We will have fresh turkeys available in October or November 2008. Deposits and reservation forms will be accepted until March 31, 2008.

Prices for 2008:

Heritage turkeys -- $5.00/pound, range 8 - 16 pounds

Broad-breasted bronze turkeys -- $4.00/pound, range 20 - 35 pounds

Turkeys can be picked up at the farm, which is 45 minutes south of the intersection of I-80 and I-55. Delivery to Chicago and suburbs is also available at an additional charge of $15 to $25, depending on how far north you are located. We personally deliver our turkeys to your home or office or wherever there is a real live person to accept delivery. Delivery to Bloomington-Normal is available for $15. For other locations, please e-mail us.

If you are interested in buying a turkey, please print and fill out the following form and send it in with your $20.00 deposit (checks made payable to Antiquity Oaks) to be received by March 31, 2008. You will need Adobe Reader (r) to view and print the form. If you have problems accessing the form, please e-mail us.

Antiquity Oaks Heritage Turkey Reservation Form (pdf)

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between the different breeds of turkeys?

A heritage turkey is defined by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy as one that can fly and can mate naturally. Supermarket turkeys (broad-breasted whites) can't do either of those things, because their breasts are too large. Heritage turkeys also come in a variety of colors, as well as white. It is important to understand that color does not make a heritage turkey. There are broad-breasted bronze turkeys that cannot fly or mate naturally, and there are standard bronze turkeys that can do both. There are also midget white turkeys that can fly and mate naturally, but the modern white commercial turkey cannot.

One of our favorite heritage turkeys, the lavender (a variety of the blue slate), is listed as Critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, as is defined as "Fewer than 500 breeding birds in the United States, with five or fewer primary breeding flocks (50 birds or more), and globally endangered." We have raised most of the different varieties of heritage turkeys since 2002, including royal palms, bourbon reds, slate, lavenders, and Spanish blacks. We are considering the Narragansett for 2008.

The broad-breasted bronze turkey is NOT a heritage turkey, although the taste will still beat a supermarket turkey because they are raised naturally in open air, and birds that are free-ranged and have a varied diet of grass, caterpillars and grasshoppers, as well as grain, will have tastier meat. Another reason our broad-breasted turkeys taste better than supermarket birds is because they are older, which is also why they are usually over 20 pounds. Small turkeys in the supermarket are quite young, and young birds have very little flavor because they have no fat. I used to think that the heritage turkeys had tastier breast meat until we raised some broad-breasted turkeys to the same age as the heritage turkeys, and they were just as delicious as the heritage. The biggest difference you will see is in the shape of the turkey. While the broad-breasted looks like the turkey you buy in the supermarket (a large breast), the heritage turkey looks like a bird (the breast bone is more prominent).

How "natural" are these turkeys? Are chemicals used to disolve the feathers, or are they injected with anything to make them juicy?

No chemicals are used in the processing of these turkeys, and they are not injected with anything. They are fed all-natural grain, and they also eat whatever grasshoppers and caterpillars they find in the pasture, as well as grass, weeds, and fresh garden vegetables that are never sprayed with anything.

I've never had a heritage turkey before; how do I cook it?

You can cook it however you want! Yes, we've seen all sorts of complicated cooking instructions for them, including the one where you cut it up before cooking, but being old-fashioned, we think that ruins the presentation! We simply roast ours in an open pan in the oven. When it starts to look brown, we check the breast meat with a thermometer, and if it's not 170 degrees yet, we put aluminum foil over it, and return it to the oven so it can continue cooking without browning more.

Will you have turkeys available for New Year's?

Because we are a small family farm, we only process turkeys once a year, so if you want a turkey for another upcoming holiday, we suggest that you get a frozen turkey for that occasion. It is not unusual for our customers to get more than one turkey for that reason.

How soon should I send you a deposit?

The deadline for reservations is March 31, 2008.