HERITAGE TURKEY BREEDS ARE only beginning to recover from the severe population decline they experienced in the mid-1900s when commercial broad-breasted turkeys monopolized the market. Consequently, there isn’t much variability in the quality of heritage turkey breeds offered for sale today. Many strains, or distinct bloodlines, are small, bony, and unproductive — hardly living up to the heritage turkey’s reputation as an excellent, sustainable meat bird. However, through selection by dedicated breeders, some strains have again attained the distinction of their forbearers. Start your breeding flock by choosing a strain with the traits that will be a worthwhile investment of your time and money.
As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, many backyard poultry raisers start thinking about raising their own turkeys for a tasty homegrown centerpiece. But when is the right time to butcher your turkey? The answer depends on several factors.
Broad Breasted vs Heritage Breeds
The two main types of turkeys raised for meat are broad breasted varieties and heritage breeds. Broad breasted turkeys have been selectively bred for commercial production to grow faster and produce more breast meat. Heritage breeds take longer to mature but are prized for their rich, old-fashioned turkey flavor.
Broad breasted turkeys reach ideal butcher weights between 16-20 weeks of age. Toms (males) average 26-32 pounds and hens (females) average 15-24 pounds at this age. Heritage turkeys need 24-28 weeks to fully develop, with toms reaching 16-23 pounds and hens 9-13 pounds on average.
Target Carcass Weight
It’s important to consider your target dressed or carcass weight, not just the live weight of the bird. Turkeys yield 75-80% dressed weight compared to their live weights. A broad breasted tom turkey that weighs 30 pounds live will dress out around 24 pounds. A 20 pound heritage hen may yield only a 15 pound carcass.
Plan when to butcher based on the dressed weight you want for roasting. A 15-18 pound turkey will feed 10-15 people, 20-24 pounds will serve 18-22, and figures about 1 pound per person for appetites. Allowing 2-3 weeks leeway ensures the birds reach optimal size.
Holiday Timing
For a classic Thanksgiving turkey, target butcher dates around November 1-15 Broad breasted poults hatched in early July will hit 16-20 weeks at that time. Heritage poults started in April-May will reach 6-7 months of age
Order poults to arrive
- Broad breasted: Early July
- Heritage: Mid April to Early May
For Christmas dinner, add 3-4 weeks to those target ages. Other holidays like Easter and 4th of July fall closer to the 20 week or 6 month minimums.
Weather and Feed Considerations
Colder weather and shorter daylight hours in the fall slow a turkey’s growth rate. Make sure birds have access to a warm, dry shelter and plenty of high protein feed to support their nutritional needs. This is especially important for heritage breeds developing those last few pounds.
Free ranging turkeys may also take longer to reach target weight compared to birds fed a controlled diet. Compensate by butchering a couple weeks later than commercial timelines if needed. Monitor weight gain and adjust butcher dates accordingly.
Tom vs Hen Weights
Toms grow faster and bigger than hens of the same age for both broad breasted and heritage varieties. Ordering some of each or butchering hens early and letting toms go longer can provide a range of sizes for holiday meals.
Heritage breeds especially can show big size variations between toms and hens. Consider expected mature weights when ordering poults. Slower growing hens may need an extra 2-4 weeks to attain an ideal carcass weight.
Processor Availability
In some areas, small poultry processors book up months in advance for the holidays. Make sure to reserve your slot well ahead of time if using a custom butcher. Factor processing dates into your target butcher window.
Home processing is an option if you can’t get in with a processor, though it takes time and practice to master. Read up on regulations for selling home processed poultry if you plan to market extra birds.
Preparation for Butcher
A few key steps prepare turkeys for the easiest, most humane slaughter. Reduce feed intake starting 2 days before to empty the crop and intestines. Pen birds overnight with water but no feed access. Butcher first thing in the morning before they start eating again.
Proper handling keeps birds calm. Move them quietly at night or early morning using a weak red light. Wait 12-24 hours after cooping to allow them to settle before slaughter. Following best practices results in cleaner butchering and less stress.
When aiming for the perfect holiday turkey, allow about 4-5 months for broad breasted varieties and 6-7 months for heritage breeds to reach their full potential. Monitor flock growth and processing schedules to dial in the ideal butcher dates. With sound preparation and timing, you can enjoy the pride of serving pasture-raised, homemade turkeys for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or anytime.
Ready to Butcher
Turkeys are ready to butcher when their breasts are well-rounded and their feathers finish growing in. With proper nutrition, quality young heritage toms reach this stage at around 28 weeks old, and young hens reach it a couple of weeks earlier. Avoid strains that need more than 30 weeks to mature. They are inefficient, requiring a lot more feed to raise without producing any more meat.
The rate of maturity also impacts turkeys’ productivity as breeding stock. Quality heritage turkeys begin mating and laying eggs as young as seven months and no later than their first spring as adults.
Turkey hens are seasonal layers, producing the most eggs in the spring breeding season. In their noteworthy book, Turkey Management, Stanley J. Marsden and J. Holmes Martin explain that young hens should have a minimum production rate of 50% during the breeding season. For example, a hen must produce at least 45 eggs within the 90 days between the beginning of March and June 1.
That being said, the best heritage turkey strains under management conditions conducive to year-round laying can produce 150 or more eggs per year. Hens should lay for 5 to 7 years, though egg production decreases with age.
