What is a Heritage Turkey?

All domesticated turkeys descend from wild turkeys indigenous to North and South America. They are the quintessential American poultry. For centuries people have raised turkeys for food and for the joy of having them.

Many different varieties have been developed to fit different purposes. Turkeys were selected for productivity and for specific color paterns to show off the bird’s beauty. The American Poultry Association (APA) lists eight varieties of turkeys in its Standard of Perfection. Most were accepted into the Standard in the last half of the 19th century, with a few more recent additions. They are Black, Bronze, Narragansett, White Holland, Slate, Bourbon Red, Beltsville Small White, and Royal Palm. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy also recognizes other naturally mating color varieties that have not been accepted into the APA Standard, such as the Jersey Buff, White Midget, and others. All of these varieties are Heritage Turkeys.

Heritage turkeys are defined by the historic, range-based production system in which they are raised. Turkeys must meet all of the following criteria to qualify as a Heritage turkey:

1. Naturally mating: the Heritage Turkey must be reproduced and genetically maintained through natural mating, with expected fertility rates of 70-80%.
2. Long productive lifespan: the Heritage Turkey must have a long productive lifespan. Breeding hens are commonly productive for 5-7 years and breeding toms for 3-5 years.
3. Slow growth rate: the Heritage Turkey must have a slow to moderate rate of growth. Today’s heritage turkeys reach a marketable weight in 26 – 28 weeks, giving the birds time to develop a strong skeletal structure and healthy organs prior to building muscle mass. This growth rate is identical to that of the commercial varieties of the first half of the 20th century.

In 1997 the American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC), an organization that conserves rare breeds and genetic diversity in livestock, surveyed North American turkey populations to assess the genetic status of the breed. They made a shocking discovery - a number of the standard turkey varieties were on the verge of extinction.

As one of the only domesticated animals to originate in North America, preservation of the rare breeds is like preserving a historical building or rare document. It’s a piece of American history. For turkey growers, heritage birds hold important genetic traits (such disease resistance and temperament) critical to the turkey’s long-term health and survival.
With our interest in preserving the genetic health of the rare Hackney Horse, it was only natural that when we chose to add poultry to our farm, we would again choose rare breeds.

“Heritage” is the new term for “standard” turkeys. The eight varieties were bred according to the color and stock Standard of Perfection recognized by the American Poultry Association in the late 1800s. Smart, colorful birds raised in barnyards and pastures, standard turkeys provided meat, eggs, and on-farm pest control until the 1950s.

As the turkey industry grew, large corporations monopolized turkey production and breeding. By the 1970s commercially bred birds, developed solely for meat production and easy processing, displaced the standard turkeys.

The Large White turkey now accounts for 90 percent of the commercial market. Bred solely for meat, the Large Whites and Broad Breasted Bronze have been selected to produce a lot of meat quickly. The body shape of the bird was altered through genetic selection to promote the development of meat. These birds have shorter breast bones, and shorter legs than standard turkeys. As a result, these turkeys have lost their natural abilities to fly, run or mate.  They must be bred through artificial insemination.  Nor they walk normally. These birds waddle, and mature birds get so heavy in relation to their misaligned bodies, that many are unable to walk at all.  Facts which raise concerns for many consumers interested in animal welfare issues. Widespread routine use of antibiotics to prevent illness, a common practice in large-scale turkey operations, is raising public health concerns.  Last, many people are starting to think the Large Whites lack flavor.

Flavor in a bird - or in any animal that we eat - is a product of four factors - the fundamental underlying flavor of its meat, its age, how it was raised, and what it ate. Older animals have more flavor than younger ones. Because heritage turkeys grow more slowly than modern commercial varieties, they tend to have more intrinsic flavor. The more an animal moves around, the more interesting its flavor. Thus, turkeys raised on pasture get more exercise - and are less prone to diseases - than those raised in buildings. Turkeys that eat green grass, plants, and insects have a deeper taste than birds that are raised on an exclusive grain diet.

At Pond Ridge Farm, we will be raising two breeds of Heritage Turkey:  The Narragansett and the Royal Palm.

Royal Palm

The Royal Palm is one of the smallest turkey varieties. It was selected as an ornamental and hobby bird and recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1971. Royal Palm turkeys are active and thrifty, excellent foragers and good flyers. Standard weights are 22 pounds for toms and twelve pounds for hens.

Royal Palm turkeys are white with black edging on the feathers. The saddle is metallic black in color, which provides a sharp contrast against the white base color of body plumage. The neck is white with a narrow black edging running the entire width of each feather. The tail is pure white with each feather having a broad band of metallic black terminating in white at the end of the tail. The coverts are white with a band of black, and the wings are white with a narrow edge of black across each feather. The breast is white with the exposed portion of each feather ending in a band of black to form a contrast of black and white similar to the scales of a fish. Body feathers are white with a black band terminating in white, and the legs and thighs are white with a very light black edging. The turkeys have red to bluish white heads, a light horn beak, light brown eyes, red to bluish white throat and wattles, and deep pink shanks and toes. The beard is black.

We will raise Royal Palms for not only their beauty, but for their ability to control insects. Turkeys co-exist well with horses.  When allowed to live as nature intended, they will break up manure clods in your pastures, helping to return nutrients to the soil and help keep insects at bay.

Narragansett

The Narragansett turkey is named for Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, where the variety was developed. It descends from a cross between native Eastern Wild turkeys and the domestic turkeys (probably Norfolk Blacks) brought to America by English and European colonists beginning in the 1600’s. Improved and standardized for production qualities, the Narragansett became the foundation of the turkey industry in New England. Though it was valued across the country, it was especially important in Rhode Island and Connecticut. The American Poultry Association recognized the Narragansett in 1874.

Our focus in raising Narragansetts will be to produce breeder stock and a small number for meat each Thanksgiving.

Please Note: - We will be selling a small number of heritage breed turkeys for Thanksgiving 2008.  We are not breeding the number of turkeys we planned on pending the outcome of the USDA's proposed NAIS (National Animal Identification System).  We have scaled back our heritage breed chickens for the same reason. 

If you have not heard of the NAIS, I suggest you check out the following websites:  nonais.org, Liberty Ark Coalition  and Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.

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