We raise and breed both Bronze and Mexican Black turkeys. The Mexican Blacks are the original turkeys of the Americas, brought back to Europe by the Spanish. This is Chester our Bronze tom, he limps at bit from rickets and bad early nutrition. His mate, Miss Kitty apparently sat on her eggs until starvation made her eat them. When we bought her her breast bone stuck out like the keel on a ship.
Bronze turkeys are rare in North America, there are less than 10,000, we found Chester and our other turkeys by driving for 7 days on the Purhepecha mesita, stopping at every tiny pueblo and asking around for birds. The Bronze and Black turkeys are still physically able to breed and raise their young. The supermarket giant-breasted white bird is so disproportionate and mishapen from selective breeding to produce heavy-breasted over-sized birds that they are incapable of breeding and in some cases walking properly. Our birds are fed a rich diet of fresh greens, native corn, and mixed grains, all high in protein. They live outdoors and breed naturally hatching their own eggs in open but protected nests. They are athletic birds and are easily able to hop onto the barn roof, making it necessary to clip their flight feathers. The females are protective mothers who hiss if threatened. The males are more interested in strutting their stuff. The flesh of our birds though not dis-proportionately abundant is full flavored and tender.
