Becky Perry and Ian Stuart, of Ledmacoy Farm, are counting down sleeps to a pre-Christmas Day rush of pick-ups for their free-range turkeys.
“I’ve just finished plucking for today,” Becky told me just after another batch of poultry was defeathered and hung up.
And with around hundreds of birds to go through the process, it’s clearly exhaustive work.
Becky said she was looking forward to putting her feet up and enjoying a glass of wine or two at the end of it.
The couple run Ledmacoy Turkeys on their farm in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire.
Their core business is beef and sheep farming, while they also have self-catering “shepherds’ huts”.
But for Becky at this time of year it’s all about the birds.
The couple added bronze turkeys to their farm in 2018.
Third generation tenant farmers
Becky explained: “We had some land that was not being used. We also needed to diversify.
“No-one else in the area was doing turkeys.
“Hundreds of turkeys later, I can say it has been quite successful.
“We also have cattle, sheep and a bit of barley.”
Becky and Ian are third generation tenant farmers, with around 700 acres.
Ian’s dad, Peter, still helps out on a regular basis.
Turkey poults from Farmgate Hatcheries, part of Essex-based Kelly Turkeys, arrive at Ledmacoy in June, at just one day old.
They are kept inside for the first eight weeks until they are fully feathered.
This is a critical time – Becky and Ian have to check them every two hours, even overnight. This is to regulate their temperatures and ensure they’re kept nice and warm.
The birds are then transferred to a polytunnel, where they have access to roam in a grassy field during the day and are shut in at night to protect them from predators.
Becky told us their relatively long lives, compared with the 10-week lifespan of your average supermarket turkeys, gives them extra flavour.
Ledmacoy’s birds live to full maturity, which is around six months.
And so to the final run-up to Christmas, when they must all be plucked, hung and prepared for collection in good time for their dinner table debuts on December 25.
Relaxed birds full of flavour
Ledmacoy’s Facebook page explains the last stage.
It says: “The turkeys are left to hang intact, in our temperature-controlled refrigeration unit for a minimum of 10 days.
“This process is called dry aging and allows the meat to relax and stay tender, while enhancing its natural flavour. Only turkeys that have been dry plucked can be dry aged.”
The end of the line
Of course, there are no live turkeys left at Ledmacoy at this time of year.
Commenting on the final hour for Britain’s favourite Christmas dinner bird, The Facebook page says: “Death is not something that people obviously like to think about.
“But for us it’s the most important stage of our turkeys’ lifecycle, where we treat them with the utmost respect and it’s a great responsibility to have.
“Our turkeys live for around 25 weeks. They are then humanely processed at the farm.”
Ledmacoy adds: “Our turkeys have had very happy lives and we will give them a quick, stress-free end.
“There is no stress to our birds from transporting to an abattoir and being in a strange noisy environment.
“They are then machine dry plucked and hand finished. This enables us to get a tasty, crispy skin when cooked – unlike wet-plucked turkeys.”
Ledmacoy’s turkeys are sold direct from the farm and collection points
Becky and her partner try to make it as easy as possible for customers to buy and collect their birds ahead of the big day.
They took the decision a few years ago to focus on farm gate sales.
But these are complemented by deliveries to a number of collection points.
This arrangement allows the couple to stay close to the people buying their turkeys.
This is even more important due to their location “in the middle of nowhere,” Becky told us.
Online sales help make the ordering process simple.
As of yesterday, whole turkeys from Ledmacoy were becoming increasingly scarce and the largest birds had all sold out.
For farm gate collections, Ledmacoy’s website invites customers to “enjoy a glass of mulled wine and a piece of shortbread on us”, adding: “It is nearly Christmas after all.”
Ledmacoy is in Golden Turkey club
Becky and Ian are proud members of the Traditional Farm-fresh Turkey Association.
This is a group of turkey farmers who all adhere to the same traditional methods of turkey farming.
Known as Golden Turkey farmers, these producers set the standard for the finest birds.
How does Golden Turkey scheme work?
The quality assurance scheme guarantees turkeys are reared to the highest welfare standards, using slow-growing breeds.
Other conditions demand the birds are:
- Regularly bedded with straw or soft wood shavings.
- Fed rations containing at least 70% grain with no animal protein. Never given additives for growth promotion.
- Housed in buildings with excellent light and ventilation. Free-range turkeys have daily access to grazing for at least 11 weeks.
- Slaughtered on the farm to avoid stress of transportation.
- Dry plucked and finished by hand
- Game hung for at least seven days
Processing facilities must be independently inspected every year to make sure the Golden Turkey Code of Conduct is strictly adhered to.
All busy in advance of Christmas rush
At Ledmacoy, Becky and Ian are being helped this festive season by three young locals.
It’s an exceptionally busy time on the farm, with Ian out feeding the cattle and sheep at around 7am.
There is still lots to do in the evening, when all the freshly plucked turkeys have to be coded before going in the fridge.
Becky told us she typically gets through about 80 turkeys a day at the moment.
Second two-star Great Taste Award
The hanging process “relaxes the meat”, giving birds the best possible flavour, she said.
Feed supplied by Stonehaven-based animal nutrition experts East Coast Viners also contributes to the end result.
Earlier this year, Ledmacoy won its second two-star Great Taste Award.
“This shows our turkeys are of excellent quality and taste delicious,” Becky said.
Final destination
Industry figures show turkey was the UK’s favourite roasting joint in Christmas 2023.
The birds made up 31.9% of Christmas “centrepiece volumes”.
More than half (56%) of shoppers used turkey at some point during the festive season.
However, total turkey sales volumes were still down on pre-pandemic levels.
Read more: Behind the scenes at the Inverurie farm selling 3,000 turkeys a year
Conversation