At Moon Meadow Homestead, we strive to get back to history as we get back to nature, so when it came to raising turkeys, I didn’t want the standard commercial breed. Instead I chose White Beltsville, a heritage breed.
I bought five two-week-old chicks for $8.00 each from Riverview Birds Upper Stewicake, NS, on June 11, 2011. Unfortunately, the first night with us, the heat lamp blew and one chick did not survive. The survivors are now six weeks old (July 9th) are are growing great.
My fingers are crossed that from these four chicks, I’ll find one tom and one hen which will be kept through the winter to breed in the spring. Instead of buying chicks next spring, I’ll hatch my own, grow them and have several birds in the freezer in the fall of 2012.
The white Beltsville turkies are the loudest birds in the barn.
More on turkeys as the weeks pass.
