Can you keep turkeys for eggs as well as Xmas?
Image by Todd Mecklem
© 2008 by Todd Mecklem. We thought this was a high-concept building of some kind, but it’s a balloon that raises visitors into the sky.
Question by julietanndympna: Can you keep turkeys for eggs as well as Xmas?
How many eggs do they lay, is it daily like hens? Do they taste nice? Why can’t you buy them, and where do you get young birds from. How long are they raised for before ready to eat.
While i’m at it, why do domestic birds lay eggs so regularly, would they hatch that many if there was a cockrell about. How do they incubate their eggs if still laying more? Any info welcome.
Can you help? Leave your own answer in the comments!
6 Responses to Can you keep turkeys for eggs as well as Xmas?
Leave a Reply
I don’t think it will lay many eggs after Xmas!
Princess415
October 24, 2013 at 9:22 pm
Is that Yoke ???? or what
brightlamp
October 24, 2013 at 10:08 pm
Yes, turkeys lay nice big eggs which are edible as chicken eggs. Other than having speckles, they are similar to chicken. Duck eggs are good to eat also. They have a blue or brown color and are a slightly different taste,
When growing turkeys for eating their meat, you need to keep them away from chickens, There is a disease that doesn’t affect chickens which will pass to the turkeys making them inedible.
pat from ohio
October 24, 2013 at 10:16 pm
Turkeys don’t lay every day like hens, thats why you son’t see so many eggs for sale. They breed in a different way. The hens make a mound and lay their eggs in that, like peahens.
The eggs you sometimes see for sale in markets have probably been candled and are infertile, thats why they’re for sale to eat. They’re bigger than a hens egg but not as big as a goose egg. ( I think they equal 1 1/2 hens eggs and geese eggs equal 2 hens eggs, but my memory may be wrong on that.)
The white turkeys can’t breed normally and have to be artificially insemnated. They are bred to grow fast and often have bone and joint problems.
But Norfolk Blacks and Norfolk Bronze turkeys can be kept free range and bred normally. They are the best breeds to choose, especially if you have a smallholding and only want a few.
You can feed them on the same food you use for hens. You can let the females nest and hatch the eggs or use an incubator, which is more reliable. The chicks need a vaccination just after birth, ask your vet about that (I can’t remember what its called).
They’re difficult to slaughter so don’t try it yourself, unless you already know how to slaughter large poultry like geese.
sarah c
October 24, 2013 at 11:10 pm
yes you can . Try mcmurry hatchery they will sell you turkeys
VINCENT F V
October 24, 2013 at 11:35 pm
Yes, you can eat Turkey eggs. It depends on the variety of Turkey as to how long you raise it before butchering. I raise rare heritage breeds of Turkeys, and they are a bit slower to mature than commercially-raised varieties. The best place to get the babies, called poults, from is a BREEDER – a hatchery may sell birds that are of poor quality and may have health and/or genetic problems.
If you like poultry and want a multipurpose bird, you might also like Coturnix quail which are far easier to raise, require less room, and make a good dual purpose bird. They are considerably easier to butcher and one bird makes one serving.
A good breeder can mail-order day-old baby poultry to you, they do not require food for their first 72 hours so we can Express Mail them safely….hope this helps you! Good luck.
Giovanni
October 24, 2013 at 11:57 pm