How Long Does It Take to Raise a Turkey? A Look at Different Breeds and Growth Stages

Raising meat turkeys is an adventure on many levels. I’ve had the pleasure of growing a turkey for Thanksgiving for years, starting back in high school. It’s one thing to raise turkeys for dinner, but when you’re trying to turn a dollar, things do get complicated. Let me share some of my experiences with raising meat turkeys so that you can start off on the right foot.

Buying a frozen turkey at the supermarket is a very simple, and very cheap avenue, to a turkey dinner. That being said, like most things in life, you get what you pay for. Just like store-bought eggs can’t compare to your eggs fresh from the coop, supermarket turkeys aren’t the same as fresh-off-the-farm birds. If you want the most tender, most flavorful, and absolute freshest bird for your festivities or dinner, then a bird raised at home is your best bet.

I spent my high school years in a regional agricultural school, and as such, I was a member of the FFA. All members of FFA need what’s called an SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) project. Some kids did gardening, some had horses, but I raised birds.

As a freshman in high school, I already had experience raising show poultry. I was breeding fancy show chickens and having a grand time, but there was no profit to be found. AgEd stressed the importance of running your project like a business, and my business was buried in the red. I needed a product to sell and somehow turkeys caught my attention.

Like any business, it’s important to watch how much you spend and how much you make. As long as your expenditure is lower than your gross income, things are cheery, as it was when I started in turkeys. However, things changed.

In the early 2000s, feed prices started to climb, and consequently, so did my costs. By the time I graduated college, my farm expenses were exceeding my farm income, which was an issue. Despite that, I did continue the tradition for a bit longer than I should have.

Sometimes you need to take a step back from things and give yourself time to reconsider. Now that I’ve had some time away from raising meat turkeys, I can identify my shortcomings. When I started, my inexperience was offset by low feed prices. The fault in the business’ foundation opened wide when those feed prices climbed.

I was a big fan of big birds. Unfortunately, my success in growing a big, broad-breasted turkey would be my undoing. My customers wanted a larger bird than your standard supermarket bird, but not as big as I was growing. Once I started producing 50-pound turkeys (dressed weight), I should have realized it was time to back off, but I didn’t.

Point of Diminishing Returns

If you’re raising meat turkeys correctly, your toms should be yielding a dressed weight of about 30 pounds at 4.5 months old. I was growing my birds closer to 6 months old before processing, which was a waste of feed. Most of my customers wanted a much smaller bird, preferably one that would fit in their oven. As such, I had a hard time selling my extra-large birds. Those large birds that didn’t sell constituted significant financial losses for me.

When I started growing turkeys, I began on bagged feed. As prices went up, I found my local feed mill and started buying in bulk. If you have a feed mill at your disposal, use it! Buying bulk feed represented a big cost saving over bagged feed.

As I experimented with raising meat turkeys, I also tried different feeds available through the mill. I found a product that was super high in protein, which made my birds grow fast and big. However, that massive bird was my undoing.

Be sure you’re using the right feed, and if you don’t know which is best, ask. Even though I found a high-performance feed that gave results, those results were more expensive than they needed to be. Had I used the correct feed, I would have seen good, controlled growth in my birds. My feed costs would have been lower and my dressed weights would have been easier to sell.

Feed and Water Equipment

Turkeys can eat just fine out of a chicken feeder, but regular chicken water nipples are a no-no. Turkeys require a much higher flow rate for nipple valves to work for them since they’re such a big bird. Turkeys drink a lot of water, much more than you would expect. Manually filling water dispensers will become the bane of your existence, so I highly suggest an automatic water system.

Automatic bell waterers are a simple solution to the issue, but there are high-flow turkey nipple valves on the market. If you decide to try using turkey nipples, be prepared to buy a commercial style watering system. It’s a good investment if you want to be serious about raising meat turkeys, but the cost may scare off some people.

There are a few interesting breeds out there available to you, such as the Royal Palm turkey and the Midget White. If you’re raising turkeys with chickens for fun, then by all means, try some cool heritage breeds!

If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, you can’t go wrong with either a Bronze or White Broad Breasted turkey. These giant birds are king (and queen) of feed conversion, which is how much feed they eat, versus how much meat they produce. These birds grow fast, are available at most commercial hatcheries and are usually inexpensive compared to rarer breeds because of sales volume.

Raising Turkey for Beginners – What you need to know to get started!

FAQ

How long does it take to raise a turkey for slaughter?

Most people have their broad breasted turkeys butchered between 18 and 20 weeks of age. Tom’s butchered at 18 weeks will average a carcass of approximately 29 lbs and hens will yield a carcass of approximately 20 lbs. As a general rule turkeys tend to dress at 75-80% of their body weight.

Are turkeys harder to raise than chickens?

One big difference between turkeys and chickens is that turkeys get much bigger. That means they also need more space if you plan to keep them in a coop / run. They don’t scratch around as much as chickens and many people who keep turkeys think they keep their houses cleaner as a result.

How long does it take for a turkey to grow full size?

Modern production methods have shortened the time it takes for turkeys to reach maturity. A hen usually takes 14 weeks and weighs 15.5 pounds when processed, but a tom takes roughly 18 weeks to reach a market weight of 38 pounds.

Is it profitable to raise turkeys?

Experts believe that the most effective sales of young birds are at the age of 3-6 weeks. Considering the optimal levels of expensive feed consumption and high selling price of young turkeys at this age, profitability can reach up to 50-70% on farms and up to 100% on smallholdings.

How long does it take to raise a Turkey?

Feed ingredients account for roughly two-thirds of the cost of raising a turkey. Modern production methods have shortened the time it takes for turkeys to reach maturity. A hen usually takes 14 weeks and weighs 15.5 pounds when processed, but a tom takes roughly 18 weeks to reach a market weight of 38 pounds.

Should I raise a Turkey?

I suggest raising turkeys if you have enough space on your property, enough time to prepare for them and keep a close eye on them in their first few weeks of life, and a desire to raise turkeys either for their delicious meat and eggs or to keep them as pet turkeys around your homestead.

How long does it take to raise a turkey egg?

Turkey eggs are healthy and delicious. It takes only 14 to 22 weeks to raise a turkey as a meat bird, depending on the breed and sex. Turkey poults are susceptible to weather and disease and need a lot of care. Turkeys are large birds and need a lot of space. Turkeys eat a lot of poultry feed because they grow so big.

How much feed does it take to raise a 38 pound turkey?

On average, it takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 38-pound tom turkey. Feed ingredients account for roughly two-thirds of the cost of raising a turkey. Modern production methods have shortened the time it takes for turkeys to reach maturity.

How long does it take a Turkey to ripe?

However, you can get away with 12 weeks, if you just want a 12-14 pound turkey. Heritage turkeys take 25-30 weeks to before they will be ready to be processed for eating. The time it takes to raise a turkey to a good, ripe age will depend on several factors:

Should you raise a Turkey during the holidays?

Read the full disclosure. Turkey is one of the best animals to raise for meat and profit. Especially during the holidays because their price will spike as almost every single family in the US buys a turkey for dinner. Raising turkey will also save you money because you won’t need to buy one for the holidays.