How Do You Select The Best Turkey Breed?

Turkey is the giant bird under the genus Meleagris and is native to North America. Generally, you will find two extant turkey species. The wild ones are from central and eastern North America and the ocellated ones in Mexico.

However, although not a very common breed, farmers still raise this variety for its juicy and delicious meat quality for Thanksgiving dinners. But how to know which of the following is not a breed of domesticated turkey?

How Do You Make Your Selection?

Even for farming enthusiasts, the real challenge is to select a suitable variety of turkeys for culturing purposes. It is pretty tricky to differentiate instantly between the wild and the domesticated ones, as the varieties define their meat quality. Here are some points to consider that can help you to make a wiser selection:

Size

The dressed variety can conveniently fit into the refrigerator while the aging process continues. And it will also seamlessly fit into the oven while roasting. However, for farming purposes, one needs to have enough freezer space to store them all. Therefore, size consideration is your priority while selecting the suitable variety of turkey for its meat.

Understanding The Varieties Of Turkeys

Wild to domestic, all the turkeys come from the wild ones only. The wild turkeys are still roaming around the forests and fields of North and South America. The domesticated ones that you commonly see now have their origins from the practices of Aztec, Mayan, and other Natives. People have been domesticating these wild turkeys for centuries now, even before the Spanish explorers’ arrival.

Even the biologists believe that the wild ones laid the foundation of the breeding stock that went even to European countries. Most of these first turkeys traveled across the Atlantic and are available throughout the region due to selective breeding. However, the originals belong to North America, whether it is the wild or the domesticated ones.

Feather Colors

You can easily distinguish between domestic and wild turkey by examining its feather colors. Wild turkeys will have deep, rich brown and black feathers. However, unlike them, the domesticated ones are generally white. You can easily understand this distinction as the white pin feathers are less visible on its body.

Survival Instincts

Of course, wild turkeys are smarter than domesticated ones. They have to struggle and survive in the wild amongst all sorts of predators. Therefore, they develop unique fighting and survival skills that aren’t visible in the domesticated ones. If you have been farming for quite some time now, you can easily distinguish between their physical attributes and instincts for surviving in the wild.

Less Amount of Breast With Intense Flavor

Wild turkeys are generally smaller and offer you darker meat than the domesticated ones. The former will offer a more intense flavor and firmer texture than the latter. Even the breasts seem more petite in size than the domesticated ones and require less cooking time. That is because the wild ones need to fly and survive and hence lack a lot of breast meat than the domesticated ones.

Conclusion

Are you still wondering how to find which of the following is not a breed of domesticated turkey? Knowing more about the different breeds’ physical and behavioral attributes can help you understand the key differences. However, while selecting the correct variants for farming, ensure that you go for the ones with quality meat and excellent disease resistance.