The turkey found its way to England from Spain in 1524, reputedly byWilliam Strickland, where its freindly, inquisitive character, incessant chattering, attractive plumage and what even now seems to be exotic features ensured its place in British hearts as well as on their tables.
These traditional breeds of turkey are perhaps a far cry from our modern commercial birds. Maturing over months rather than weeks, they have a far more flavoursome meat, and are lighter in weight. because of their comparative lightness, natural shape and superior strength they are able to fly - alighting on or clearing six foot fences and breed naturally - two qualities which our modern birds have sadly lost, along with other aspects of what was once considered their natural life.
This year I have mature pairs and trios from last years eggs. They are all strong, hardy birds that are thriving even in this, our coldest spring since 1963!
Bronze
The name Bronze refers to two main types of domestic turkey - the traditional or Standard Bronze, and the Broad Breasted Bronze. The traditional Bronze is one of the earliest of breeds on both sides of the Atlantic. the UK still has good bloodlines of Norfolk and Cambridge Bronzes, my own being Norfolk.
Early North American colonists brought the domesticated turkey with them. These bred with the native wild turkeys, producing a larger and more attractive bird which was popular in the 1th century. After that a split appeared in the breed, and the Broad Breasted was bred specificially for the commercial market. The numbers of the original Bronze then began to tumble, as indeed did the numbers of the Broad Breasted variety when the Broad Breasted White took over as the preferred commercial table bird. Whilst the White lacked that beautiful plumage it has the benefits of quick maturation and a cleaner carcass after plucking.
Buff
The Buff turkey was sometimes preferred to the Bronze because its lighter coloured plumage meant that it gave a cleaner looking carcass after plucking. However, it had the disadvantage of being a smaller, lighter bird than the Bronze, so was never bred in such large numbers. In the 1870's it was used to develope the Bourbon Red, but its own popularity lapsed due to the difficulties in achieving the perfect colour pattern, and the developement of the White. During the 1940's attempts were made to revive the breed, and the new strain was called the New Jersy Buff. The Buff was always more popular in the US than in the UK.
Bourbon Red
This breed was developed in Borbon County, Kentucky. In its prime, a mature stag (known as atom in America) could weigh an average of 33 pounds (15 kilos) and at the time of maturity, 23lbs. My stag tips the scales at 22lbs, and it will be interesting to see how much heavier he becomes over the coming months. Overall weights have dropped as breeders have been less selective than they once were, in order to ensure survival of the breed. In US it is one of the most popular of the heritage turkeys, but numbers remain low enough for it to be listed as a "watch" by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. My Bourbon Red stag is shown below, displaying to a Crollwitzer hen.
Crollwitzer
An stunningly attractive black and white bird from Germany. Slightly larger is the European variety, known as the Pied, and the Americans have their equivilent, the Royal Palm. All are kept for their ornamental value as well as for egg production and the table. My mature stag is around 23 lbs - heavier than I'd imagined him getting. Below can be seen a hen on left and displaying stag on right, with a Bourbon Red stag behind them.
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