A home-grown turkey for Christmas dinner was part of our vision when we started on the turkey raising journey. I was so excited to raise two turkeys – one for Thanksgiving dinner and one for Christmas dinner.  It all seemed nostalgic to me.  I envisioned a male and female, happily living at LL Farm.  In […]

It’s not really the season to be looking to find turkey poults to raise for table. That usually takes place in the spring. But it is an excellent time to let your taste buds do some research for you. Homegrown turkeys can be delicious and what you eat this holiday season, might determine what fills […]

….they were dogs. …or possibly cats. …or even, perhaps, a boy. If you’ve followed my blog, you’ll know that my friend and I raise turkeys. They come to us as day old poults, and usually leave in time to be nicely dressed for Thanksgiving dinner. We treat these turkeys like we treat most of our […]

I have struggled with putting my words together for this post. However, I do believe that it is important to share this … to show that homesteading is not full of good times only. Homesteading is physically hard work. It can also be emotionally hard. In dealing with this, my emotions have been all over […]

It’s been a wonderful, fruitful year at Iron Oak Farm. The garden is coming along nicely, I’m picking ripening cucumbers every day and adding them to our refrigerator pickle jar. We also just finished kidding season, one of the most joyous times of the year. Our last pregnant doe gave birth to triplets last night. […]

I’ve been worried about Big Tom, our Black Spanish male turkey. Through the years I’ve become quite attached to Big Tom. He’s a large, impressive bird. The heavy folds of skin above his eye give him a foreboding look and he can be quite intimidating. But really, he’s a puppy at heart. Tom follows us […]

While the turkeys were living all snug in their brooder for the first 7 to 8 weeks of their life, we were getting everything ready for them outside.  Getting started with turkeys has taken a lot of time, but we are hoping that going forward, the majority of the work is done.  Using scrap and […]

I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrase be careful what you wish for. That might be touching on a bit of what we’re experiencing with our turkey population here. We decided to raise Black Spanish turkeys a few years back for meat and to help with the movement to further the breed’s numbers. The first […]

Ever think about raising a turkey or two?  You know, for a holiday meal? Broad breasted turkeys are similar to what you find at the grocery store.  The ‘broad breast’ meat makes them ideal for special feasts.  Raised on our own land, knowing what they eat, how they are housed, and that they have a […]

“They” say variety is the spice of life. Well then, when it comes to poultry, our farm is very spicy. I must say that I am thoroughly enjoying myself this spring! We have a beautiful assortment of teenage chicks, new chicks, ducks and Narragansett and Bourbon Red turkeys to come. I also have plans for […]