- the life cycle of our turkey

Last summer we purchased 3 turkey poults; only two made it out of the brooder to the field, and only one made it to adulthood. While we enjoyed having her around, we never lost sight of her real purpose for being on the farm - food.

I had processed quite a few turkeys in the past, but I had never done it at our home... I knew our lack of proper processing equipment would make things a bit more challenging for us. I opted to skin her rather than scald and pluck; it went ok, but I hope I don't have to do it that way again. She turned out fine, but didn't look quite as nice and it took me much too long.

My wife opted to put her in the stock pot and let her simmer for about 6 hours. This method of cooking allows us to get EVERY scrap of meat off the bird and also makes great stock to be used in other meals.

I must admit that I miss her a little bit; it was always fun to see her come running (along side the goats) when I was moving them to new pasture. She followed us around sometimes, like a pet and was all-around entertaining, but she is in the freezer now and we are all looking forward to eating her.

It is hard to explain, but it is very gratifying to have raised an animal, taken care of it for its whole life, and then used it to provide for my family. Knowing exactly how it was cared for, what it was fed, and how it was processed. One of our goals for this year is to provide all of our own meat, which will be mostly chicken, with an occasional goat and turkey. I encourage you all to raise/grow your own food if possible; if not you should at least make an effort to find out how your food is being raised and processed - if you want you can come visit our farm and purchase some from us. :-)

After just arriving at Liberty Pastures