Heritage vs. Commercially Raised Turkeys
First of all, heritage turkeys are characterized by their slower growth. Heritage turkeys are domestic turkeys, but they more closely resemble wild turkeys in their appearance and behavior. The broad breasted, modern turkeys that make up the vast majority of turkeys raised in the US, grow twice as fast as heritage turkeys and reach such large sizes that their health suffers in the later stages of their development. In fact, many modern, broad-breasted turkeys have a very short lifespan and are unable to continue living past their “expiration” date. Because heritage turkeys have a very active life, and are grown to the age of seven or eight months, they have double the flavor and richness of an industrially farmed turkey. We have a small flock of Bourbon Red heritage turkeys that we keep around for fun—and these birds are going strong at 5 years old.
Another important distinction between heritage turkeys and industrially raised, broad-breasted turkeys, is that heritage turkeys can reproduce naturally and do so when given space, time, and a flock of their own. Broad-breasted turkeys are bred only for the rapid production of flavorless meat, and are unable to breed naturally and must be artificially inseminated. That’s a bit freaky, right?
When it comes to enjoying your heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving—you’ll notice that these birds are excellent turkey specimens. They have a much more even proportion of dark to white meat, and their meat is richer and more moist. The body shape of a heritage turkey reflects their active lifestyle… They are more leggy than broad-breasted birds and don’t look pumped up on steroids like these more common turkeys often do.
Although heritage turkeys have become more popular in the last decade, there are still significantly less of them raised in the US than the industrially produced birds. While over 200 million factory farmed turkeys are pumped out every year, only about 25,000 heritage birds are raised on farms. That’s quite a difference!
So, support your local farmers and turkey friends, and make this year’s Thanksgiving the best one yet. If you haven’t already, you can still reserve your Thanksgiving Turkey here via the button below or in person at the market!
Jason and Emma will both be at the Corner Farmers Market tomorrow from 8am-12pm, so if you’d like to scope out a wider selection of KW Edible Landscaping Nursery plants, tomorrow is a great day to do it! And, of course, come by to grab your usual pasture-raised meats as well!
|