With the holiday season right around the corner, it is time to start thinking about the holiday main dish. Cathy Isom has a bit of advice about raising your own turkeys for meat and profit. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Turkey is one of the best animals to raise for meat and profit. Especially before during the holidays because their price will spike and almost every single family in the United States will buy a turkey for dinner. Raising your own turkey will also save you money because you won’t need to buy one for your meal. If this is the first time you’re raising any kind of poultry (chickens, ducks, etc.), it’s probably better for you to buy poults instead of breeding adult turkeys or hatching turkey eggs. There will be less of a hassle for you.
But if you’re already experienced with them, hatching your own turkey eggs each year would be much cheaper. It takes about 28-31 days to hatch turkey eggs. Then it’ll take 6-7 months for a baby turkey to reach sexual maturity (ready to lay eggs, and be butchered).
Poults average just under $10 each, and you’re usually required to order a minimum of 15 in order for them to keep warm when being shipped to you. If you decide to raise your own turkeys then you will want your initial purchase to be for a heritage breed, such as a Royal Palm, Midget White, Blue Slate, Bourbon Red, or Black Spanish. They do not get as big as fast, but they are able to breed naturally.
I’m Cathy Isom…