Turkeys

[freebs]

Anyone here have turkeys?? If so what is the best to get for pet and meat?? Easy to raise....etc... any info would be great!

[madhen]

I would not recommend the big "broad-breasted" turkeys bred for meat as pets. They are bred to grow a large breast quickly, and they literally become deformed and unable to walk. They are intended as walking meat, and it is expected that they will be butchered relatively soon in their lives, so the breeders who "designed" them don't care if the birds are crippled by their deformity in later life. (Can you tell I have a bias against breeding an animal to the point where it cannot live a normal life in order to make it tastier for your dinner table?) My aunt had some that she had rescued, and I actually thought it was more cruel to let them live in their deformed condition than to kill them.

Murray McMurray has a very nice "standard" bronze turkey. The bronzes usually have a reputation for being relatively mellow and easy to raise.

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/prod...e_turkeys.html

[pink23]

turkeys for pets? hmm.. I'll think about first.