How to Breed Bourbon Red Turkeys

Turkeys are prized for their breeding ability.

Heritage turkeys like bourbon red turkeys are not only prized for their meat but also because they reproduce naturally and easily unlike commercially bred turkeys. If you have enough land around for pasturing turkeys, you can make a profit and enjoy the pleasure of breeding these heritage bourbon red turkeys naturally.

Things You'll Need

• Wire enclosure
• Male bourbon red turkey poult
• Two female bourbon red turkey poults
• 12-by-18-inch boxes
• Barrel cut in two halves
• Straw
• Pine bough or other tree bough

Instructions

1. Place wire enclosures around two-thirds of the yard. Make a smaller enclosure with the balance of the space.

2. Place the two boxes or the barrel halves in the larger space. Line the containers with straw. Angle the pine or tree bough to make a leafy covering over the entrance of the box or barrel.

3. Put the poults in the enclosed yard to begin mating. Make sure that the poults are at least three to four months old before attempting to breed turkeys.

4. Check the box to see if the females have mated enough to start laying eggs. Turkey females will lay eggs every other day for a week. The females will start incubating the eggs by sitting on the eggs.

5. Take the male out of the yard and place in the separate yard.

6. Leave the turkey hens in their nests to hatch the eggs. It will take about four weeks before the eggs hatch. The mother turkey will raise the babies with little assistance.

References

• Backyard Poultry; Bubba the Bourbon Red; Tom Fuller; 2006
• How to Raise Turkeys: Breeding Turkeys at Home; Andrew Grey; 2011