Does anyone know what breed of turkeys and geese are best for eating

The commercial turkeys sold in the US r Double Breasted Whites which have so much breast meat that they cannot mate naturally. They grow very very very fast & so require a very rich diet.

If u buy heritage or heirloom turkeys like Spanish Blacks, Bronzes, Bourbon Reds, Naragnasets, Royal Palms, Lilac, or Chocolate turkeys though, which were the turkeys used for eating in America before the double breasted variety was created, they can be raised with little feed input beyond what they get from eating grasses & chasing bugs. You do still need to feed them, but they take care of themselves pretty well. These turkeys taste better than the large breasted whites & r more resistant to diseases.

They do grow more slowly & r generally not ready to eat until they r approaching 6 months old. Here in the US, if u want to buy one of these heirloom turkeys to eat u have to pay sometimes as much as 10 times more per pound because they r so much better, rarer, & require more time to raise, but to buy the little chicks to raise yourself is about the same cost. An added bonus is that if u save a few turkeys the first year & let them breed & hatch their eggs the next year then u can have ur first chicks make more chicks for u to raise & continue ur little turkey farm.

Happy eating!!

Ken, What country r u from? I am an American, but lived in Nigeria for about 13 years managing a large crop farm. When I first started out there, I bought local chickens & turkeys (did not try ducks). They were so tough that I could not eat them. I solved my problem by finding a hatchery that sold day old chicks which I raised for meat & eggs. I fed them well & supplied them with green material, cut grass & clover. They did great, but I had to keep them penned up to keep them away from the local chickens because of diseases. I bought some turkeys & let them breed. When they hatched I raised the day old turkeys just like my chickens. Fed them well & killed them at a young age. They were as good as any u can find in the supermarket. I am sure that u could do the same with the ducks. The secret to good meat is to feed them well & harvest them at a young age while they r tender. The breed will make some difference, if u can find them get an improved breed of birds. If u can not, u can make do with the local breeds if u raise them properly. Good luck.

i am NOT SURE

Ken ,
the ''turkeys'' imported to u are hybrid genetically modified ''turkeys''.
these turkeys would not survive in 'third world' conditions. nor could u afford the feed costs, chemicals needed to grow them. that is where the 'tenderness' come from no excercise.