We had such a success last year with our turkeys we decided to do a few more this year. We started with a total of 50 and raised 47 to the end.
Just a few facts about the turkeys.
This year we raised Broad-Breasted Whites, which are commercial birds. They grow faster than the Heritage Breed we raised last year and do not eat as much. The 50 turkeys ate 100 pounds of feed per day.
We received the turkeys when they were 1-day old and they were processed at 4-months old. Their first 3-weeks they were raised in a brooder with a heat lamp. Their next 2 weeks was spent in a movable pen which was moved to fresh grass daily. Then at 7-weeks old they were free-range. At this point they are big enough that there is not much threat of owls or hawks taking them. The turkeys are kept in the pasture by movable fences. Every few days the fence is moved to give them fresh grass.
Tuesday
November 24, 2009
The day did not start out good. The alarm went off at 6 AM and Lee could not move his back was hurting. He laid on the heating pad for about 25 minutes & then got in a warm shower for about 20 minutes. It loosened up enough that he was able to get to the farm but he wasn't feeling his best.
I get the kids to school & go get biscuits for the help.
Including me & Lee we had 8 people helping us to process turkeys. I will leave out details but tell you the steps to processing.
First, the turkeys had all been caught and were waiting patiently in the cow trailer. Then they are prepared for processing (tried to put that delicate). They are then scalded this helps to loosen the feathers. The next step is the plucker which removes their feathers.
We had 3 tables set up one where T. would chop off the heads & feet. Then they came to me and Lee and we would eviscerate them. Then A. & R. would bag the gizzards, weigh the birds, give the birds a number and place them in ice.
The important thing we did was to keep good records.
After the bird was weighed an ear tag was placed in the skin. We wrote down the number, the weight and the location that the bird was placed in.
We finished processing the birds around 1 o'clock that afternoon. We had pick-ups at the farm from 1 to 5 and we also had 2 drop off points.
When we pulled back into the farm it was 9 o'clock. It was a very, very long day but well worth it!!
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