At Blue Oak Ranch, we raise heritage breed turkeys.  What's a heritage turkey?  It is one of the breeds common to farms before about 1950, before the development of the Broad Breasted varieties.  The Broad Breasted White is the standard market turkey available in grocery stores.  They are raised in large barns in massive numbers and slaughtered at 3 to 4 months of age. These turkeys grow so large, they often have heart failure and may actually break their own legs under their weight. 

Heritage turkeys, on the other hand, are hardy, disease resistant, intelligent creatures.  They aren't ready for market until 6 to 7 months of age - and that extra time gives them a flavor like no other - a real, honest-to-goodness turkey flavor.  They are naturally moist and juicy - no brining or larding or other culinary tricks are necessary for superb results.  Last time I had a storebought turkey, I realized most of its flavor came from salt!  Not so with our birds. 

In our ranch trials, the Bourbon Red and Standard Bronze turkeys have the best meat qualities of body conformation and proportion of meat on the skeletal frame.  We will also be adding White Holland and Black Norfolk (Black Spanish) turkeys at some point in the future. 

Narragansett, Bourbon Red, and Standard Bronze/Bourbon cross turkeys

Bourbon Red/Standard Bronze cross, Godzilla, and a Narragansett friend, 2004

Heritage turkeys represent nearly the entire amount of genetic variation available in the genome.  Genetic uniformity within the Broad Breasted White turkeys have left them with little disease resistance.  Future commercial breeders will need the broader gene pool being kept alive by private heritage turkey breeders to continue a viable market breed.  Embryos and semen of poultry species do not survive well in cryogenics - so gene banks can't preserve these breeds.   By raising these birds, and educating people about their superior flavor and texture, we will keep the gene pool available for future need.

The turkey range shelter - a 6'x8' open-sided covered roosting area built on 2x6 skids.  I can tug it around by hand for a few feet, but it has eyebolts for towing with a truck for bigger moves. The range shelter is moved as often as necessary.	The range shelter, with our '05 Thanksgiving turkeys at 8 weeks old.  Its steep roof pitch helps keep the turkeys from roosting on top, where they'd be more exposed in damp weather.  This range shelter can house about 30 birds.
The roosting bars of the range shelter.  They are 2x6's laid flat, which are more comfortable for the birds.  Turkeys (and chickens) roost by resting on their keelbones, and balancing themselves with their feet.  A broader roost bar helps prevent a dented or crooked keel in a heavy bird.	This feed sledge allows me to change their feeding area often.  Poultry often destroy the vegetation around feeders and waterers more quickly than other areas, so being able to move them easily will prevent pasture damage.  It is built on 2x6 skids, using scrap lumber with a rope tug.

 

Lane Farms

For several years, the Lane Family Farms in Goleta has hosted two Blue Oak Ranch heritage turkey ambassadors at their annual pumpkin patch.  We will continue this program, so stop in and visit next October.  Lane Farms is located at the corner of Walnut and Hollister in Goleta.

Brutus the Bourbon Red at Lane Farms, 2003	The portable turkey house for the Pumpkin Patch, 2004

 

Please contact me if you want to reserve a heritage turkey for the 2009 holiday season!  Order early, as I am usually sold out for Thanksgiving by August. 

Tom turkeys range between 16-25 lbs, and hens are between 8-13 lbs.  Prices have not been set for 2009, as the cost of organic feed has soared in the past year!  I will wait to see what feed prices are like when I have poults on the ground.

For the freshest, cleanest poultry you can purchase, please e-mail me.  Also, see our Pastured Poultry page or our links page for Slow Foods USA.