top of page
DSC04537 - crop.JPG

What makes Bourbon Red Heritage Turkeys different

​

Commercial turkey breeds have been bred through the years to grow as large as possible and to have the optimum feed-to-weight conversion in the shortest amount of time. The growth of a commercial broad-breasted turkey takes only 4 to 5 months from hatching to plate. While the commercial benefits of this are clear, this approach to turkey production has come at a cost; for example their abnormally large size means that they have reduced mobility and are unable to mate naturally so require artificial insemination.

​

In contrast, the heritage turkey breeds are much closer to their wild turkey ancestors. They grow more slowly, taking 7 to 8 months to mature, and do not reach such a large size. On average at this age, turkey stags (males) will reach a live weight of ~23 lbs (10.4kg) and hens (females) will reach ~14 lbs (6.4kg). Importantly, they maintain the ability to exhibit their natural instincts and behaviours, including flying, roosting, foraging for food, and naturally breeding and raising their young. As a result of these natural behaviors the heritage breeds do not grow as heavy, are leaner and have a narrower breast than the more intensively reared commercial breeds.

​

The Bourbon Red variety originated in Bourbon Country, Kentucky, in the late 1800’s, and in 1909 it was recognised as an official breed by the American Poultry Association. They are a wonderful variety, curious, social and friendly by nature, and are very handsome (if we do say so ourselves). Over the years the breed has been recognised for its outstanding flavour and has won several tasting competitions.

​

As with many heritage turkey varieties, the Bourbon Red breed have priority status on the Rare Breed Survival Trust (RBST) Watchlist and, alongside our business, we are also passionate about helping to sustain a healthy population of this wonderful rare breed in the UK.

How do we raise our turkeys

​

Our core objective at Callender's Farm is to sustainably breed and rear our turkeys to high welfare standards, ensuring they have a healthy and natural life, free to enjoy an environment where they can range, forage and display their instinctive behaviours.

​

All of our turkeys are bred and raised on our farm and we thoroughly enjoy nurturing them while they hatch and grow into beautiful and healthy birds. We take care to ensure that our turkeys’ environment supports their healthy development, rotating them through clean pasture where they can safely forage, exercise and mature, and feeding them with high quality feed that nutritionally supports them through each stage of their development. This approach to raising our flock results in not only a high quality of life for the birds, but also a more flavoursome turkey for Christmas.

​

When it comes to preparing our turkeys for our customers, one of our key principles is to complete all of the processing on farm. Our turkeys will be slaughtered as humanely as possible following the Humane Slaughter Association guidance and the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing Regulations (WATOK). All our turkeys will then be dry plucked by hand and hung for 10-12 days to allow the flavour to fully develop.

Young Poults.JPG
DSC04327.JPG

What do we provide

​

  • Turkeys for the Christmas market

  • Off-heat (~8-weeks of age) poults

  • Hatching eggs

  • Beautifully rich and seasonal (~April-September) eggs for cooking and baking

  • The occasional adult turkeys to good homes

​

If you would like to learn more or have any questions, please do contact us.

bottom of page