You’ve decided to raise your own turkeys this year, yes! Thanksgiving is going to be awesome! As fun as turkeys will be to have around, we need to get them raised first! Before your poults arrive, you’ll need to have your brooder set up and ready to go. Which bedding material is the best to…
Turkeys need different feeds depending upon their age, whether they are young poults or adults, and the time of year, mainly are they on a maintenance ration or are they in breeding season. What is the best feed for turkeys, based on their age, and when do turkeys need switched to a different feed? The…
Male and female turkeys are sold straight run, meaning the males and females are all together in the “as hatched” ratio. As they grow, turkeys have the same markings in both sexes, unlike other poultry where the older males seem to have a more bold color pattern. Since turkeys look very similar, no matter the…
If noisy birds are an issue where you live, but you still want to have backyard poultry, choosing birds that are more likely to be on the quieter side of things is a wise move. You’ve looked around and decided to consider chickens and turkeys. Which bird makes more noise, turkeys or chickens? Generally speaking,…
How much feed are you going to need for your turkeys? Actually, the answer depends on the kind of turkey you raise and how big you want them to get! A broad breasted turkey will eat 64 pounds of feed by 16 weeks and 101 pounds of feed by 20 weeks. A heritage breed turkey…
Raising your own turkeys, that would make Thanksgiving more tasty than ever! Actually, home raised turkey is great through out the year, why limit yourself to just the holidays?! Should you raise a heritage breed or stick with the basic broad breasted turkeys? And how much is all this going to cost, anyway? A broad…
You’ve decided to raise a few turkeys and plan on serving one up for a stellar holiday dinner. Now you need to know: What is the best age to butcher your turkey? The best age to butcher a Broad Breasted Turkey is 16-20 weeks, for heritage breed turkeys it’s 24-28 weeks. Congratulations! Home raised turkey…
Raising your own turkeys is a fun and easy way to get a lot of flavorful meat for your family. I love how much more meat you get per bird when you raise a turkey! Now the big question-what breed to choose? Broad Breasted White Turkeys (the standard commercial turkey) reach butchering weight in 16 weeks. Heritage breeds will take 24 weeks or more and…