2015 FREE RANGE TURKEYS

So Hi Folks,  2015 turkeys will be ready the week of Thanksgiving. We have 26 birds this year, about half are spoken for. We have never had this many birds in the past, and I would like to think that means we have finally got the kinks in this system worked out. We started this year with 33 birds. Lost a couple in the first week which is expected. But any others were due to stupid turkeys. They pile on top of each other to sleep and for warmth.  Much like a pile up in a football game.  In the process they smash who ever is on the bottom of the pile and suffocate them. Pathetic! This is nature.

To purchase you may contact us at deekeith@gmail.com, text my cell at 513-477-2168 or call the house at 513-724-3313. We look foward to hearing from you.

 But we also feel what started as an experiment -hobby project has been something we think we want to be able to continue to do: Clean, Sustainable, Humanely raised, Antibiotic free, animals/turkeys. The true test of course is in taste and theses birds are not the ones you will get in the grocery store for sure. The birds are going through about 40-50 pounds of feed a day now, on top of what they forage. They spend their days out of doors in an open area, that is fenced in order to keep them safe from predators. At night we have a group of large dog pens attached to one another. These have roosts and are covered to protect from rain and some wind. They can move around freely inside these though. Each morning Larry goes out and lets them out so they can fly and move around in a larger area and they get plenty of sunshine. They get fresh water throughout the day through a watering system that provides what are called chicken nipples for the birds to peck on and release water. And they receive a grain mix of turkey feed twice a day as well as foraging.
So we lost no birds this year to predators which is a real accomplishment, as far as we are concerned. We caught or trapped  6 raccoons this year but not before they took a couple of good sized ducks. Our ducks provide us with eggs as well as our chickens. Duck eggs are great for baking they make a wonderful cheese cake.
I spoke with our butcher person last evening and it looks like they will not be able to butcher until the Monday before Thanksgiving, so we should have birds available for pick up Tuesday late afternoon and Wednesday. Someone will be here for that all day each of those days. Birds come to you clean , fresh not frozen, weighted and ready for the oven , brining if you desire , and the giblets are in the body in plastic bags , be certain to remove those. Guidelines suggest that one should plan on about 2 pounds of turkey per adult.  More if you want left overs because one must also account for bone weights.

https://youtu.be/xndMJ5AuleY

At the end of this post you will also find directions and some recipe links for roasting and or brining.
I can still accommodate more folks who want birds, I have called or had contact with everyone who has purchased in the past and if you have had contact with me you are on the list. If in doubt shoot me a note. Pricing will go up a small amount this year but is still under the cost of most local
producers of fresh free range birds. We have yet to make a profit from this venture so if we need to go up a little bit at a time in price we think that eventually we can get there. With out anyone dying of sticker shock.
http://www.marthastewart.com/search/results?keys=turkey%20brining

http://www.marthastewart.com/search/results?keys=roasting%20turkeys