SALT SPRING ISLAND, B.C. – Margaret Thomson was mesmerized by Blue Slate turkeys.”I thought they were absolutely fabulous and I wanted them.”She and her husband, Alan, had raised broiler chickens, but wanted something different for their 10 acre farm on Salt Spring Island, part of British Columbia’s Gulf Islands chain.Margaret, who started researching turkeys and joined internet forums and poultry fancier clubs, is now the turkey representative for Rare Breeds Canada and works with the Salt Spring Farmers Institute and Islands Heritage Livestock.She keeps three different bloodlines on her farm and can offer a genetically diverse flock of Ridley Bronze and Blue Slate turkeys.Margaret is a spinner, weaver and knitter who also raises rare Cotswold sheep for their fine, silky wool.About 800 Ridley Bronze turkey hens and 60 to 80 toms were kept at the University of Saskatchewan for 27 years, but few were adopted when that flock was dispersed. “I would be very surprised if there are more than 150 of the breeding birds,” she said.The Thomsons have raised about 1,000 birds and shipped eggs as far away as Ontario to start other flocks.”We are getting closer to the (breed) standard. Most of these birds have not been bred in big enough numbers for anyone to even compare them with the standard.”Margaret said many of these breeds were traditional farm turkeys, but producers replaced them with fast growing, early maturing types with more white meat as farms became more specialized. The traditional breeds do not require special diets, so she allows her turkeys to graze on plants and insects.She has an incubator for custom hatching, but she prefers to let the birds breed and hatch naturally. “We like more natural hatching so the birds grow up smarter,” she said. Alan wanted to see more colour in the flock and added Royal Palms and Narragansetts.”If you’re putting some work into it, you may as well have the ones that you like,” he said.He prefers turkeys to chickens because they are smart, communicative, easy to herd into the barn at night and less smelly.Margaret also hatches Chantecler chickens, which are sold at eight weeks of age.The 24 breeding birds produce a constant supply of excess turkeys, so 25 to 50 birds are slaughtered and sold mostly to repeat customers. A modern, commercial bird is ready for market at 14 to 16 weeks while older breeds finish at 28 to 32 weeks.The lack of processing facilities is a problem for the 66 livestock producers who farm on Salt Spring Island.But their isolated island location is also a plus for keeping bird diseases at bay, said Alan.The Thomsons ship turkeys to Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island.The two day trip stresses the birds, Margaret said.Producers had previously been allowed to kill their own animals and sell their meat from their farms, but the British Columbia government banned that practice two years ago.The result is a decline in all species of livestock on the island.Margaret has written reports for the B.C. Food Processors Association on the lack of processing facilities for small, isolated regions such as the Gulf Islands.Local farm groups have also applied for funding to set up a mobile abattoir for the island.
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
