A Christmas Carol

What ensures your Christmas Turkey is going to be fabulous

Rearing the Poult

Environment and Diet:

Happy contented animals yield the best eating experiences as they tend to grow more healthily and put on muscle so much more easily.

There are many different types of Feed at differing prices

The lower grade feeds tend to be used for rearing a bird to a price rather than producing the tastiest of birds

Raising a bird to a certain cost means arriving at a cost of constituents with so much protein, amino acids etc.

Turkeys raised to the Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Associations audited standards will be a minimum of 70% cereals, and not protein from a non-vegetable source with the exception of fish.

They will also be free from any antibiotics and artificial growth enhancers

Space to roam and forage

Free access to meadows, woods and open spaces to roam and forage in, will give the Turkeys an even more varied and richer diet, whilst letting them exercise as they do so to develop denser muscles that build up the taste and texture naturally.

The outside grazing also makes the Turkey a much less stressful and contented bird which again is likely to grow more naturally

Turkeys are very sociable animals-and if confined will display the same anti-sociable behaviour that often manifests itself in such environments, resulting in a very stressed animal indeed.

Stressed animals do not make for a good eating experience.

Commercial Turkey farmers using such methods will often use subdued lighting to calm the bird’s behaviour which is no real substitute for a carefree, healthy outdoor upbringing.

End of Chapter Two

Next week in the final Chapter we will be looking at the differences between Artisan Turkey Farmers and Commercial Producers  methods - and how the final stages have such a large impact on the taste, texture and welfare of the finished birds.