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BREED: The Bourbon Red turkey is named for Bourbon County, Kentucky (the home of its original breeder, J. F. Barbee) and their rich, dark red plumage.
ORIGIN: Turkeys were already domesticated in Mexico and Central America by the 1500s when the Spanish first explored the area. Although their plumage was normally “bronze,” there were color variants. Many were taken back to Spain and spread across Europe, where they were further developed into varieties. As northern European migrants colonized North America from the 1600s, they brought domestic turkeys with them. Turkeys were kept free range on homesteads and farms for family consumption or small-scale sales until the early 1900s. They were also sometimes crossed with the local wild subspecies, the eastern wild turkey.
American varieties were developed by selecting for form, color, and performance. Body weight and egg production increased and leg and neck length reduced. Different regions specialized in their own variety. Dark buff turkeys, known as Tuscarora or Tuscawara, were bred in Pennsylvania. As migrants moved west to Ohio and Kentucky, they took this variety with them. In the late 1800s, J. F. Barbee crossed the Tuscarora with Bronze and White Holland turkeys and, after several years of careful selection, produced a line of consistent size and color. He initially called it the Bourbon Butternut, but it attracted more interest after the name change to Bourbon Red.
History of Breeding Turkey Varieties
Turkey varieties were first standardized in the 1870s, after which selection accelerated for exhibition quality and for utility. The APA recognized the Bourbon Red in 1909. Although the Bronze had leading commercial recognition, the Bourbon Red was also competitively selected and promoted for size, form, and flavor.
As the turkey industry spread from east to west, a protozoan parasite causing the disease histomoniasis (aka blackhead) infected farms, causing high mortality in turkeys. As the parasite can hide out in earthworms and nematode eggs for many years, it was impossible to maintain the industry in any area. By the 1920s, blackhead had ruined the industry in eastern states and the Midwest. The results of research introduced sanitary measures and controlled management that isolated outbreaks and reduced the spread of the disease.
In the 1930s, the industry resumed in a more intensive form. The Bourbon Red was still important commercially at this time. However, intensive rearing calls for higher investment, and it became increasingly difficult for small concerns to compete with large modern installations. Interestingly, reports in the 1930s and ‘40s suggested breeding smaller turkeys to encourage consumer demand for family table birds, while large turkeys would suit hotels, restaurants, and social gatherings. In fact, the development of broiler chickens captured regular household demand, while broad-breasted turkeys took hold of the turkey market. The Broad Breasted Bronze dominated from the 1930s until the Broad Breasted White was developed and gained favor from the 1950s.
Other varieties fell into decline, until the Livestock Conservancy (TLC) and Society for Preservation of Poultry Antiquities (SPPA) took steps to census their population in 1997 and, thereafter, promote heritage varieties. This has encouraged small-scale breeders and homesteaders to favor these birds for their hardiness, self-sufficiency, and superior flavor.
Visionary breeder Frank Reese has set up a conservancy on his poultry farm to restore heritage varieties, including the Bourbon Red, and reintegrate them into the turkey industry. His breeding and pasture-based husbandry methods restore biodiversity, health, and welfare to commercial turkey flocks. He already provides genetics, training, and mentoring to new businesses and supplies table birds to heritage food outlets.
CONSERVATION STATUS: Listed as “watch” on the TLC Conservation Priority List and “vulnerable” by the FAO, just over 2,000 were recorded in 2015 in the United States. Numbers have improved since the 1997 TLC census of 664 females bred in five hatcheries, and the SPPA census of 931 (149 males and 782 females) kept by 12 private breeders/hatcheries. Other regional varieties, such as Nebraskan and Wisconsin, were found in much lower numbers and may now be extinct.
Characteristics of the Bourbon Red Turkey
BIODIVERSITY: Heritage turkeys still have the natural instincts and hardiness of their ancestors as, until the 1930s, selection was slow and changes were minimal. Genetic selection for the Broad Breasted varieties was intense and reduced commercial turkeys’ gene pool to a very narrow set of alternatives. Simultaneously, heritage turkey populations diminished, thus reducing their gene pool size. Care is required to avoid inbreeding and to select for healthy traits and natural mating ability. Although heritage turkeys are currently not as large as APA standards, selection for health and genetic diversity will restore their productive potential.
DESCRIPTION: Heritage turkeys are large and well-muscled, without having the massive breasts of broad-breasted varieties that interfere with activity and mating. Therefore, they are able to forage, breed, and raise their young naturally and effectively. The Bourbon Red has dark red-brown plumage with white flight and tail feathers and paler red-brown bars near the end of the tail. Feathers become paler near the base. The male’s body feathers may be edged with black and the beard is black. The coloring can be difficult for breeders to perfect to standard.
SKIN COLOR: White, with red to blue-white head, neck, and wattle, which change color and hue when excited. Shanks and toes are pink.
POPULAR USE: Raised for their superior flavor, smaller size, and natural survival skills. Their pale pinfeathers do not leave pigment in the skin. Food columnist and author Marian Burros preferred the flavor of Bourbon Red and Standard Bronze to other market turkeys in a taste test for The New York Times.
EGG COLOR: Pale cream to mid-brown with speckling.
EGG SIZE: Large.
PRODUCTIVITY: The Bourbon Red is slow growing, maturing at around 28 weeks. Hens lay 20–50 eggs per year.
WEIGHT: The Bourbon Red tends to be smaller than the Standard Bronze, and most are smaller than the APA standard of 33 lb. for adult males and 18 lb. for adult females. Similarly, market weights are normally less than the standard (males 23 lb.; females 14 lb.), making them easier to manage for family consumption.
TEMPERAMENT: Depending on the selection criteria of each breeder, they can be docile and friendly with people or more aggressive, particularly with rival males.
ADAPTABILITY: Heritage birds are active foragers and thrive on pasture. They have high fertility, mate naturally, and raise their own young. The Bourbon Red’s slow growth and smaller stature give it better heat tolerance than most turkeys, but access to shade and water is needed in hot weather. Heritage turkeys perform well in most climates, but can suffer frostbite on the bare head and neck in extreme cold. They perform better free range on minimal additional feed than commercially-bred turkeys that rely on a uniform environment and a high level of feed and healthcare. Although blackhead is still a threat in free-range systems, it can be avoided by keeping flocks on sunny, well-drained paddocks, keeping turkeys separate from chickens (which can carry the disease), regularly providing clean bedding, and scrubbing boots when leaving poultry enclosures.
Sources
- The Livestock Conservancy
- Marsden, S.J. and Knox, C.W., 1937. The Breeding of Turkeys. Yearbook of Agriculture 1937. USDA. 1350–1366.
- Tonn, E.H., 1946. The Turkey Industry Present Situation and Outlook. USDA.
- Good Shepherd Conservancy
- Sponenberg, D.P., Hawes, R.O., Johnson, P., and Christman, C.J., 2000. Turkey conservation in the United States. Animal Genetic Resources, 27, 59–66.
- Lead photo from Adobe Stock.
Originally published in the October/November 2023 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.
Raising Bourbon Red turkeys on Star Farm, Kentucky, and preparing a Thanksgiving meal.
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