally will reach a dressed weight of 16 to 25 pounds in about 24 weeks, the standard time required to raise a high quality turkey. It could take a heritage bird up to two years to reach this weight, and some never will. This time period is important because turkeys don't add fat until 22 weeks. Fat is where much of the flavor is, so you want a good layer under the skin to self-baste the bird as it cooks.