Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Although large breasts produced in a short period of time are a desired commodity
for many modern consumers, before you choose to raise modern commercial turkeys,
consider the energy, medication, sanitation duties, antibiotics, and feed required to make
such a venture successful. As birds that require you do everything to keep them alive,
they're truly a high-maintenance breed.
They Just Sit and Eat
At Sandhill Preservation Center Farm, we have conducted multiple experiments with
commercial birds and heritage-type turkeys and have always found the sedentary nature
of the commercial birds a stark contrast to the activity of the heritage birds. The modern
big-breasted birds sure don't want to move around. They won't forage much and are per-
fectly content to sit by their feed and eat or drink. This may make them ideal for people
who want a bird that won't wander off. They usually stay in their shed, eat, drink, and
get fat, and they are easy to dress at a fairly early age.
You don't have to make roosts or worry about them flying off or leaving your farm.
Their weight and size and resultant difficulty maneuvering make them easy to manage
physically. If you're someone who wants control of every aspect of raising and doesn't
want to deal with natural bird personalities, you'll find commercial-type turkeys easy to
maintain.
Heritage Turkeys
In contrast to the body type of the commercial bird, heritage turkeys have longer legs,
stronger, more developed wings, and narrower breasts. They possess more refined facial
features and their heads are more elongated and not as broad as those of the recently de-
veloped ones.
The behavior of traditional or heritage-type turkeys is a far cry from that of a com-
mercial bird. Naturally mating turkeys are in some ways easier to raise than their com-
mercial counterparts. In other ways they are very much more difficult. Heritage turkeys
take at least 24 to 26 weeks to reach maturity, but they are quite capable of breeding
on their own. They are active birds that greatly enjoy foraging. They run about catch-
ing insects and eating green grass and garden waste bits. Once heritage types reach that
teenage stage of eight to twelve weeks, they think it's very exciting to get out to run and
test their powerful wings. With their lighter body structure, they can fly with great ease.
These travels can be risky. Even in crowded suburban neighborhoods or small
wooded lots they sometimes get lost. Usually they find their way home; however, the
risk of them not finding their way home is greater in areas that are heavily forested.
