by Jennifer Sartell
Photos by author

It was a difficult decision to decide to raise our own heritage turkeys. These nine little poults are the first animals that we’ve raised with the sole purpose of harvesting for meat. And while I’m not a vegetarian, I’m still having some emotional issues bridging the gap between cute fuzzy poults and Thanksgiving dinner. But as strange as it may sound (and I have to keep reminding myself this), I truly believe that we’re doing this for the right reasons.

We’ve processed excess roosters in the past, and while butchering always makes for a hard day, I know those chickens lived a great life. For every animal that we raise humanely on our farm, there’s one less that we have to purchase from a factory. So every time I get weepy, attached or sentimental, I remind myself of this and it helps … a little.

It’s also reassuring that we are raising a breed of turkey that I can stand behind. Financially, we can’t afford to have pet turkeys. For turkeys to be a realistic part of our farm, they have to give back, earn their keep so to speak. By harvesting the turkeys, we are not only doing what we can to raise our food more ethically, but doing our part to help a heritage breed at a comeback.

Heritage breeds are the breeds of farm animals that existed before large farm operations started raising animals for bulk and quantity production. These large industries narrowed in on a select few livestock varieties, those that produced the most meat, eggs or milk. Over the years, the remaining breeds of livestock have dwindled. According to an article published by Sustainable Table, “Within the past 15 years, 190 breeds of farm animals have gone extinct worldwide, and there are currently 1,500 others at risk of becoming extinct.” This is one of the reasons why it was important to us to raise a heritage breed.

The Black Spanish is one of the oldest turkey breeds recorded. They were recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1874. The breed was popularized in Spain, where it was so named. They have a calm temperament and great reproducing abilities. They are a stunning bird with black shiny feathers that turn an iridescent green in the sun. They are also noted as one of the tastiest breeds, with juicy, self-basting meat and great flavor.
For us, the Black Spanish became a nice balance between the type of turkey we were looking to raise, and one that we could actually find. Our second choice was the Bourbon Red. Like the Black, it is also on the ALBC “watch” list. But I feel like every time I read a piece of literature about heritage turkeys, it’s encouraging the Bourbon Red. It seems as though this breed is gaining popularity and becoming the “go-to” breed for those who want to raise heritage turkeys. We decided that because the Black is getting less recognition, maybe it needed our help even more.

We’ve had the poults a couple of weeks now and as it turns out, turkeys are not the “dumb animals” that I’ve often heard them described as. I find them very majestic and sort of graceful, even at this young age. They are not as flighty as chicks, they walk very deliberate and proud. They’ve already started their miniature “turkey strutting” to impress the jennies, where they march around with their wings displayed. It sends me into stitches! Sometimes two of the jakes will dance around each other in this slow motion competition of girth … hilarious!

Now that the poults are here I’m so happy that we went forward and didn’t let our emotions get in the way of making this important decision. It’s comforting that we will be keeping a few hens and a tom to sustain the flock from year to year. Maybe in the future, others will come to us for poults so that they can raise this heritage breed as well.