6 Best Books On Raising Turkeys Naturally That Old-Timers Swear By

Before you can raise a healthy flock of turkeys on pasture, you need more than just a bag of feed and a patch of grass. You need a different way of thinking—one that sees the birds, the land, and your goals as a single, interconnected system. The best guides for this mindset aren’t new; they’re the well-worn books that have guided homesteaders for decades.

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Why Old-Time Turkey Wisdom Still Matters Today

The internet is full of quick tips for raising turkeys, but most of it misses the point. It treats the birds like widgets in a production line, focusing on feed conversion ratios and processing dates. Old-time wisdom, captured in classic homesteading books, offers a fundamentally different approach. It’s about understanding the "turkeyness" of the turkey—its natural instincts to forage, roost, and socialize.

This older knowledge is built on observation and resilience, not just efficiency. It teaches you how to work with the bird’s nature, using its scratching to till your garden beds or its foraging to reduce your feed bill. This approach creates a more robust, self-sufficient system. When you understand the principles behind why a heritage turkey thrives on pasture, you can solve problems on your own instead of searching for a quick fix online. It’s the difference between following a recipe and actually knowing how to cook.

Storey’s Guide: The Modern Homesteader’s Bible

If you only buy one book on raising turkeys, it should probably be Storey’s Guide to Raising Turkeys by Don Schrider. This book is the closest thing we have to a complete A-to-Z manual for the small-scale farmer. It covers everything from selecting the right breed for your climate to setting up a brooder, diagnosing common health issues, and processing the birds humanely.

What makes it essential is its balance of practical instruction and deep respect for the animal. It doesn’t just tell you what to do; it explains why. For example, instead of just giving you a feed formula, it explains the nutritional needs of a growing poult and how those needs change, empowering you to make smart choices whether you’re buying commercial feed or mixing your own.

The sections on breeding and incubation are particularly valuable for anyone looking to create a sustainable flock. It demystifies the process of selecting good breeding stock and managing a broody hen. This is the foundational text that gives you the confidence to handle every stage of a turkey’s life cycle. It’s the book you’ll pull off the shelf year after year.

Ussery’s Small-Scale Flock for Natural Systems

Harvey Ussery’s The Small-Scale Poultry Flock isn’t strictly a turkey book, but it’s required reading for anyone serious about raising poultry naturally. Ussery’s genius is his focus on creating a closed-loop system where your flock is an integrated part of the homestead, not just a separate project. He teaches you to see your turkeys as workers that can build soil, manage pests, and turn waste into valuable protein.

This book will change how you think about feed. Ussery pushes you beyond the feed store, showing you how to grow your own fodder, cultivate soldier grubs, and ferment grains to maximize nutrition and cut costs. He provides practical plans for building things like a "vermi-feeder" that allows birds to harvest their own worms. It’s a masterclass in creative, low-input animal husbandry.

While Storey’s guide is the "how-to," Ussery’s book is the "how-to-think." It’s less of a step-by-step guide and more of a philosophical framework grounded in deep ecological principles. If you want to move beyond simply feeding birds and start truly partnering with them to build a more resilient and productive homestead, Ussery is your guide. His ideas are the difference between a person who keeps turkeys and a person who farms with them.

Salatin’s Pastured Poultry for Profit Model

You might see Joel Salatin’s Pastured Poultry Profit$ and think it’s not for you because you’re not raising birds for sale. That would be a mistake. While the book is framed around a business model, the principles of pasture management it contains are pure gold for any homesteader. Salatin revolutionized the way we think about raising poultry on grass.

The core of his system is intensive rotational grazing using mobile shelters, often called "turkey tractors." This method concentrates the birds on a fresh "salad bar" every day, which maximizes their forage intake, spreads their manure evenly, and breaks parasite life cycles. The result is healthier birds, richer soil, and a drastically lower feed bill. Salatin’s detailed plans for building these shelters are worth the price of the book alone.

Even if you don’t build a perfect Salatin-style tractor, the underlying principles are universally applicable. The key takeaway is movement is life. Keeping your turkeys on the move prevents overgrazing, reduces disease pressure, and actively improves your land. This book provides the blueprint for turning your turkeys from simple livestock into powerful tools for land regeneration.

Beck-Chenoweth: A Deep Dive into Pasturing

For those who want to go beyond the basics of pasturing, Herman Beck-Chenoweth’s Free-Range Poultry Production & Marketing is a fantastic resource. It dives deep into the nitty-gritty of managing a truly free-ranging or extensively pastured flock. This isn’t about a mobile pen on a lawn; it’s about managing birds across larger, more complex landscapes.

Beck-Chenoweth tackles the hard questions that other books sometimes gloss over. He provides detailed information on different forage crops, explaining which ones are best for turkeys at various life stages. He also offers some of the most practical, no-nonsense advice you’ll find on predator protection in an open system, from guardian animals to electric netting strategies. This book is for the farmer who has mastered the basics and is now looking to refine their system for maximum health and productivity.

The Urban Homesteader for Small-Space Flocks

Not everyone has acres of pasture. If you’re raising turkeys in a backyard or on a small lot, the principles of natural farming still apply, but the execution has to be different. A book like The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen provides the right mindset, even if it isn’t turkey-specific. It’s about applying ecological principles within tight constraints.

The key is to think vertically and intensively. Instead of rotating turkeys across pasture, you might use a deep litter method in their run, continuously adding carbon materials like wood chips or straw. This composting system manages waste, eliminates odors, and creates rich soil for your garden. You can supplement their diet by growing fodder crops like comfrey or amaranth in containers and creating a soldier fly bin to provide a constant source of live protein. This is about creating a miniature ecosystem in your backyard.

