[Womble]

OK, due to family reasons, Christmas day has just been rescheduled to this coming Saturday, much to the consternation of one of our turkeys!!

The guidelines I've seen so far say that I should starve him for 24 hours (impossible, since the bird I have in mind is basically wild, and I'm going to have to climb a tree at night to bag him!), pluck immediately after killing, and then hang guts-in for 10 days.

OK, so I've missed the ten day deadline, but it seems like a long time anyway.  Can you tell me how long the rest of you hang for?  Is there a minimum time, e.g. for rigor mortis to set in and then out again?, Also, does it make a difference if they've been starved beforehand?  For example, will any food left in the crop or guts go sour in my case?

Cheers!

P.S. This month's smallholder magazine says that I should be keeping my turkeys indoors at this time of year anyway (yes, seriously!).  I'm a bit worried that they'll make a mess of the sofa though - can anybody advise?   

[Womble]

P.P.S. Google is useless too. Here's an excerpt from the top hit on "when to kill turkeys":

By ChilloutDog (217 –  1·6) on 2010/12/03 (Patch 4.0.3)

Great tip, definitely works.

Make a macro that says /target Fjord Turkey, and then follow the 'chain' of turkeys the macro leads you through, starting just south of Nifflevar. You'll end up going onto higher ground and easily killing all the turkeys.. just watch out for the Elite Storm Giant around the area!

Well, thanks for the tip Chilloutdog. I definitely don't want to get caught by The Great Elite Storm Giant of Nifflevar whilst I'm busy preparing the sprouts!. 

[Blinkers]

Oh brilliant, that's given me a really good side splitting laugh this morning......and I have visions of my turkeys sitting on the settee watching Strictly Come Dancing 

Ours only get hung for about 24 hours       They have their final meal the evening before and then are 'done' the next morning.  Oh, and they're still outside at the moment.  I only bring them into the big shed once the weather takes a turn for the worst and although we've just had 24 hrs of rain  its beautiful again today and they're enjoying pecking around in the grass.

Good old Google 

 

[Rosemary]

 

[Andrew]

We generally feed am day before dispatch then a small amount of corn about 4pm. We take from shed first thing in morning, pluck straight after dispatch and then only leave 24-48 hours before cleaning out. I know Carol had  a bronze  from the same batch as you 2 weeks ago and he weighed in at 13lbs oven ready.

Good luck catching him.

[Sylvia]

If you cook him straight after killing and plucking you may find him a bit tough and flavourless. I would try to hang him for as long as possible, plucked and guts out. Happy Christmas!!

[Cinderhills]

It's very hard for us to starve them beforehand but I think once they go to the dispatcher then they probably just have a few hours without food.  Ours are outside until they go, but sleep in a shed at night.  Last year the dispatcher said they were really easy to pluck because they didn't have tiny growing feathers hence only cost 5 pounds each to dispatch and dress which I thought was a bargain. 

[manian]

Ours are outside until they go, but sleep in a shed at night.  Last year the dispatcher said they were really easy to pluck because they didn't have tiny growing feathers hence only cost 5 pounds each to dispatch and dress which I thought was a bargain. 

does sound a bargain
we haven't registered to kill birds (didn't realise i needed to) and were going to just do oursfor us  and family. Neighbours have asked if they can have one........
do you know/ does anyone know where to send near me ...... near Ripley in derbyshire
 

[Sylvia]

I "do" poultry for ourselves and others. You don't need a license to kill them by hand, only if you use an electric stunner ( which makes the job a LOT easier)

[JEP]

we don't leaver are turkeys long after killing to pluck & gut
one of the lads that kills them feeds his turkey corn up to end
and cooks with crop full of corn
he say it ads to flavor

[robert waddell]

jep you are having a giraffe     cooking with a full crop

[TheCaptain]

Given a last meal about 4 PM the day before. Killed, plucked then hanged for 10 days. Guts, head and legs removed then tied into 'oven turkey' form.

Mine are out everyday until the day they go, and are allowed to sleep out in their 'turkey tree' if the weather is going to be fine overnight. My girls averaged 5.4 Kgs and Stags 8.2 Kgs last year.

[Tudful Tamworths]

I've been rearing turkeys for about 10 years and they don't get left to hang after killing. The meat is absolutely amazing.
As far as feeding is concerned, they get their last feed late afternoon and are killed about mid-morning the next day.
I've always reared outdoors and only bring them into the barn the day before to make loading for the abattoir a bit more straightforward.

[Hazelwood Flock]

I reared 2 turkey stags a couple of years ago, had one for christmas dinner that year and the other stayed in the freezer until last christmas. Unfortunately I didn't get any more for this year, so i'll have to find one already done.
They were fit to kill in mid november, no use feeding them on if they are ready so I did the deed, plucked them immediately, hung in the shed for 24 hours before drawing and trussing. Both went in the freezer until needed and tasted fabulous!

Paxo & Noel - feathers on!


Paxo & Noel - naked!


Paxo & Noel - oven ready. Paxo weighed 18lb, and Noel 15lb.


They were fed the day before killing, then the deed was done the following morning.

[Womble]

Well, thanks for the info and opinions folks!

In the end, the rest of life got in the way as ever (from constipated cats to prolapsed ducks - we've had the lot this week!), and I ended up killing and plucking him on Wednesday night, and will draw him tonight, ready for the oven tomorrow.

I'll let you know how we got on after the weekend!!