Finally, rates of fertility, hatchability, and poult survivability are essential statistics for the assessment of a strain’s health, vigor, and value as a sustainable breeding flock. Young turkeys’ fertility should be 90% or higher in eggs laid during the breeding season. The percentage of those eggs that hatch can be even more indicative of vigor. Marsden and Martin stress, “High hatchability is a most important point to consider when purchasing breeding stock. In good flocks from 80% to 85% of the fertile eggs should hatch under satisfactory incubation conditions.”
At least 90% of the poults should survive when brooded and fed appropriately. For naturally hatched and reared poults, the strength of hens’ mothering instincts, which is encouraged in heritage turkey breeds, plays a significant role in the poults’ survival.
The Importance of Strains
Size is a defining characteristic of quality strains. If, on average, a strain meets the ideal weight for the variety, it is a strong indicator that the breeder has selected meaty birds. Undesirable strains frequently fall 30% below ideal weights. This discrepancy is largely due to a lack of fleshing that results in scrawny-dressed birds.
The American Poultry Association’s (APA) Standard of Perfection is the authoritative source for the weights, as well as the preferred coloration, of the eight APA-recognized heritage turkey varieties, the Standard Bronze, White Holland, Narragansett, Black, Slate, Bourbon Red, Beltsville Small White, and Royal Palm. Prominent breeders or preservation organizations are the best sources for accurate information about varieties that aren’t found in the Standard of Perfection. It can be difficult to acquire strains meeting ideal weights, particularly among the rarest heritage turkey breeds that are in desperate need of preservation and advocacy. If one of these varieties piques your interest, start with the best strain you can find and continue to improve it through selective breeding.
Besides weight, the APA Standard of Perfection emphasizes that “Body conformation in turkeys is of great importance. The body should be broad, round, and the breast full; the legs and shanks must be large, straight, and well set.”
Narrow or shallow turkeys don’t have the frame to carry good fleshing. Such conformational faults are common in unselected heritage strains. Broad-breasted turkeys are on the other extreme; their massive breasts and short legs and keels hinder their movement and prevent them from natural mating. This highlights the need for both meatiness and structural balance in heritage turkeys in order to produce good table birds while preserving traits related to long-term health, reproductive success, and foraging capability.
Compared to front-heavy, broad-breasted varieties, the carriage of well-balanced heritage turkeys is notably upstanding. Their backs, carried at about 45 degrees, deepen into full, round breasts carried slightly above horizontal. Fleshing is more evenly distributed over their breasts, thighs, and legs. Their keel and leg bones are straight, stout, and relatively long, which allows heritage birds to support substantial meat production without it infringing on their freedom of movement. Heritage turkey breeds grow their frame before they put on flesh, so it is normal for juveniles to look gawky and unsubstantial. This desirable growth pattern allows the skeletal system and organs to develop before supporting the growth of muscle.
How to Butcher a Turkey 101 with MeatEater’s Mark Kenyon
FAQ
At what age do you slaughter a turkey?
They are slaughtered when they are between 9 and 24 weeks of age, and may weigh upwards of 20kg.
Is a 2 year old turkey good to eat?
Typically the guideline is meat is good in normal packaging for up to 1 year, if it’s vacuum sealed it can still be good for 3 years. Turkeys are typically packaged better than when you shove leftovers in a Ziplock, so it might still be good after 2 years.
How long after butchering a turkey can you eat it?
A freshly killed bird is fresh and delicious for up to 10 days from processing if kept very cold.
What age are turkeys ready to harvest?
Most turkey breeds will mature between 14-22 weeks of age, which means you will need to purchase birds early in July to make sure they have enough time to grow. Heritage breeds will take a bit longer, 25-30 weeks, so those birds would need to be purchased in late May or early June.
What is the best age to butcher a Turkey?
You’ve decided to raise a few turkeys and plan on serving one up for a stellar holiday dinner. Now you need to know: What is the best age to butcher your turkey? The best age to butcher a Broad Breasted Turkey is 16-20 weeks, for heritage breed turkeys it’s 24-28 weeks.
What age should a Turkey be slaughtered?
What is the best age to slaughter a turkey? Hens are considered ready for slaughter at 14 to 16 weeks old, and male turkeys at around 19 weeks old. Some intensively farmed turkeys are slaughtered as young as 12 weeks old.
Can You butcher a Turkey at home?
The art of butchering a turkey at home can be both rewarding and intimidating. While it allows for greater control over the quality of your meat and the ability to customize your cuts, it also requires some knowledge and practice.
Can You butcher a Turkey in the morning?
You can process the turkey at anytime, even if the bird has just eaten feed. Having a cleaned out digestive tract, or at least a less full digestive tract makes butchering less messy. If you are unable to pen them up or they happen to get out, you’re still okay if you butcher them early in the morning.
How long does it take to butcher a white turkey?
Broad Breasted White Turkeys (the standard commercial turkey) reach butchering weight in 16 weeks. Heritage breeds will take 24 weeks or more and have a less meaty carcass, but more flavor. Turkeys are easy to butcher. Why most folks don’t mention this is beyond me! Turkeys are just as easy as broilers to process and you get so much more meat!
How do you know if a Turkey is ready for butchering?
Body Weight: A good rule of thumb is to butcher your turkey when it reaches a live weight of 16-20 lbs for hens and 24-30 lbs for toms. Pin Feathers: Check for the presence of pin feathers, which are small, immature feathers that haven’t fully developed. If you see pin feathers, the turkey is not yet ready for butchering.