APA’s Standard of Perfection for Breed Choice

This one might seem out of place, but the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection is one of the most important books you can own. It’s not a guide on how to raise turkeys, but a detailed description of what each recognized breed should be. For the natural farmer, this is critical information.

When you raise turkeys on pasture, you need birds with the right genetics for the job. You need a heritage breed like the Bourbon Red or Standard Bronze that knows how to forage, is a good mother, and has a strong, well-proportioned frame. The Standard of Perfection teaches you what to look for. It details the ideal body conformation for a bird that can walk, run, and mate naturally—traits that have been bred out of commercial varieties. Choosing the right genetics is the first and most important step in natural turkey raising, and this book is the definitive guide to making that choice.

Choosing the Right Turkey Book for Your Flock

There is no single "best" book; there is only the best book for your specific situation and goals. The right choice depends on where you are in your journey and what you want to achieve with your flock. Think of these books as a toolkit, with each one serving a different purpose.

Use this as a guide to get started:

• For the absolute beginner: Start with Storey’s Guide to Raising Turkeys. It will give you the comprehensive foundation you need.
• For the systems thinker: Read Harvey Ussery’s The Small-Scale Poultry Flock to learn how to integrate your birds into your entire homestead.
• For pasture perfection: Use Joel Salatin’s Pastured Poultry Profit$ to master the art of rotational grazing and land management.
• For choosing the right bird: Consult the APA’s Standard of Perfection before you ever buy a poult to ensure you’re getting hardy, self-sufficient genetics.

Ultimately, the goal isn’t to follow any one author’s system perfectly. It’s to absorb the principles from each of them. Take Salatin’s ideas on pasture rotation, combine them with Ussery’s approach to alternative feeds, and use Storey’s guide as your go-to reference for day-to-day problems. That’s how you build a system that is resilient, productive, and perfectly suited to your own land.

The best turkey farmers I know have dirt under their fingernails and a well-worn bookshelf. These books won’t give you all the answers, but they will teach you how to ask the right questions. In the end, your own flock and your own land will be your greatest teachers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What does raising turkeys naturally mean according to traditional homesteading books?

Raising turkeys naturally means managing birds on pasture using non-medicated feeds, natural brooding instincts, and rotational grazing rather than confinement and preventative pharmaceuticals. Old-timers rely on fresh forage, sunlight, and grit to support gut health. Flocks forage for grass, weed seeds, and insects, which can offset commercial rations by 10 to 20 percent. Providing adequate space and clean bedding replaces the need for synthetic growth boosters.

What is the best heritage turkey breed for beginners raising birds naturally?

The Bourbon Red and Narragansett turkey breeds are widely considered the best options for beginners raising turkeys naturally. Both standard varieties possess calm temperaments, forage aggressively on native grasses, and reproduce naturally through natural mating without artificial insemination. Bourbon Reds reach a mature weight of 14 to 23 pounds in roughly 28 weeks. Their hardy disease resistance and strong maternal instincts make them staple recommendations in classic poultry guides.

How do I brood turkey poults naturally without commercial antibiotics?

Brooding turkey poults naturally requires maintaining a clean dry brooder at 95 degrees Fahrenheit for the first week, lowering the temperature by five degrees weekly. Poult keepers often add raw apple cider vinegar and crushed garlic cloves to drinking water to strengthen developing digestive tracts. Pine shavings should be covered with burlap or paper towels for the first five days so poults do not eat bedding. Teaching poults to drink by gently dipping their beaks into water immediately upon arrival prevents fatal dehydration.

How do I set up rotational grazing for pastured turkeys?

Rotational grazing for pastured turkeys involves moving mobile coops or electronet fencing across fresh ground every three to seven days. Moving the flock regularly prevents parasite buildup, protects grass roots from excessive scratching, and ensures continuous access to high-protein clover, grasshoppers, and beetles. Aim to stock no more than 50 to 100 birds per acre to preserve forage density. Always position fresh water and supplementary grain near the shade structure to encourage even pasture use.

Are heritage turkeys or broad breasted turkeys better for homesteaders raising turkeys naturally?

Heritage turkeys are better suited for natural homestead management because they can fly, forage efficiently, resist diseases outdoors, and breed naturally. Broad Breasted White or Bronze turkeys grow extremely fast, reaching 30 pounds in 16 to 20 weeks, but their heavy frames cause joint problems on rough pasture and prevent natural mating. Heritage breeds take 24 to 30 weeks to mature, yet they produce flavorful meat and can sustain a self-replenishing breeding flock year after year.

How much feed does a heritage turkey consume before reaching market weight?

A heritage turkey consumes between 60 and 80 pounds of feed from hatch until it reaches market harvest weight at 24 to 28 weeks. Poults require a high-protein starter feed with 26 to 28 percent protein for the first six to eight weeks, transitioning down to an 18 to 20 percent grower ration. Pasture forage and insect consumption can reduce total commercial feed intake by roughly 15 percent, depending on pasture quality.

What is the most common mistake when raising heritage turkeys on pasture?

Inadequate predator protection is the most frequent and costly mistake homesteaders make when managing heritage turkeys on open pasture. Unlike chickens, half-grown turkeys often attempt to roost on fence posts or low branches where owls, coyotes, and raccoons can easily target them at night. Turkey keepers must lock birds inside secure predator-proof enclosures or within electrified poultry netting by dusk. Installing double-strand electric grounding ensures predators cannot bypass the charge on dry soil.

Is raising turkeys naturally on the same pasture as chickens safe?

Housing turkeys on the same pasture as chickens poses a serious safety risk due to blackhead disease, a fatal parasitic infection caused by Histomonas meleagridis. Chickens frequently carry the cecal worms that host this protozoan without showing any signs of illness, but infected turkeys experience high mortality rates. Old-timers advise keeping turkeys on separate ground that has been free of chickens and chicken manure for at least three full years.