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Broad Breasted vs Heritage…What’s The Best Turkey For Your Homestead?

A small flock of Broad Breasted White turkeys
Standard Bronze tom turkey
Standard Bronze turkey, a heritage breed.

The Best Turkey Breed For Your Homestead

So you want to be more self-reliant by raising turkeys on your homestead. Now you’re wondering what is the best turkey…Broad Breasted or Heritage turkeys? Don’t be confused by all those tempting descriptions on the hatchery websites! Believe me, I’ve been there and I want to help you cut through the hype and choose the best breed for your homestead!

Check Out My Article How to Raise Turkeys!

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Broad Breasted vs Heritage Turkeys – Which is Best?

The first question is: “Do I want a turkey like the ones from the grocery store, or do I want one that is more flavorful but has less breast meat?”

The answer to this question will determine whether a Broad Breasted turkey or a heritage breed will suit you best.

Choosing turkey breeds - Broad Breasted White turkeys
Broad Breasted Whites

Broad-Breasted Turkeys for Meat Production

Broad Breasted (BB) White and BB Bronze turkeys are not technically considered standard breeds by the American Poultry Association (APA) or the Poultry Club of Great Britain. But that’s okay, you’ll find them in pretty much every poultry catalog.

These birds are not genetically modified, as some people claim. However, they have been crossbred for fast growth and an abundance of breast meat.

The Broad Breasted White is by far the most common turkey raised for food these days. Hands down, this is the best turkey breed for a fast-growing, meaty bird with the table quality most people expect from their Thanksgiving bird. This is the turkey you’ll find at the grocery store.

The Broad Breasted Bronze is the same size and meatiness as the BB White but looks much like the Standard Bronze heritage turkey. It’s the other fast-growing option for homesteaders who want to dress all of their birds at the end of the season. Some growers will raise and market them as heritage birds, but that’s false advertising! Due to the dark-colored feathers, the carcass doesn’t dress up as clean-looking as white birds.

Broad Breasted tom turkey
Broad Breasted Bronze turkey

The Pros & Cons of Raising Broad-Breasted Turkeys

These hybrid turkeys have a lot of good points:

  • Less expensive to order as day-old poults (baby turkeys).
  • More economical to grow out than heritage birds.
  • Ready to butcher in 4 to 6 months, depending on how large you want them and how well they are fed.
  • There is no arguing over the size of the finished carcass and generous amounts of white meat on these birds. They can top out at 40 to 50 pounds for a mature tom… although they may not fit in the oven!
  • There’s no need to keep breeding stock to feed over the winter.

If the cost per pound of meat is your most important consideration…this is the bird for you.

flock of broad breasted white turkeys

Disadvantages of Raising Broadbreasted Turkeys

These birds check a lot of boxes on the ‘Pros’ side, but they also have their share of ‘Cons’:

  • More susceptible to disease and deformities. (On my homestead I’ve had up to 12% of BB poults with physical deformities and up to 6% mortality from disease.)
  • Shorter lived because their massive weight is too heavy for their skeletal structure and organs at maturity.
  • Unable to mate naturally due to their shorter legs and overly large breasts. Commercial farms use artificial insemination.
  • They will forage when young but become more sedentary as they age.
Choosing the Best Turkeys for Your Homestead - The Self Sufficient HomeAcre

Heritage Breeds are the Best Turkey for Self-Reliance

Heritage turkeys are long-lived, genetically diverse breeds that are able to mate naturally. They are active foragers, often flighty, and may raise their own young.

With the introduction of larger, meatier birds the heritage breeds have fallen out of favor, leading to near extinction and loss of genetic diversity. However, slow food aficionados and the local food movement have touted their advantages in recent years, bringing about a resurgence in their numbers.

Here is Your List of Heritage Turkeys for the Homestead!

Why Raise Heritage Turkeys?

Yes, the BB turkeys have their advantages in the areas of size and economy. So why would you opt for heritage birds? There are some very good reasons, such as:

  • Preserve genetic diversity.
  • More disease resistant and thrifty.
  • Keep breeding stock and raise turkey poults each year.
  • Pasture-raised or free-range heritage turkeys will do a great job of eating pests and rustling up some of their own grub.
  • The flavor is considered better by many people.

Whether you are interested in preserving heritage breeds or living a more self-sufficient lifestyle, heritage turkeys fit the bill.

Royal Palm tom turkey with tail fanned out.
Royal Palm tom turkey

So why wouldn’t you want to raise heritage turkeys?

Heritage birds can be a great addition to homesteads, but they aren’t the right fit for everyone. Here are the disadvantages:

  • Higher cost of poults.
  • Higher feed cost and longer time to grow out.
  • Less meat, not as much white meat. Not what most people expect from a Thanksgiving turkey.
  • Can be flighty.
  • Toms may be aggressive. (This varies by breed and individual.)
  • Keeping breeding stock can be expensive.
  • Difficult to keep breeding stock on small homesteads.

Still not sure whether you want BB or Heritage turkeys? Let’s take a closer look…

Choose The Best Turkeys For Your Homestead- The Self Sufficient HomeAcre
Shown at different angles…I didn’t know I’d be doing this comparison when I took the photos. Hindsight is 20/20!

