The delicious flavor in the meat and the beautiful copper bronze plumage make Bronze Turkey stand out from the rest of the Turkey breeds. The Bronze turkey is called for its uncommon color, a shimmering green-bronze that seems metallic in the daylight.
Bronze turkey found in 2 varieties, the Broad-breasted and standard heritage. Broad breasted are reared more for commercial purposes due to its meat quantity. It used to be famous and the number one choice for all commercial hatcheries in America until broad-breasted white turkeys arrived.
Bronze Turkey Characteristics
Broad-Breasted Bronze feathers are copper bronze, with a background of brown and black, and white bars on the tail a coloration is very similar to wild turkeys.
Bronze turkeys stand 4 feet tall, with a 15 to 18-inch tail and a 6-foot wingspan.
The Bronze has straight, strong legs set well apart.
Its back is broad, sloping from the neck and flat between the wings.
The wings are carried well up on the sides, the tail is long with broad feathers and the head is long, deep, and broad with prominent eyes.
Broad-Breasted Bronze Turkeys are ready to process between 16 to 22 weeks of age.
The Broad-Breasted Bronze young hens weigh around 20 pounds to toms around 29 pounds. Fully matured Broad-Breasted toms can weigh up to 38 pounds.
The life span is shorter for the Broad Breasted Bronze turkey compared to heritage turkey this is because of their large size and has a generally very poor reproduction rate.
The standard variety is 3/4 the size of Broad Breasted. It can breed naturally, feed less and has potentially fewer leg problems.
The delicious flavor in the meat and the feather coloring is the same in both breeds (Standard and Broad Breasted).
They are excellent feed to meat conversion ratio.
Bronze Turkey History
The Bronze turkey originated from the cross between domestic turkeys brought by European colonists to America and the eastern species of North American wild turkeys. The beautiful coppery brown plumage was larger, easy to tame and better than wild turkeys and domestic ones. The brown dominated the commercial turkey meat industry then. The American Poultry Association recognized the Bronze variety in 1874.
During the 1900s, the broader breasted bronze turkey got introduced from England to the United States. These were crossed with larger and faster-growing American stock birds. This resulted in the Broad Breasted Bronze, which had more meat and fast growth. Commercial Turkey meat industries loved bronze variety for their performance abilities.
But due to their vigorous growth and broad-breasted, they were unable to mate naturally. Artificial insemination was carried out to produce young ones. Beginning of the 1960s the Broad Breasted Bronze was replaced by the Broad Breasted White turkey(Large White).
Processors favored the white-feathered variety because it produced a cleaner-looking carcass and pinfeathers are easier to clean. Today, the Broad-breasted Bronze is no longer used by the turkey industry, but it is promoted for seasonal, small-scale production.
The Broad-breasted Bronze is now bred at only five or six hatcheries in the United States. It is sometimes crossed with the White turkey and also sold as a backyard hobby bird.
Bronze turkeys are in the Rare list of American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Brief characteristics of Bronze Turkey
| Breed Name | Bronze Turkey |
| Other Name | Broad Breasted Bronze, Standard Bronze |
| Country/Place of Origin | USA |
| Breed Purpose | Meat |
| Breed Size | Large |
| Weight Tom(Male) | 13 kg |
| Hen(Female) | 9 kg |
| Eggs | low |
| Disposition | active, docile |
| Climate Tolerance | All Climates |
Frequently asked questions
What are bronze turkeys used for?
Though Bronze turkey is one of the most appreciated domestic types of turkeys among. It is no longer used by the turkey industry, however, it is promoted for seasonal, small-scale production.
Naturally, mating, long-lived, slow-growing strains of Bronze Turkeys, referred to as the Standard Bronze, have actually been left even further behind by the turkey sector.
The Bronze was mainly made use of for meat production, as they are the heavyweight of the Turkey class. It made use of to be famous and the number one option for all commercial breeding grounds
How big does a Bronze turkey get?
Bronze turkey is a heavyweight of the Turkey class. The conventional weight for young toms is 25 pounds as well as for young hens is 16 extra pounds. The average real-time bodyweight of the fully grown Bronze chickens is around 7.25 kg. And the mature tom’s ordinary real-time body weight is around 11.5 kg.
Can bronze turkeys breed?
The Broad-breasted turkey can’t reproduce yet the Standard bronze can reproduce. The typical bronze can reproduce naturally.
Standard Bronze Turkey is one-third of the dimension of the broad-breasted range. The basic bronze is lighter and can reproduce normally yet it is still heavier at younger ages than wild birds.
Do Broad-breasted Bronze turkeys lay eggs?
Broad Breasted Bronze turkey chickens laid approximately 60 eggs annually. Whereas the Standard Bronze turkey lay around 75 eggs per year. Approximately 85 percent of productive eggs and also around 75 percent of the abundant eggs hatched out.
How long do Broad breasted Bronze turkeys live?
Bronze turkeys will live 8 to 12 years, whereas Broad breasted Bronze lives around 8 years.
Can Bronze turkeys fly?
The Broad-breasted Bronze can not fly. They are hefty turkeys, can not fly. They call for a lot of space to roam about. They can run quickly however do not fly.
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