Heritage Turkey Foundation

The Heritage Turkey Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the heritage breeds of turkey as an economically viable, healthy, delicious alternative to the industrial Broad-breasted White and Broad-Breasted Bronze breeds so universally used today. Real heritage turkey breeds include the breeds listed in the 1874 Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association: The Standard Bronze, Bourbon Red, Naragansett, Black or Spanish Black, Buff, Slate, and White Holland. A few breeds developed later also qualify, such as the Royal Palm and Beltsville Small White. The industrial varieties have been bred for mass production and maximum economic benefit to the producer, at the expense of the turkey's well-being as well as its taste. The industrial varieties, the Broad-breasted White and Broad-Breasted Bronze, were bred for a compact butter-ball shape. The legs were shortened by almost 50%. The breastbone was shortened. They were bred for very large breasts. The industrial varieties cannot mate naturally because of the tom's protruding breast. All industrial turkeys are propagated by artificial insemination. The birds cannot run or fly naturally, and are much less active than heritage breeds. The birds grow very quickly and are slaughtered before they are physically mature, producing a poor tasting, dry meat. Because of intense in-breeding to maximize profit without regard to the well-being of the bird, industrial turkeys have begun to have genetically transmitted health problems as well as the physical problems resulting from their deformed shapes. The Orlopp Bronze is a broad-breasted Bronze developed my Orlopp Hatchery in California. Heritage turkeys are healthy, hardy animals which could survive in the wild. They can run like the wind.