A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[duluthralphie]

R2elk - Thank you. Once I read your post, I realized I knew that, but had forgotten.

Must be the coming out.

Really, a young whipper snapper like you???

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

It is really hard to tell from that photo but the hen on the right appears to have some brown in her feathers. If so, she would be a Tri-Color and not a Royal Palm. The hen on the left does appear to only have black and white which would make her a Royal Palm.

In person, they both look to be only black and white. But we shall see!

Chances are 9,864,325 to 1 against you having any real midget whites...

Wow, really? I got them from a friend who raised them. He always has a lot of poultry, and sells hundreds of chickens a year. I would think he was honest, but maybe the stock he received was not? Doesn't matter terribly for me, they are a hobby and spoiled backyard pets.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

In person, they both look to be only black and white. But we shall see!



Wow, really? I got them from a friend who raised them. He always has a lot of poultry, and sells hundreds of chickens a year. I would think he was honest, but maybe the stock he received was not? Doesn't matter terribly for me, they are a hobby and spoiled backyard pets.

It's not that he's not honest, it's just that true Midget whites may not actualy exist anymore. Just similar looking birds with a lot of hidden genes.

 

[duluthralphie]

White midgets have been extinct for around 15 years. There are several people trying to reconstruct them and several con-artists selling new holland or Beltsville whites as midgets.

There is a claim they were "found" in the last few years. I f ind those claims of "Found" breeds to be very convenient. I know the PC we have today are not true descents of the real PC.

The PC were "found" on a farm in Canada years back,,,Sure they were!~! ( can you tell I am a skeptic?)

They are recreated, It is not hard to recreate a "variety" or "breed" created by a Professor as they keep copious notes. That said they are not true midget whites or PC's. Even with good notes you are getting and approximation of the original because of the variables that occur with genetics. (Basic Punnett Square stuff)..

Do not under estimate the people willing to sell some poultry breed as something it is not for extra bucks,,,

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

It's not that he's not honest, it's just that true Midget whites may not actualy exist anymore. Just similar looking birds with a lot of hidden genes.

That's what I was thinking. If they are any smaller than the other turkeys I have, I will still call them Midget whites. Just because it's a funny name.

He and I were talking about turkeys when I picked up something from him a while ago, and we were saying how neat it would be to breed bantam turkeys, so they could be easily kept in a smaller backyard. Does anything like that exist? What a fun project that would be!

 

[duluthralphie]

That's what I was thinking. If they are any smaller than the other turkeys I have, I will still call them Midget whites. Just because it's a funny name.

He and I were talking about turkeys when I picked up something from him a while ago, and we were saying how neat it would be to breed bantam turkeys, so they could be easily kept in a smaller backyard. Does anything like that exist? What a fun project that would be!

That is kind of where the Midget white program was headed, a turkey the size of a chicken. Just the right size for a family of four to eat at supper.

I cannot believe a bantam turkey could be made by selective breeding over several generations. Line breeding to get the size you want mixed with Inbreeding to cement the trait over several generations

 

[Flashpoint]

Really, a young whipper snapper like you???

Snort!

 

[rjohns39]

That is kind of where the Midget white program was headed, a turkey the size of a chicken. Just the right size for a family of four to eat at supper.

I cannot believe a bantam turkey could be made by selective breeding over several generations. Line breeding to get the size you want mixed with Inbreeding to cement the trait over several generations

I've hear a lot of people refer to the beltsville as a midget, I've even caught myself doing it

 

[duluthralphie]

I've hear a lot of people refer to the beltsville as a midget, I've even caught myself doing it

If I was to want to develop a "midget" turkey that is where I would start, the Beltsvilles and the RP's. To me the New Hollands are too large.

The inbreeding of the smaller birds generation after generation would be the key, IMHO.
Stunted growth is what you would go after. It would be particularly helpful to start with two or three lines of turkey that are as distantly related as possible.

Keep those lines inbred to themselves as you shrink them, then breed the lines together at the end and hope for no new hybrid vigor to destroy your generations of work.

I think having the separate as possible lines would not (with luck) cement in all the negative traits one line would after X (more than 10 is my guess) of generations. This is not something for us old guys to start.

 

[Molpet]

I wonder if there are not some true MW around that people have... it wasn't that long ago that the guy retired https://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark-item/midget-white-turkey