how to choose the best Market Turkey?

[dlasure10]

My daughter is taking market turkeys for the fist time in 4H this year. She has 4 turkey hens and can show 2. What should she look for as the "best quality" show turkey. They are all white broad breasted and weigh very close to the same weight. Feathers appears to be of same quality and there are no major defeats on any of them. Please tell us what we are looking for here?

thanks!!

[Oggie]

Try to choose the birds with the most mature feathers/plumage and best feather condition, properly washed and rinsed 2 or 3 days prior to the show, beak and toenails trimmed, best filled-out breast, straight keel bone(breast bone), soundest legs(straightest and set well under the bird),straight toes, tail straight out behind the body, good face/head/eye color. Do not feed prior to judging so the crop won't be bulging out. Hope this will give you some ideas and pointers for selection and preparation. Good Luck!

Oggie

[seymojo536]

Market turkeys are different class to show in as compared to the fancy breeds or even the broiler class. Most of the value in a market turkey is in the breast.

As long as you give them a bath before the show I would not place too much importance on how they look, feather condition or if their feet are crooked. The judge for our fair summed it up quite nicely last year when he said "I don't eat feathers, or feet".

Flip the birds over and hold them upside down by their legs with their back against your knees. Have you daughter examine them in this position. You are looking for the bird with the longest rectangle of breast meat. The keel must be straight and there should be no blisters, buttons or blemishes anywhere on the breast or under the wing. I cannot state that strong enough. If your bird has a breast blister there is NO way it will place high.

Pick the birds that carry the width of the breast as far back as possible. If the breast does not come to a sharp point then you have a bird that is close to being finished properly. If you have two birds, one with the nicest breast and one with the nicest legs, pick the breast.

Good luck and let us know how she does...

I just saw you're in Ohio, which fair are you showing at? My daughter shows turkey, broilers, fancy, ducks and sheep at the Union County.

[Patrick]

I'm LMAO at the suggestions to wash turkeys. That I've got to see. Obviously you guys are used to showing bantams, but if you've ever tried to wash a turkey, I doubt you'd be suggesting it to others, unless you wanted to be there to see the show.

The bottom line is, there is no standard for commercial BB turkeys (despite the quote that someone is sure to throw at me), so it's anyone's guess as to which is better. Some of the suggestions that you've been given are good things to look for, which most people think of as good qualities for a commercial meat bird to have, except "good face/head/eye color". What is that supposed to be without a standard?

What you are really facing is just someone's purley subjective opinion. Sure, with a standard you're still facing the judge's opinion of how it's interpreted, but at least you have some kind of guide, for the both of you.

4h should have some kind of guide in place as to which is considered a better bird, but it wouldn't surprise me if they've also overlooked that minor bit of what is required in a true competition.

I would bring one bird which is clean and in good feather, and another which has some of the qualities which have already been suggested. That way you're covering your bases, whichever way your judge leans. If they must be shown as a pen, flip a coin to decide which type to bring and hope that you've brought the birds that match your judge's personal preferences.

[Omega Blue Farms]

Excellent advice by seymojo,

We have our turkeys table judged by a 3rd generation commercial turkey breeder. He places a tremendous amount of consideration on the breast qualities, as outlined above. However, the leg stance is also important to him because, as he puts it, the best turkeys grow out on pasture. They need good movement capabilities.

As for washing, we wash our's when needed. Especially if they need de-lousing. It's a two person job. And when we have the benefit of warm dry weather. Pull the legs out from behind the bird and hold them straight, having the bird rest on it's side. Wash and rinse the side exposed and then roll the bird over. When done, rinse well.

[Oggie]

I guess not everyone laughs at washing a turkey Patrick. As you can see by the post by omega blue farms, some people take showing a clean turkey seriously enough to wash them. Even if it takes two people to do it, I'm sure whomever judges their birds appreciates the effort they take to present their entry at it's best! I certainly would!

[Patrick]

Not me. I usually exhibit them as dirty and disgusting as possible. But then, that's why I'm not the premier APA exhibitor over all breeds, so what do I know? Go ahead, try it yourself. See how easy it is.

[Evy]

I guess not everyone laughs at washing a turkey Patrick. As you can see by the post by omega blue farms, some people take showing a clean turkey seriously enough to wash them. Even if it takes two people to do it, I'm sure whomever judges their birds appreciates the effort they take to present their entry at it's best! I certainly would!

You might want to check Patrick's show record re: turkeys & waterfowl.

[Oggie]

Patrick's show record is not in question here Evy. My point was, why make fun of anyone who is willing to take to task washing their turkeys? Some people do it and I guess some don't, just as in chickens. You know that judges always appreciate a clean bird over a soiled one. Otherwise, why would anyone ever bother to wash anything? My post is not for sake of argument, just my observation of what I have seen and what I have been taught about preparation of show birds. Thus my answer to the original question by the poster of this thread!