Turkey farming

Gilroy

Hi all,

Thinking about turkey farming free range next year. Have around 12 acres and could put 1000 bronze turkeys on it from next June 2016.

If I sold the turkeys to commercial operations, what do they pay per turkey?

Or could I sell to public? Would it hard to get customers?

Mad4simmental

Very very hard game. You'll be lucky to brake even. Disease is a big factor with them, a few days like today is hard on them and you'll be putting allot of bedding under them. You'll be lucky to get €35/€40 for them and they'll cost allot of it. Big diffrence in doing a few for yourself and doing a 1000. Bronze are nice but don't put on the same meat as the white.

Gilroy

Mad4simmental wrote: »

Very very hard game. You'll be lucky to brake even. Disease is a big factor with them, a few days like today is hard on them and you'll be putting allot of bedding under them. You'll be lucky to get €35/€40 for them and they'll cost allot of it. Big diffrence in doing a few for yourself and doing a 1000. Bronze are nice but don't put on the same meat as the white.

Thanks for reply, hopefully would have them outside on kale, grass etc etc... I would put up shelters
6 months to get bronze turkeys fit for killing. How much is it to buy them as chicks? And where??

I would be setting it up as a low input system. Anyone do the costing on a system like this?? Please post.

Mad4simmental

Not sure on cost for a 1000, probably get them as day olds for €1/€1.50
Not sure if you'll get them here or have to go to France for them.

Capercaillie

Would have to make sure they would be protected against foxes.

Gilroy

Capercaillie wrote: »

Would have to make sure they would be protected against foxes.

Yes, secure fencing to keep preditors out only need to be put up on the farm around the 12 acres.

Trying to find out best place to buy chicks. Anyone know, post please.

Look maybe I will start small next year, do 100 and see how it goes....

dzer2

Avondale in cork

BG2.0

Dawgone on here raises turkey iirc on contract commercially in a house. Not exactly same but closeish

Bullocks

Gilroy wrote: »

Yes, secure fencing to keep preditors out only need to be put up on the farm around the 12 acres.

Trying to find out best place to buy chicks. Anyone know, post please.

Look maybe I will start small next year, do 100 and see how it goes....

I would go with 100 the first time till you get the hang of them incase anything goes wrong. Turkeys are pernickety hoors

Gilroy

Always afraid of hidden costs when going into something like this....

If anyone has an idea of production costs to raise turkeys then please post.

Bullocks

Gilroy wrote: »

Always afraid of hidden costs when going into something like this....

If anyone has an idea of production costs to raise turkeys then please post.

I don't know your planned costs but have you anything in for vet / medication and losses

AntrimGlens

I reared a couple hundred white turkeys every year from when I was at school up until couple years ago. Bought them as 4 week olds in last week of August and hens would average 18lb by Christmas week and stags would be anything from 20lb - 34lb. Bought the last batch for £4 as 4 week olds and sold them at £3 a lb oven ready. Took about £15 to feed them, plus bedding costs and we killed and plucked them ourselves. These were American double breasted birds and I tried getting them plucked by machine and ended up taking half the breasts of them as they were too quickly grown, they reckon the birds need to be at least 6 months old and single breasted to pluck by machine. I had built up a fairly large customer base and my uncle took about 50 for his butchers shop. He paid catering prices about £1 lb less than public prices but heavy birds still went into good money. Reason I stopped was that people were wanting lighter birds every year so less money in it, people wanted 14-16lb now whereas previously they wanted anything around 21lb. Also got sick of plucking and gutting birds for a fortnight before Xmas and dreading the inevitable call on Christmas Day that someone's bird was off. (They would leave it in a warm room) so had to have couple spare left for xmas day. It was a great way of having cash for xmas and no big outlay, health wise no big problems rearing them apart from lice or heavier birds taking heart attacks and pecking each other. Fed on standard turkey meal, starter crumbs, rearer, grower and finisher but the stuff is full of growth promoters. They weren't fully free range but got access to a couple of acres if it was good weather as dirty breasted birds were a nightmare to pluck. I'd say go for it but go handy to start with. Good luck.

Base price

I used to raise between 180 - 200 turkeys every year and sell them direct to work colleagues, neighbours and friends. I looked at it as been a bit of cash coming in at the end of the year.
After purchasing stock, losses, feed costs, and labour there was not a huge amount of profit but enough for me to continue for 10/12 years. Plucking was the biggest issue and in those days we did it by hand. We also dressed and prepared turkeys oven ready - which is very time consuming.
That was 25 years ago and Dept regulations have changed since then. Apparently nowdays in order to sell turkeys (ex farm) for public consumption they have to slaughtered and dressed in an Dept approved facility :eek:
I don't know what the costs are for this service.

Gilroy unless you have experience of rearing poultry especially day old poults then forget about it. What sort of brooder systems and how many are you going to set up to accommodate a 100 day olds. What type of feeders and drinkers are you going to use. What type of heat source and how much per hour is it going to cost. What are you going to pay for chick crumb/grower pellets and finally finisher pellets per kg.
You need to look into all of these costs before you even think about trying to pay for expensive fencing for 12 acres which by the way will never be predator proof.

