← Turkeys and guinea fowl H22-07 · Module 7 of 7 · Pages: 19 · Worksheets: 6

Meat and eggs

When to kill, how much meat a turkey and a guinea fowl give, chilling, jointing, freezing and safe roasting, eggs, manure and whether it all pays

€9Buy this guide

Secure checkout with Stripe · VAT included · The PDFs are in the language of this page.

Whole series: Turkeys and guinea fowl, €39

Meat and eggs

In short

  • Heritage turkeys are killed at 24–28 weeks, hybrids at 14–20, guinea fowl at 12–16 weeks.
  • The dressed carcass is roughly 75 % of live weight for a turkey and 70 % for a guinea fowl.
  • Chill the carcass below 4 °C (40 °F) as fast as you can; put a big turkey in iced water.
  • Thaw in the fridge: roughly 1 day for every 2 kg (4–5 lb). Never on the worktop.
  • Roast until the thickest part reaches 74 °C (165 °F) (thermometer in thigh and breast, not touching the bone).
  • Slaughter and the sale of meat are regulated; check with the competent authority where you live.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. When to kill
  2. Meat plan for the holidays and the freezer
  3. Slaughter and dressing in brief
  4. Chilling, hanging and hygiene
  5. Jointing and portions
  6. Freezing and long storage
  7. Turkey and guinea fowl eggs
  8. Manure, feathers and waste
  9. Selling and sharing
  10. Does it pay?
  11. Common mistakes
  12. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Cost and value calculator
  • Meat, roasting and freezer calculator
  • Slaughter and meat records
  • Egg records
  • Meat, egg and manure calendar
  • Freezer labels

Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.

This guide in other languages:

BalkanDeutschEspañolFrançaisPortuguêsTürkçeالعربية