Christmas Turkeys

The one day old turkey poults have been ordered.  I am getting 25 chicks from Rutland Organics free range poultry farm:

http://www.rutlandorganics.co.uk/

They are £7.29 each, organically raised and produced heritage breed turkey chicks.  The heritage breed means they are the traditional Norfolk Black or Cambridge Bronze turkeys - they take much longer to raise to full weight than more popular commercial breeds.  The longer growing time (8 months as opposed to 2 - 4 months) and the fact that they will free range on our grass paddocks will mean that they are beautifully succulent, moist and tasty when served on Christmas day.  As we are compassionate farmers, these turkeys will have the best of lives.  I just need to make sure their paddock is fox proof - I am currently investigating different sorts of electric fencing for them.

There is v little profit in producing meat this way, after having done the sums we will just about break even this year (with a few hundred pounds deficit probably, due to the cost of the fencing and housing) and that does not include any sort of payment for my time! However, we need to get some income to the farm this year, and income is good - even if it doesn't result in profit in Year 1. If I love doing turkeys then next year we can grow the business and raise 50 birds.

Pat Taylor from Rutland organics has been  so helpful to me and talked me into slaughtering and producing the birds here, rather than transporting them off to Hare street.  It will be much less stressful for the birds (they hate being transported) and I will be able to oversee the whole process and know that it is done as humanely as possible.  Plus, the plucking, hanging and dressing needs to be professionally done (top notch!) and so again better that I can make sure this is the case.  Pat will show me how to pluck, hang and dress if I go up to her farm in December and work for her for a couple of days.  Seems reasonable to me, to get trained by a professional and get to practise under her supervision before doing my own birds sounds fair for 2 half days work.  I still can't actually kill the birds myself, there is no point in me even pretending or hoping that I might, and so I have enlisted the help of Fred next door - he used to work on a turkey farm nearby and is looking for more work.

I've lost a bit of sleep over this - should I shouldn't I, should I just get 10, should I wait till next year, what if the fox gets them, what if no one buys them, what if I am haunted by their little faces ......... but now I have placed the order with pat (and paid my deposit!) I am (fairly!) sure I have done the right thing.

Off to watch the Apprentice to brush up on my business skills.

xx