A place for us to share with the world what goes on here - warts and all, and to fantasize about someday really understanding what it means to be "self-sufficient"...
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Pied Piper
Our heritage turkeys have now decided they would like to free range on the upper lot as well...(much to our dismay) so Madison was the quick thinker and put her new trumpet to good use.
Okay, I want to know more about these heritage turkeys. Are you raising them for food, just because, or what? They are beautiful & I hate to ask, but do they make for a good eat? Tell Madison, "You go girl!"
I have been a vegetarian for almost 30 years, but now that I can raise my own and know EXACTLY where and how my meat is raised, I do dabble now and then, but don't eat all that much meat. That being said, these guys are EXCELLENT!
We currently have Narragansetts and Bourbon Reds and plan to retain tow females from this batch to mate with our toms, Onyx and Ajax. (That is, if I can correctly identify the females and not eat them this year...)
They free range and come back "in" at night with just a little organic grain. They are very intelligent and personable. We haven't solidified the final price yet, but it looks like around $3.75-$4.00 a pound, so they pay for themselves.
If you want to know even more...e-mail me. I have a Yahoo! address, and my name is rugbplayr. That should foil the spammers....
They just did a taste test in Hobby Farms magazine on Heritage Breeds and threw in a Butterball commercial raised. The Heritages won hands down, I think it was the Midget Whites followed by the Bourbon Reds that got the most votes for best taste. I have a couple of wild crosses and 4 Narragansetts, I just LOVE them....not sure I'm going to be able to eat them....maybe their offspring? They are SO personable.
I saw that article...the ones we had last Spring were Bourbon Reds, and they were nice. The whole family (extended relatives, etc.) commented on how much they liked it. And since I don't usually cook meat, it MUST have been the bird!
It is now my husband (the Marine, the tough guy) who is expressing regret over having to harvest our turkeys next month...It is a relief to him that we are keeping two females to mate with our toms so we will have an ongoing flock.
This even AFTER he had to go and retrieve the entire bunch from my neighbors patio yesterday and rescue their terrier whom they had pinned in a corner...
I used to raise Blue Slates and can attest to the great flavor! But, keeping that in mind I do wonder if a non-Heritage breed, raised the same way as your free range, would also taste better much as grass-fed lamb or beef tastes different (better) than feedlot animals. Of course, this runs into many "What if...?" questions that I am known for in our family. Hmm...
Our heritage turkeys have now decided they would like to free range on the upper lot as well...(much to our dismay) so Madison was the quick thinker and put her new trumpet to good use.
Not a bad sized audience for only one lesson, eh?
5 comments:
Okay, I want to know more about these heritage turkeys. Are you raising them for food, just because, or what? They are beautiful & I hate to ask, but do they make for a good eat? Tell Madison, "You go girl!"
I have been a vegetarian for almost 30 years, but now that I can raise my own and know EXACTLY where and how my meat is raised, I do dabble now and then, but don't eat all that much meat. That being said, these guys are EXCELLENT!
We currently have Narragansetts and Bourbon Reds and plan to retain tow females from this batch to mate with our toms, Onyx and Ajax. (That is, if I can correctly identify the females and not eat them this year...)
They free range and come back "in" at night with just a little organic grain. They are very intelligent and personable. We haven't solidified the final price yet, but it looks like around $3.75-$4.00 a pound, so they pay for themselves.
If you want to know even more...e-mail me. I have a Yahoo! address, and my name is rugbplayr. That should foil the spammers....
They just did a taste test in Hobby Farms magazine on Heritage Breeds and threw in a Butterball commercial raised. The Heritages won hands down, I think it was the Midget Whites followed by the Bourbon Reds that got the most votes for best taste. I have a couple of wild crosses and 4 Narragansetts, I just LOVE them....not sure I'm going to be able to eat them....maybe their offspring? They are SO personable.
I saw that article...the ones we had last Spring were Bourbon Reds, and they were nice. The whole family (extended relatives, etc.) commented on how much they liked it. And since I don't usually cook meat, it MUST have been the bird!
It is now my husband (the Marine, the tough guy) who is expressing regret over having to harvest our turkeys next month...It is a relief to him that we are keeping two females to mate with our toms so we will have an ongoing flock.
This even AFTER he had to go and retrieve the entire bunch from my neighbors patio yesterday and rescue their terrier whom they had pinned in a corner...
I used to raise Blue Slates and can attest to the great flavor! But, keeping that in mind I do wonder if a non-Heritage breed, raised the same way as your free range, would also taste better much as grass-fed lamb or beef tastes different (better) than feedlot animals.
Of course, this runs into many "What if...?" questions that I am known for in our family. Hmm...
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