We got a letter today from a reader who wanted to clarify the definition of a heritage turkey breed. She included this information, which I find useful.
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%. This means that turkeys marketed as “heritage” must be the result of naturally mating pairs of both grandparent and parent stock.
2. Long productive outdoor 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. The Heritage Turkey must also have a genetic ability to withstand the environmental rigors of outdoor production systems.
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 about 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.
If you watch this old video taken on my grandfather’s farm in 1938, you will see his free-range White Holland turkeys in their vast outdoor pen. (For some reason a goat cheese video is loading, so go to “Pets & Animals,” then “Turkeys– Old Movies.”) The heritage turkey footage is half-way through the video, after dogs and kittens. My grandfather is in the center of the photo below. — Betsy
