# Bronze or White turkey?



## Pearce Pastures (Jan 28, 2013)

I am getting ready to order our spring chicks and we would like to try our a few turkeys.  Our farm store has two offerings---white or bronze (I am assuming both are the broad-breasted type)  The bronze are forty cents more per poult, and I don't know much about the difference other than feather color, and if that is the only difference, I will go with the less expensive.  Any advice on these?


----------



## Gagroundhog (Jan 28, 2013)

We had the  bronze and loved them! We had a pair and the following spring she hatched her own poults! It was great.

If you are planning to keep any, I hope yours does the same


----------



## Southern by choice (Jan 28, 2013)

We have had both, the bronze grow very quickly and must be slaughtered when the weight is right. Because they gain so fast they quickly become too large and their legs can snap. Our neighbor had a bronze that  she thought would be her pet... at 62 lbs it's legs broke, the other developed bumblefoot.  On ours we harvested a great deal of meat.  The whites are cleaner looking when processed and grew nicely. 
We now stick with heritage so we can breed, we have Chocolate and Blue Slate. They are very similar to a wild turkey... ours nest in the trees and fly well but always stay close.

Of course if they are just for raising up for slaughter either choice is good, I do not feel they range well, they eat a lot. They do not breed naturally.

We went with the heritage because they are very easy keepers... range well and breed well. They can mate naturally.

This is from October... he was still growing.


----------



## Southern by choice (Jan 28, 2013)

amy bart said:
			
		

> We had the  bronze and loved them! We had a pair and the following spring she hatched her own poults! It was great.
> 
> If you are planning to keep any, I hope yours does the same


Wow.. that is awesome they usually can't breed out !!!


----------



## Royd Wood (Jan 28, 2013)

Hey Pearce
We have done the Bronze and had great success (around 200) - We do them on the pasture well away from the chickens which prevents them catching chicken coughs, chills and other nasties.
Thanksgiving weights were between 19 and 31lb (full summer outside) Christmas weights were between 12 and 22lb as cool / cold weather takes effect.

My buddy down the road did white ones outside and also did well but they liked eating lots of feed and grew enormus where mine seemed to enjoy pasture time better also mine can still manage to breed where as the whites fail to reproduce on their own - turkey baster anyone


----------



## BrownSheep (Jan 28, 2013)

We raised bronze our first year and loved them! They became very friendly and social. To be honest I would much rather raise turkeys than chickens. 
When I came time for butcher we couldn't find one! I called several a couple times over but they never answered. I still have TomTom and HennyPenny and they'll be two this spring. Like Southern said they get very large. Although the only way mine would break their legs is if I threw them off of something. TomTom has bumblefoot and its hard to manage. 

We got heritage this last spring and their also very social, they aren't as friendly, and free range well. My only complaint with the heritage is they are very sensitive to temps as chicks. More so to than the bronze and chickens that I've raise. I'm hoping for chicks this spring. I currently 5 narrangansett, 3 Royal Palms, and 1 bourbon red. Also, one chucker who is fully convinced that he is a turkey. Sadly, only one is a hen so I am on a turkey hunt to get some more hens. 


You must try turkeys! They are the goofiest sweetest birds.


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 28, 2013)

The tom here sure aint the sweetest bird.


----------



## BrownSheep (Jan 28, 2013)

I haven't had an aggressive tom yet. I give my Tom Tom hugs and kisses.


----------



## Southern by choice (Jan 28, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> The tom here sure aint the sweetest bird.


He is maturing sexually... so he is sometimes a pain.

Since Straw has all his focus on his Kiko's he doesn't really pay attention to the other animals, none of them like him. My GSD can't stand him.


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 28, 2013)

Yes I know. He's still a mean turkey. Ask anyone that goes out and does stuff with them. He's mean.

And I would hardly say that. Lina doesn't like me but she doesn't like alot of the people here. I can name several. Actually there are more people she doesn't like than she likes.


----------



## ragdollcatlady (Jan 28, 2013)

The bronze for us seemed a little hardier, but both white and bronze grew out about the same. Ours still fly even at over 45 lbs...just to the top of wherever they roost for the night...our last tom would roost on top of the well every night. Usually it is on top of some other animals shelter. I don't know if predators are a problem, but the bronze are less eye catching for other animals, at least from the sky. I usually raise ours for about 9 months and the toms carcass weight is usually right around 35 lb, 26 for the girls. We do have a pet heritage female that will raise babies for us, but she tries to take them foraging too far....like off the property, even though she rarely leaves the property on her own.


----------



## Pearce Pastures (Jan 29, 2013)

Well, sounds like I will be going for the bronze as our pilot test turkeys.  

I thought bumble foot was just from wire bottom cages--guess not.  

So at what age/weight do you normally butcher a turkey?


----------



## Royd Wood (Jan 29, 2013)

For us we like a 30 pounder dressed


----------



## promiseacres (Jan 29, 2013)

If you are going to have any extras I'd be interested in buying one for thanksgiving  dh says I cant raise my own....


----------

