Turkeys

The domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird, one of the two species in the genus Meleagris and the same as the wild turkey.

Beautiful and helpful in controlling pests, turkeys are easy to raise and fun to watch. Plus by raising turkeys at home, you'll have farm-fresh turkey for holiday meals.

Beautiful and helpful in controlling pests, turkeys are easy to raise and fun to watch. Plus by raising turkeys at home, you'll have farm-fresh turkey for holiday meals.

In order to sell the turkeys, we have to raise the turkeys. In that spirit, here's a list of tips that I've accumulated over ten years of pastured turkey raising.

Chickens may have a new contender to their title as America's favorite small-farm fowl. Turkeys are gaining in popularity, and for good reasons: you can produce high-quality food, and it's a great opportunity for kids to learn to care for animals. Raising a small flock of turkeys is relatively easy, but they do require seven-days-a-week care.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to raise your own turkeys for Thanksgiving?

Taking turkeys on as a companion requires more responsibilities than owning a dog or a cat, experts say. "If people are adopting domesticated turkeys, they should be aware that it's not a simple endeavor and would take a considerable amount of work," said NTF spokeswoman Kimmon Williams.

Learn how to raise heritage or standard turkeys from day-old poults into delicious birds for the table - or as pets.

The view is breathtaking as you drive up the steep, Middlebrook, Virginia, driveway of Charles and Anna Long's Long Roots Farm and emerge from a stand of dense hardwoods. The couple' large, modern log cabin the only manmade structure in sight sits regally atop a hillside, its big porch and high windows looking out over Long Roots' 100 acres of bountifully rolling farmland, which itself abuts and bleeds into miles of hardwood-speckled valleys and crests, all of it bowled in by the gently looming Blue Ridge.

Raising animals for food or profit is a good way to grow fresh meat and make a few dollars throughout the year.

Due to selective breeding, commercial male turkeys rapidly grow to a weight 3 times larger than wild male turkeys in only 4 months.