Pescadero Turkey Farmers Finish Second Successful Season

For poultry farmers ShaeLynn and Kevin Watt, Tuesday night represented a second successful season of raising pastured turkeys at Pescadero's Early Bird Ranch.

That evening, the couple set up shop at Stage Road in Pescadero for customers to pick up their Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys. Customers paid $4.95/lb for each bird.

By raising 200 turkeys this year, Early Bird Ranch doubled the amount they raised compared to last year, when they brought up 100 Broad Breasted White turkeys.

As with last year, the Watts completely sold out of all their turkeys.

The couple — who trained with Joel Salatin at Polyface Farms — use a modified version of Salatin's method of regularly rotating the areas which their chickens and turkeys graze. It's a way that the poultry can restore and fertilize the land — and provide them a grass-fed diet in turn, the Watts say.

"This year, the turkeys have been grass-fed in a higher proportion compared to last year," Kevin said, referring to the couple's decision to let their charges feed on a quarter-acre of land compared to the eighth of an acre inhabited by last year's turkeys.

This also made Early Bird's turkeys larger than last year, since they had more grass to feed on, Kevin said.

According to Kevin, the chickens were moved once a day, and the turkeys were moved every other day — on land which had not been grazed on for a year.

The turkeys were slaughtered on-site by the Watts at 14 weeks of age. Slaughtering on-site allows the birds to .

The Watts aim to utilize as many parts of the birds as possible.

Many customers took home turkey feet and turkey hearts and livers, such as Half Moon Bay resident Spencer Nassar.

"We'll sauté them with some butter," he said of the hearts and livers.

ShaeLynn's midwife, Renee Anker, was happy to receive the turkeys' feathers in addition to her turkey order.

The feathers, she said, will be used as stuffing in the cat toys she makes with her company Pavlov's Voice. She has been selling the toys at the in Woodside for the last several years, but this is the first year she will utilize Early Bird's turkey feathers.

Those not able to get a taste of Early Bird turkeys this year can do so at in Menlo Park, where the Thanksgiving "Gobbler" sandwich (available for a limited time) features the Watts' turkeys.

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