Growth Rate and Dressing Weight Comparison

In the comparison photo above, the Black Slate heritage turkey on the left was butchered at approximately 18 months and weighed 18 pounds. The Broad Breasted White turkey on the right was butchered at 4.5 months and weighed 25 pounds. They received the same feed and pasture conditions. This gives you an idea of what to expect for carcass size when raising these turkeys for meat.

Considering the Quality of Your Dressed Bird

Are you concerned about the appearance and flavor of that turkey once it’s dressed?

Whether you choose BB or heritage, white birds will dress out cleaner because they don’t have the pigment from the dark feathers. And yes, there is a heritage turkey for that!

If you plan to skin and cut up or grind a lot of your turkey meat, this won’t be a big deal. I do find the flavor of a heritage turkey to be superior to a BB turkey. However, since you’re raising them yourself, the BB turkeys won’t be pumped full of saline solution and the flavor is sure to be superior to storebought.

Young Broad Breasted turkeys
A rafter of young Broad Breasted turkeys raised on my homestead. They were very active when young and regularly raided my garden.

Weighing Self Sufficiency vs Economics

This is the big question… do you want to be self-sufficient or do you want a meaty turkey for Thanksgiving? I’ve tried both heritage and BB and I really do like both. So what’s a modern homesteader to do? Let’s start by recapping the pros and cons…


Heritage TurkeysBroad Breasted Turkeys
Mate naturallyArtificial insemination
6 months + to butcher weight4 to 5 months to butcher weight
Good foragersWill forage for some food
May go broody and raise young Broody instinct mostly bred out
Flighty Flighty only when young
May be aggressiveUsually docile
Long livedButchered young
Feed breeding stock year roundOrder poults each year
Variety of breedsWhite or Bronze available
Largest heritage toms may reach 30+ pounds as adultsBroad Breasted toms may reach 40+ pounds in 5 months
Higher cost per poundMost economical
More flavorMore meat

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My Experience Raising Heritage and Hybrid Turkeys

I’ve raised BB White, BB Bronze, Narragansett, and Black Slate turkeys. And yes, I’ve butchered them myself! Most of the time I did the deed all on my own…with turkeys weighing up to 25 pounds.

Our family enjoyed eating the meat from all of these varieties and it was a great experience. (I did have one Black Slate tom that turned into an attack bird. You’ll see him on the left of the Dressed Turkey Comparison graphic.)

If you are concerned about the cost of feeding breeding stock over the winter, and you would like a fine Thanksgiving turkey, the Broad Breasted White is your bird.

If you are interested in being self-sufficient and keeping breeding stock to raise a new generation of turkeys each year, a heritage breed is what you want.

baby turkeys
Broad breasted white turkey poults

Still can’t decide? Why not place an order for a few of both! You’ll have some for the holidays and some to breed… Win-Win!

Roasting turkey
Broad breasted turkey roasting in the oven

Leave a comment and tell me what kind of turkeys you raise on your homestead!

Broad Breasted vs Heritage Turkeys: Which Turkey is Best for Your Homestead?

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9 Comments on “Broad Breasted vs Heritage…What’s The Best Turkey For Your Homestead?

    1. If you want to raise them for the highest meat production, the broad breasted types are best. If you want to raise your own turkeys ‘from scratch’ each year, and you don’t mind a bird with less breast meat, the heritage breeds are a good choice. Best wishes with your project.

  1. Informative! Thank you. We raise heritage breeds and it is so enjoyable. Started with one little hen turkey that I got in a trade. She was supposed to arrive before thanksgiving dressed. She grew really slow and arrived the following 4th of July very much alive and laying eggs! She laid lots of eggs, over 50. So we went and found her a Mr. Tom. They have produced many batches of babies over the years. We have sold so many as breed stock. That one little hen lead us down the path of hobby turkey farmers.

  2. I am so screwed!!! I started my little homestead 2 years ago around my 40th birthday. I found a piece of land with a small pond (needs stocking) and just under 6 acres. I built a small home, not quite tiny but small enough to be completely solar powered if need be. I said I only wanted rabbits I got up to 2 bucks and 10 does. Once I finally got that process down I added chickens for eggs, then eventually meat. I said I was gonna keep it simple but now I even have a couple dairy goats and 2 male peacocks for nothing other than they are GOERGEUS and I paid next to nothing for them from a guy at the feed store. Thanks to your informative article I will at least raise 2 BB turkeys a year for Thanksgiving. So much for just rabbits!!
    I’m gonna check some of your other stuff out. It was perfect, lots of info in a short read. Maybe I shouldn’t though.. I might need more animals!
    Great read, thanks. If nothing else I’ll raise 2 BB turks for Thanksgiving every year as a new tradition!

    1. Hi David,
      Sometimes we just need to go for it! I’m glad that the articles I’ve shared have been helpful and I hope you enjoy raising your own turkeys for Thanksgiving. 🙂
      I have a post with step-by-step instructions for butchering a turkey if you’d like to check it out. Another post I shared that might be helpful is How to Homestead on One Acre or Less…in which I help homesteaders decide which projects make the most sense for their space and energy.
      Best wishes!

  3. thanks, great info . simple, to the point, informational, and encouraging! where would you recommend purchasing poults?

    1. Thanks, Jerry 🙂
      I have been ordering mine from a small hatchery in Wisconsin called Sunnyside Hatchery. They don’t ship out of the area. Check to see if you have a local hatchery with a good price. Best wishes!

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