Gilroy

AntrimGlens wrote: »

I reared a couple hundred white turkeys every year from when I was at school up until couple years ago. Bought them as 4 week olds in last week of August and hens would average 18lb by Christmas week and stags would be anything from 20lb - 34lb. Bought the last batch for £4 as 4 week olds and sold them at £3 a lb oven ready. Took about £15 to feed them, plus bedding costs and we killed and plucked them ourselves. These were American double breasted birds and I tried getting them plucked by machine and ended up taking half the breasts of them as they were too quickly grown, they reckon the birds need to be at least 6 months old and single breasted to pluck by machine. I had built up a fairly large customer base and my uncle took about 50 for his butchers shop. He paid catering prices about £1 lb less than public prices but heavy birds still went into good money. Reason I stopped was that people were wanting lighter birds every year so less money in it, people wanted 14-16lb now whereas previously they wanted anything around 21lb. Also got sick of plucking and gutting birds for a fortnight before Xmas and dreading the inevitable call on Christmas Day that someone's bird was off. (They would leave it in a warm room) so had to have couple spare left for xmas day. It was a great way of having cash for xmas and no big outlay, health wise no big problems rearing them apart from lice or heavier birds taking heart attacks and pecking each other. Fed on standard turkey meal, starter crumbs, rearer, grower and finisher but the stuff is full of growth promoters. They weren't fully free range but got access to a couple of acres if it was good weather as dirty breasted birds were a nightmare to pluck. I'd say go for it but go handy to start with. Good luck.

Ok great reply, makes sense. People seem to want small birds. Now the bronze Turkeys do take 6 months but maybe i could rear them for 4 months. And get them roughly to 14/16 lb... Your right, i will start very small and see how it goes.

Gilroy

Base price wrote: »

I used to raise between 180 - 200 turkeys every year and sell them direct to work colleagues, neighbours and friends. I looked at it as been a bit of cash coming in at the end of the year.
After purchasing stock, losses, feed costs, and labour there was not a huge amount of profit but enough for me to continue for 10/12 years. Plucking was the biggest issue and in those days we did it by hand. We also dressed and prepared turkeys oven ready - which is very time consuming.
That was 25 years ago and Dept regulations have changed since then. Apparently nowdays in order to sell turkeys (ex farm) for public consumption they have to slaughtered and dressed in an Dept approved facility :eek:
I don't know what the costs are for this service.

Gilroy unless you have experience of rearing poultry especially day old poults then forget about it. What sort of brooder systems and how many are you going to set up to accommodate a 100 day olds. What type of feeders and drinkers are you going to use. What type of heat source and how much per hour is it going to cost. What are you going to pay for chick crumb/grower pellets and finally finisher pellets per kg.
You need to look into all of these costs before you even think about trying to pay for expensive fencing for 12 acres which by the way will never be predator proof.

Really didnt know that. The dept makes you use a approved facility... Plan was to feed harder bronze turkey that are fine outdoors in wind and rain. Feed on kale and grass. Drinkers, i have them. Sheds near the paddock. Look i will learn from my mistakes, and i will go slow first.

But the key question, is there money/profit to be made?? hard work !!

Base price

Gilroy wrote: »

Really didnt know that. The dept makes you use a approved facility... Plan was to feed harder bronze turkey that are fine outdoors in wind and rain. Feed on kale and grass. Drinkers, i have them. Sheds near the paddock. Look i will learn from my mistakes, and i will go slow first.

But the key question, is there money/profit to be made?? hard work !!

Your biggest hurdle is going to be rearing and keeping them alive as day olds - an expensive lesson imo.

Base price

Forgot to ad that if you keep poultry (even backyard) you have to be registered with the Dept and get a flock number simular to a herd number.

Askim

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
CONSUMPTION PER 100 BIRDS

FEEDING AGE

Starter crumbs
200kg

0 – 7 weeks

Grower
1100 kg

7 - 18 weeks

Finisher
1500 kg

18wks – kill

Saw the above on www.turkeys.ie they do different breeds, and deliver, the guy I got mine from last year used these, this year I got six off heat from a local guy, via done deal.

I agree with the previous post, about large weights, about 12lbs is about right, I like the look of a full bird for Christmas but hate wasting any, so last year I just did a single breast on the bone

duckduck1991

I worked in butcher's before where we bought in Turkey's from lads who raise them all year..In one shop the boss ordered from 2 farmer's every year
.. split the order between them they were happy enough..dirty work .but I'd say go for it..Get in well with your local butcher's

whelan2

open day on here today https://www.facebook.com/SweeneyBronze/

jfh

The friendly farmer started of like this & has built up a great market, targeting high end restaurants, think he runs intro courses, Google him, nice fella.

fastrac

I did them up to a few yrs ago but as said earlier the buyers only wanted light birds and some would cancel at the last minute after getting a half price supermarket one. We never had a chance to enjoy the week before Christmas when our kids were small because of Turkeys and watching people coming all dressed up full of the joys made my mind up.

davidk1394

I only do 30 here more so as a hobby and a few pound for christmas. The smallest turkey we'd do is 14lb up to roughly 20lb. Started doing them in 2010 as a ty project. I'd by them in at 6weeks of age so their off heat. Simple set up and are hung in a cold room. Cleaned out and delivered on the 23rd of December. Then off for the 12 pubs !!