heres why I think its a beltsville... a survey was completed in 1936, people wanted a different bird than was currently available. one that dressed out to a decent weight with lots of meat but still fit in a roasting pan, in small ovens, in apartment sized refrigerators and free of dark pin feathers. in 1934 the bswt breeding program started and was completed in 1941 with a bird that fit the consumer demand. it entered the APA in 1951 and by the mid 50's saw the height of its popularity. its demise was the commercial factory farms wanting a marketable bird in half the time but could also grow much larger for the resturant and hotel market. it was replaced by the broad breasted white in the mid 60's. it almost went extinct in the 70's and would have if a few research flocks didnt exists in some universities.
So thats pretty much a synopsis on the hystory of the BSWT, the best turkey in the world and the reasons why I think that bird pictured is a full grown tom. tommorow I'll dig up a pic of ours from last xmas, he was a 3 years old bird and was still moist, juicy, deliciously mouth watering incredibly amazingly fall off the bone good!
Okay good night all!
more info from the Livestock Conservancy...
https://livestockconservancy.org/index. ... beltsville