Turkey Producer Helping To Preserve Rare Turkey Varieties

2002 - Volume #26, Issue #6, Page #03

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White turkeys aren't the only ones around, even though that's all you normally see in commercial flocks, says Mike Walters, manager of Walters Hatchery, Stilwell, Okla.
  Walters is in the business of producing - and preserving - several varieties of colorful turkeys. Among the varieties he produces are Broad Breasted Bronze, Standard Bronze, Blue Slate, Black, Bourbon Red, Eastern Wild, Royal Palm and Narragansett.
  He maintains a total laying flock of about 300 hens. "Hens start laying about the end of February and continue through late summer," he says. "They'll lay an egg every 36 to 38 hours, or about four eggs a week per hen."
  With all those eggs, his 5,600-egg incubator gets quite a workout. And by the time egg fertility drops off in the summer, he's ready for a break.
  Walters' full-time job is working as a paramedic. He calls turkey production a "habit." Some might say it's an obsession. The varieties he produces are all listed as rare or endangered by the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, a national group dedicated to preserving and expanding genetic diversity in all types of poultry.
  He says most commercial turkeys grown are the same variety. "Genetically, the commercial turkey industry has little diversity. If a new disease hit the flocks, it could run through the entire industry and they would have no other genetics to fall back on," he says.
  While his birds grow more slowly, they sell for considerably more than a commercial white bird from the grocery store. He says the demand outstripped supply. His finished birds went for about $3.50 a lb.
  "I'll have more for sale this year, so I'm expecting only about $3 a pound this fall," he says.
  In addition to selling market birds, he also sells breeding stock.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Follow-up, Mike Walters, Walters Hatchery, Rt. 3, Box 1409, Stilwell, Okla. 74960 (ph 918 778-3535; E-mail: turkeylink@intellex.com).

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Turkey Producer Helping To Preserve Rare Turkey Varieties LIVESTOCK Poultry 26-6-3 White turkeys aren't the only ones around, even though that's all you normally see in commercial flocks, says Mike Walters, manager of Walters Hatchery, Stilwell, Okla. Walters is in the business of producing - and preserving - several varieties of colorful turkeys. Among the varieties he produces are Broad Breasted Bronze, Standard Bronze, Blue Slate, Black, Bourbon Red, Eastern Wild, Royal Palm and Narragansett. He maintains a total laying flock of about 300 hens. "Hens start laying about the end of February and continue through late summer," he says. "They'll lay an egg every 36 to 38 hours, or about four eggs a week per hen." With all those eggs, his 5,600-egg incubator gets quite a workout. And by the time egg fertility drops off in the summer, he's ready for a break. Walters' full-time job is working as a paramedic. He calls turkey production a "habit." Some might say it's an obsession. The varieties he produces are all listed as rare or endangered by the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, a national group dedicated to preserving and expanding genetic diversity in all types of poultry. He says most commercial turkeys grown are the same variety. "Genetically, the commercial turkey industry has little diversity. If a new disease hit the flocks, it could run through the entire industry and they would have no other genetics to fall back on," he says. While his birds grow more slowly, they sell for considerably more than a commercial white bird from the grocery store. He says the demand outstripped supply. His finished birds went for about $3.50 a lb. "I'll have more for sale this year, so I'm expecting only about $3 a pound this fall," he says. In addition to selling market birds, he also sells breeding stock. Contact: FARM SHOW Follow-up, Mike Walters, Walters Hatchery, Rt. 3, Box 1409, Stilwell, Okla. 74960 (ph 918 778-3535; E-mail: turkeylink@intellex.com).

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