Turkeys

Royal Palm turkeys

Our heritage turkeys (that means that they aren’t genetic mutants that can’t live outside of a giant shed and they can do things like fly and reproduce naturally) are available to order now for late November or early December, 2011. I’m hoping for some Thanksgiving gobblers but we got into the property too late to guarantee for sure that they will be ready by the Thanksgiving holiday.

Because they’re “heritage” breed birds, they take longer to mature-28 weeks-which will put them ready literally the week of Thanksgiving.

They should weigh out at between 8 pounds (for the royal palm hens) to 20+ pounds. They are offered at $5.00/lb with $35 deposit for each bird. Please let us know, when you order, what size of a bird you are hoping for, and if you have a preference for color (note that the dark feathered birds are going to have dark “pin spots” on their skin, which, although it doesn’t effect the taste, is different than the grocery-store “broad breasted white” birds that have completely white skin. If you feel that this would be an issue, please specify that you want a white bird like the royal palm or the holland white.

We have the following turkeys this year:

Royal Palms
Blue Slate*
Naragansett
White Holland*
Standard Bronze
Mottled Black (a variation of the standard black)
Sweetgrass
Pencilled Palm

We will also be looking to having feathers for sale–I will be posting descriptions and photos as they become available.

* I’m hoping to keep the best of these birds to breed for ourselves.

One thought on “Turkeys”

Pingback: Turkeys take two… | Growing Seeds Farm Blog

Leave a comment x

Growing Seeds Farm is a small, diversified farm located in Corbett, Oregon, dedicated to the idea that the most important thing is to know where your food comes from and how it gets grown. We are farming fruit (berries and non-citrus tree-fruit), vegetables, and grass (pasture) in the most regenerative way possible.

Our fruit and vegetables are grown without chemicals or non-natural fertilizers. We use the outputs of our other systems (such as livestock and cover crop) as inputs to our fruits and veggies. In return, our livestock reap the reward of some fruit and veggies (and all the yummy insects that feed on them) for their feed.

The livestock that we are raising (or will be raising) are animals that can live and forage on pasture with minimal amounts of human maintenance. These animals are primarily known as "heritage" livestock-the types of animals that were raised on family farms before the advent of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)--you know, where the animals are packed together without any space to move, don't forage for their own food, are fed things that they wouldn't naturally eat, and have to be mutilated and pumped full of antibiotics just to keep them alive to harvest.

This means we are using our various types of heritage livestock to create a rich and healthful pasture system, and in turn, our livestock (chickens, turkeys, ducks, sheep, goats, cows and pigs (and llamas, too)) are happy, healthy, and flavorful. Having well managed pastures means that all our animals eat more of what nature intended and less supplementary feed and hay. What it means to you and I is that they're happier, healthier, and if you eat them, more flavorful and nutritious.

Part of our mandate is that we are educative and open about our farming. We encourage you to come visit us and see how we are raising our (your) food. From the students coming up from Portland as part of their learning experience, to the casual tourist out driving the Historic Columbia River highway, we're happy for guests. Our philosophy is that you should know what it is you are eating, and where it comes from. You should be able to, and be comfortable with, coming out to "visit" your food (our farm) whenever you like, and you should be comfortable and happy with the way that you see, hear, taste (and smell) your food being grown.

Growing Seeds Farm

33410 E Historic Columbia River Highway, Corbett, OR, 97019

you can reach us at fred@growingseedsfarm.com or jessica@growingseedsfarm.com

Design a site like this with WordPress.com