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Our farm

Since my grandparents moved to Rookery Farm in 1932 we have always fed our animals on as much home grown feed as possible.

‘Not only does it keep the cost down, it is nice to know what goes into the meat you eat’

These words are as true today as they were in my predecessors time, George and Earnest Peele used free range stubble fields to fatten birds on whole corn. My grandparents, Frank and Gertrude Peele used ‘Dredge Corn’ a combination of spring cropped barley, wheat, beans and chickpeas. Today I grow wheat, barley, oats and beans which we mill and mix along with soya and minerals.

The turkeys are fed whole oats to help ‘set’ the fat in November which ‘firms’ the skin to aide plucking and feather growth. As a by product the oat straw is fed to the cows which in turn produce the manure we use to fertilise the land naturally.

This is a typically mixed farm, utilising all aspects of knowledge passed down by previous generations. Sadly it is all too easy to buy everything in a bag, from fertiliser, chemicals, to feed and much of these techniques are now regarded as ‘old fashioned’

If you are looking for a true tradition, then here at Peele’s we do this as routine!

A Brief Guide To How We Feed Our Animals

 

Wheat

The stable diet for protein and all a turkey needs. Mostly for feed.

Barley

Grown both for the turkeys and the cows. Sold to others to make a drink or two.

Oats

The forgotten fibre in most diets. Good for cows rolled or turkeys whole. Good for helping feathers to grow and also sold for horse feed.

Beans

Not the type grown in your garden. These are combined and stored until they go hard and dark in colour. They produce the protein for all animals.

The Mill

The Bentall Mill and Mix has been making our feed since the 1950’s. While most feed their animals on bought in bulk feed, here at Peele’s we still like to use our home grown feed.

Size Guide

All of our breeds of turkeys are unimproved. Meaning they have a high, angular confirmation. Bearing this in mind, the following applies as a guide:

3-4kg – feeds up to 4 people
4.5kg -feeds up to 4-5 people
5kg – feeds up to 6 people
6kg – feeds up to 6-7 people
7kg – feeds up to 7-8 people
8kg – feeds up to 10-12 people
9-10kg – feeds up to 12-14 people