When we decided to add a few turkeys
to the farm, we started with a few Double Breasted Bronzes, but we quickly
decided that we wanted to have a small flock of breeding birds to keep the
population going and to provide naturally raised turkey for the freezer each
year. The commercial variety of Bronze turkeys are not able to breed naturally
due to their extreme size and fast growth. A heritage breed of turkey was
definitely what we were looking for.
Narragansett Turkeys are a medium sized turkey ranging between 14-23 lbs in weight. The Narragansett color pattern contains black, gray, tan, and white. Its pattern is similar to that of the Bronze, with steel gray or dull black replacing the coppery bronze. They have traditionally been known for their calm disposition, good maternal abilities, early maturation, egg production, and excellent meat quality.
All of our poultry are raised
"at liberty" on the farm. They have free access to the pastures, barn
yards, and (unfortunately) the garden too (they love strawberries, darn it!!).
Much of their diet is composed of what they naturally find to eat while out
ranging every day. They eat bugs, weeds and grasses, seeds, grain spillings from
the other livestock's feed dishes (all of our feeds are medication free) and they
are supplemented with an all vegetarian, medication free balanced ration . To
keep the birds safe from predators we do close the door on their coop every
night and let them out first thing every morning.
We currently have 7 Narragansett turkeys (3 toms and 4 hens) that we hope will breed next spring and hatch out a whole mess of little turkeys. Depending upon how successful we (actually its the turkeys who must be successful) are in this endeavor, we may have naturally raised Narragansett turkeys for sale next year. If you are interested in purchasing one or more, please let us know so we can keep you posted on what's available.