Breed Profile: Ridley Bronze Turkeys

Learn about the Ridley Bronze turkey’s ability to mate naturally, their meat-producing capability, incredible hardiness, strong legs and skeletal structure.

During the first half of the 20th century, strains of large bronze turkeys formed the backbone of the commercial turkey industry in both the United States and Canada. Much of the Canadian turkey production was located on family farms in the central provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Fowl kept in these regions had to be extremely hardy and able to survive harsh weather conditions, including winter temperature drops that could plummet to 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.

Many growers traveled long distances during these years to purchase breeding stock and bring new bloodlines into their flocks. According to Frank Reese, a third-generation turkey farmer with over 70 years of experience, cross-border trading between turkey farmers in the United States and Canada was common. Regulations in both countries were far less stringent than today, and breeding stock was transported both ways.

The Ridley Bronze

In southeast Saskatchewan, an outstanding strain of bronze turkey was developed. Known today as the Ridley Bronze, the history of these birds traces back almost 90 years. Developed in the harsh conditions of the Canadian Prairies, they were designated as Canada’s only heritage turkey. They’re often considered their own breed by those who raise them. Ridley Bronze are designated as critically endangered by Heritage Livestock Canada.

Ridley Bronze are beautiful, stately birds. Their dark color pattern is similar to other standard bronze turkeys, but one feature that sets them apart is their generational hardiness. The parental stock used to produce the Ridley strain was selected for hardiness, meat production, and the ability to reproduce. According to Frank Reese, a common adage among old-time turkey farmers was, “You can’t eat the feathers.” Perfect color and feather patterns were secondary. Meat production and survivability were paramount.

Ridley Bronze turkeys are alert and active. Despite their large size, they can readily fly. They’ve retained the ability to mate naturally. Their skeletal structure and internal organ development are proportionate with the developing muscle mass. Their legs are strong and can carry heavy body weight. Mature toms can easily reach 40 pounds; young toms can attain a marketable live weight of 20 pounds in 26 weeks (6 months). Hens are smaller, around 20 pounds at maturity.

Development and History of the Ridley Bronze

In the summer of 1938, a hailstorm devastated the crops and future income of a farmer, John Richardson, in Saltcoats, Saskatchewan. In an effort to recoup, John and his wife, Violet, began saving and hatching all eggs produced by their small flock of bronze turkeys. By 1943, their turkey farm was beginning to flourish. Unfortunately, John also broke his leg that year. While John spent the next year in the hospital, Violet moved into town, still managing the turkey operation. She set hatching eggs in incubators in her dining room. Having an acumen for business, Violet not only hatched turkey poults for their own farm but also started hatching and selling turkey poults to farmers in other areas. A profitable hatchery business and a meat bird operation were soon underway. John carefully selected breeding stock that would improve his flock.

During the 1940s and 1950s, several members of the local Ridley family worked for John and Violet. Procuring breeding stock from the Richardsons, two family members soon started their own turkey-raising ventures. Maree Ridley-Willis and her husband, Fred, began raising the birds in the 1940s. Later, in the mid-1950s, Maree’s brother, George, started his own turkey farm.

Dr. Hank Classen, retired professor emeritus of poultry science at the University of Saskatchewan, told me that George Ridley’s turkeys were far superior to anything sold in the stores. He drove to the Ridley Farm each December to purchase his Christmas turkey. Dr. Classen said the turkeys lived much of the year with only a pole barn for shelter.

The Turkeys Go to College

In 1981, a young graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan, Paul Stevens, was working on his PhD in poultry nutrition. His real interest, however, was in the social behavior of birds. Turkey poults are highly dependent on vocal communication with their mother during the first week or two of life. It’s believed this hen-to-poult communication starts during the last week of incubation. Paul wanted to find out more about this, so he devised an experiment using incubators and recordings of a mother turkey’s vocal sounds. The conundrum was finding the perfect breed of turkey to use in the experiment. Paul’s mentor was Dr. Classen. Being familiar with Ridley’s alert and hardy stock, he suggested Paul incubate some Ridley eggs. The eggs were ordered and soon delivered to the poultry department. According to retired poultry genetics professor Dr. Art Crawford, the Ridleys personally delivered the case of eggs.

When the experiment was done, Paul was trying to decide what to do with all the little turkeys. Recognizing the uniqueness of the Ridley Bronze, Dr. Crawford requested that the birds be kept for breeding. Breeding flocks of Ridley Bronze were thereafter maintained at the university until 2008. George Ridley also retired from turkey farming in 1981, leaving the university as the last holder of a Ridley breeding flock.

I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Art Crawford about the birds. Because they had no official strain or variety name, Art gave them the moniker Ridley Bronze to help identify them. Somehow, the name stuck and, 40 years later, it’s still in use. Dr. Crawford said he was interested in them because of their ability to mate naturally, their meat-producing capability, their strong skeletal structure, strong legs, and incredible hardiness.

Perpetuation of the Ridley Bronze Today

Currently, there are only a few breeders of Ridley Bronze turkeys in Canada. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any breeders in the United States.

Candace Lylyk (Breezy Bird Farms in Rosenort, Manitoba) first introduced me to these hardy and beautiful birds. While her turkey run is tarped in plastic during the winter, the Ridley Bronze survives extremely well with no additional heat. Frostbite hasn’t been an issue. Candace spreads deep straw on the ground and has hay bales for the birds to roost on. The females start laying eggs in January, shortly after the winter solstice.

Another breeder, Dr. Cecily Grant, a veterinarian in Duncan, British Columbia, has raised Ridley Bronze turkeys for 10 years. Cecily described them as extremely hardy and consistently healthy. In the summer of 2021, a heat dome developed over the Pacific Northwest, including Vancouver Island. At one point, temperatures soared to 116 degrees F in the turkey shelters. Cecily found the Ridley Bronze virtually unaffected by the heat. They seemed to take it in stride, simply moving to the shade of a tree. While many poultry keepers lost birds during the heat wave, none of the Ridley Bronze turkeys succumbed to the heat or showed any signs of distress.

According to both Candace and Cecily, Ridley Bronze are also very personable birds, making ideal farm pets for homesteaders who might want to just enjoy them for their beauty and personality.

Interested in learning more about these unique turkeys? Check out these websites to learn more history:
RidleyBronzeTurkey.wordpress.com
TheRidleyBronzeProject.com
SaskPoultry.com/john-richardson
BreezyBirdfarms.com/Ridley-Bronze-Turkey.php
HeritageLivestockCanada.com/HeritagePoultry
HeritageLivestockCanada.com/BreederDirectory

---

Originally published in the April/May 2025 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.