Fun with Gray Family Farm turkeys

Shelley Gray and her husband Roger have been raising turkeys for 30 years at Gray Family Farm in New Windsor, NY.

First they raised chickens at the farm. “Since we did chickens, I thought I could do turkeys. You think you know chickens, so you think you know turkeys,” she said.

Not so, she found. “First, they are poults, not chicks. When they are poults, they are very delicate. They look up at the sky and think ‘This is a good day to die’ and topple over. They pile on top of each other and crush the others underneath,” said Gray.

“Chickens are so hearty,” she said. She’s found that turkeys are not.

People advised Gray to never raise chickens and turkeys together, or they get diseases like blackhead turkey disease. She and Roger raised them together without any problems for 27 years. Then, three years ago, the turkeys got an illness – not blackhead turkey disease – that was diagnosed by Cornell University.

They were treated, but they lost 20 turkeys that year. Since then, the chicken and turkey flocks have remained separated.

This year, they are raising 135 Broad Breasted White turkeys. Gray tried Heritage breeds, but found they took longer to gain suitable weight. She tried raising Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys, and found that, upon being dressed, “Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys leave little spots where their feathers have been and customers don’t like that presentation on their table.”

Gray admitted, “I’m one who wants the biggest turkey,” so she’ll have lots of leftovers and meat to make sandwiches, and raised large turkeys accordingly.

But she’s found many people prefer smaller turkeys for their Thanksgiving dinners. Trying to raise small turkeys is challenging, because “if it’s really warm, they are just going to grow.” If it’s cold they’ll maintain a smaller weight.

“I trained everyone to get 28-pound turkeys and now they want little ones,” she said. She solved the weight problem by offering the turkeys on a first come, first served basis.

The turkeys are taken to Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff, NJ, for processing the weekend before Thanksgiving, so they’re able to offer them fresh.

Gray Family Farm turkeys are 100% free-range pastured. They rotate their electric fencing in the fields once a week. They have a shed in the field that provides cover.

At one point, “I did do organic turkeys, but I got priced out during COVID. As the price of good quality organic grain went up, I couldn’t charge enough. The cost was prohibitive,” Gray said.

The couple also grows organic vegetables for their CSA orders, which last 13 weeks, starting in June. Last year, they raised 250 turkeys and were able to provide frozen turkey parts – drumsticks, thighs and breasts – in the CSA. At that time, they were providing CSA orders to 42 families. The CSA includes a meat portion and vegetables. This year, she cut back to 20 CSA orders.

They raise three pigs a year to provide meat for the CSA orders. They work with other local family-owned businesses to provide special add-ons like fish, or specialty items like elderberry jelly. Gray tucks in recipes for delicacies to make with their CSA produce like poached pears with walnut/maple syrup.

The couple follow Joel Salatin’s farming methods. Salatin is a leading speaker, prolific author and proponent of sustainability.

The Grays are members of the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) as well as the New York Farm Bureau. The Grays harvest hay on their 107 acres that are protected by Agricultural Preservation Restrictions. They also harvest hayfields for other local farmers.

What does Gray like best about raising turkeys? “They are so curious,” she replied. “They are fun to watch. My office window looks out at the pastures and I can see them.”

Like magpies, they like shiny things. Without fail, the turkeys continue to be fascinated with her rings every time she feeds them.

For more information, access grayfamilyfarm.com.

by Laura Rodley