Orlopp Bronze Turkeys

[DuckCommander]

I'm new to turkeys and was wondering if anyone had any information on this breed? I have 11 poults that we are raising for meat. I went to a sale yesterday and purchased a female, she is laying an egg every other day, is this normal/good? I was also wondering ( and hoping that purchase first, research later isn't going to nip me in the butt) do they need to be AI'd or will they breed naturally? Do they need to be separate from other birds and chicks to breed?

 

[junkprospector]

i think Orlopp Bronze are Broad breasted bronze turkeys - only reason i know is the hatchery here in Idaho advertises their turkeys as being from Orlopp, soi i wanted to find out what i was getting... So with that in mind, they'll have to be AI'd.

 

[wcbpolish]

Neighbors told me that they bought some of these "heritage" Orlopp Turkey's... I had never heard of them, so I just didn't worry about it... then I was in the local Family Farm and Home store and saw a whole bin of these so I had to look them up. Looks like some sort of a hybrid/cultivar name... are they just a trade for a variety of Broad Breasted Bronze? I think it must be... and my poor new-to-poultry neighbors got bamboozled into thinking they were buying a heritage breed, when he's just getting a production bird.

 

[R2elk]

I'm new to turkeys and was wondering if anyone had any information on this breed? I have 11 poults that we are raising for meat. I went to a sale yesterday and purchased a female, she is laying an egg every other day, is this normal/good? I was also wondering ( and hoping that purchase first, research later isn't going to nip me in the butt) do they need to be AI'd or will they breed naturally? Do they need to be separate from other birds and chicks to breed?

Orlopp turkeys are Broad Breasted Bronze meat turkeys and are not a heritage breed.

https://www.hybridturkeys.com/en/products/orlopp-bronze/

Once in awhile some people get lucky and have some BB turkeys breed naturally. The best chance of success is with yearling hens and toms. Even if they manage to breed successfully, it is best not to let BB hens hatch their own eggs. They do not have the grace or ability of the heritage varieties to move their feet carefully enough to prevent stepping on the newly hatched poults.

 

[LadyCedar]

I'm new to turkeys and was wondering if anyone had any information on this breed? I have 11 poults that we are raising for meat. I went to a sale yesterday and purchased a female, she is laying an egg every other day, is this normal/good? I was also wondering ( and hoping that purchase first, research later isn't going to nip me in the butt) do they need to be AI'd or will they breed naturally? Do they need to be separate from other birds and chicks to breed?

 

[R2elk]

Orlopp Bronze are a broad breasted bronze variety. While it isn't impossible for broad breasted turkeys to breed naturally, they do best with artificial insemination. If trying to breed them naturally it usually works best to use yearling toms and yearling hens. The older they get the more inflexible their bodies get and the poorer they do at natural breeding.

An egg every other day is fairly common from breeding age hens during laying season. Unless the hen you bought was with a heritage tom before purchase, I would not expect the eggs to be fertile. My experiences with allowing broad breasted varieties to incubate and brood their own eggs was not good. If the eggs are fertile, I strongly recommend using an incubator and a brooder rather than letting the hen hatch and raise them herself.