[timberdog]

Hi all we are thinking of buying poults in for next xmas i wanted to know following

Age and best breed to buy
How many weeks to buy before xmas
What are cost to get bird slaughterd and prepped?

And any other things to watch out for as i go?

[timberdog]

Anyone?

[sss]

Anyone?

Blimey, nothing like rushing people,   

Age and best breed to buy -

In part depends on what sort of turkey you enjoy, Do you prefer an old traditional breed or something more commercial.
What suppliers are around you and their availability and if you want a slow grower free ranging or fast grower artificially fed.


How many weeks to buy before xmas - As above. You can get poults in June ish for xmas or later for quick growers. Or you may have a supplier new you that may sell off some growers for you to finish nearer xmas.

What are cost to get bird slaughterd and prepped? - That will vary around the country, some poultry places may not be interested in prepping a couple of birds for a small holder especially at christmas when the bigger firms are getting their stuff done. It may be worth chatting to people around you who will do it depending on how many you have. But make sure you have a backup plan in case they back out at the last minute with other plans. You may find if you get poults from someone local they may be able to do that for you or recomend someone.

[Marches Farmer]

There have been earlier threads on the subject which may be of help. 

[Daleswoman]

Hi Timberdog, I think some of your questions have already been answered on the thread Managing Turkeys. In terms of breed, I prefer traditional ones so went for bronze. I only had 3, for myself and two friends, so dispatched them myself (with help - it's a 2-person job) and my friends came for a plucking party the same morning.  Mine were 8 week old poults, which I got at the end of July - so they were about six and a half months old by Christmas, which I now think wasn't long enough as they didn't grow very big.  Next year I plan to get them at least a month or preferably 6 weeks earlier. But a lot depends on local availability.

I've kept chickens for years and found turkeys much less rewarding to keep -they seem stupid, are flighty, and mine couldn't be tempted to follow me for food at shutting up time. However the meat on mine was juicy and tasty so I feel it was worth it and am determined to try again.

I estimate they ate the equivalent of a bag of feed each over the whole time I had them, so I think they were good value when you think of the cost of a free range bird at the butchers.


Hope that helps!

[Paulie]

I can't add much but mine were heritage bronze, got them 19th July at 10 weeks. I enjoyed having them around watching and listening to them (some of the time) the Local game keeper dispatched for me, we plucked immediately and hung for 5days, dressing is easy.
They was great to eat. I was happy with the weights they achieved.
Be aware stags are a lot bigger than hens if your rearing to sell.
They cost nothing to keep and could be easy money!
Down sides for me, I could have done without dressing turkeys the night of the 23rd when I had family staying for Christmas 

Will i do it again next year? id like to say I'd never eat another supermarket turkey but boy they was a pain in the neck!!! They get everywhere! A roof they are on it! Foot path, road, the neighbours, no respect for electric netting as they walk rite over it to get in with the chickens, and they enjoy nothing more than pecking at your patio doors. They also get up last and go to bed first or they are up in the trees which is 2 extra trips out in the rain.

[Marches Farmer]

I keep my breeding turkeys in an airy shed and an old stable over the Winter, with wire mesh fronts to keep them in but well ventilated.  In summer they go out onto the field in adapted standard garden shed kits built onto skids and with big game panel runs and game netting over the top.  They're moved on as soon as the grass is really short, generally about every fortnight.   Entirely free-ranging turkeys wouldn't fit in with our other stock (or having them gobble their socks off from the roof of the farm holiday cottage in the early hours of the morning) so this is a compromise but it works for us.