A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[I Like Turkeys]

One of my barred chocolate boys mid-snood flip.
I’ve been using portrait mode lately when taking photos and it makes the photos much more focused. I feel fancy.

 

[Summer_]

a thread that hasn’t gone off topic?!

carry on

 

[Bantambird]

The turkey thread would *never* NEVER go off topic. To insinuate otherwise is just crazy talk, I say!

 

[Summer_]

The turkey thread would *never* NEVER go off topic. To insinuate otherwise is just crazy talk, I say!

 

[I Like Turkeys]

A question, sorry if it’s difficult to answer, but how would I best go through breeding blue eyes out of my turkeys?
Are blue eyes in turkeys controlled by a single gene or multiple?
A good majority of my birds have blue eyes, all my white hollands specifically, and I know that’s against standard.
I have a spanish black female with very nice, rather dark brown eyes, and she passed it on to most, if not all of her poults. Unsure if the father has brown eyes though, it’s hard to tell, they’re rather light though.
If the poults are carrying the blue eye gene, would they still be okay to breed to my white hollands or other lines that have blue eyes? Would it be a 50/50 chance of brown eyes?
To get the white color back into the line, would it be better to breed brown eyed turkeys split for the white gene together, or back to a white turkey? Would either of these options influence how many of the offspring have blue eyes, ie drop the percentage or raise it?

 

[R2elk]

A question, sorry if it’s difficult to answer, but how would I best go through breeding blue eyes out of my turkeys?
Are blue eyes in turkeys controlled by a single gene or multiple?
A good majority of my birds have blue eyes, all my white hollands specifically, and I know that’s against standard.
I have a spanish black female with very nice, rather dark brown eyes, and she passed it on to most, if not all of her poults. Unsure if the father has brown eyes though, it’s hard to tell, they’re rather light though.
If the poults are carrying the blue eye gene, would they still be okay to breed to my white hollands or other lines that have blue eyes? Would it be a 50/50 chance of brown eyes?
To get the white color back into the line, would it be better to breed brown eyed turkeys split for the white gene together, or back to a white turkey? Would either of these options influence how many of the offspring have blue eyes, ie drop the percentage or raise it?

Blue eyes are linked to the black (B) gene. If your White Hollands are blue eyed, they are black based rather than bronze based.

Brown eyes are linked to the bronze gene (b or b1).

All of my Blue Slates have had blue eyes.

The standards are not always correct. If I am remembering it correctly, the APA standard calls for brown eyes in all turkey varieties even though it goes against the genetics of some varieties.

 

[I Like Turkeys]

Blue eyes are linked to the black (B) gene. If your White Hollands are blue eyed, they are black based rather than bronze based.

Brown eyes are linked to the bronze gene (b or b1).

All of my Blue Slates have had blue eyes.

The standards are not always correct. If I am remembering it correctly, the APA standard calls for brown eyes in all turkey varieties even though it goes against the genetics of some varieties.

I do have black turkeys with brown eyes though, stemming from my starting black hen. im unsure if she is split for the bronze gene, if that could be why she’s got brown eyes, as she lacks wing barring and only has a few gray-tipped spots of leakage, but I also have several o her offspring who appear to have brown eyes. They also might be barred black, i haven’t checked them yet, would that be why they have brown eyes? Is it just a lost cause to breed them out to other lines to pass on their eye color?

 

[R2elk]

I do have black turkeys with brown eyes though, stemming from my starting black hen. im unsure if she is split for the bronze gene, if that could be why she’s got brown eyes, as she lacks wing barring and only has a few gray-tipped spots of leakage, but I also have several o her offspring who appear to have brown eyes. They also might be barred black, i haven’t checked them yet, would that be why they have brown eyes? Is it just a lost cause to breed them out to other lines to pass on their eye color?

If your black hen with brown eyes is not barred, she is likely carrying the Black winged bronze gene (Bb1). Barred Black (Bb) could have brown eyes. Most of what I am seeing in hatcheries being sold as Spanish Blacks are Barred Blacks. As far as the APA goes, they only recognize the Black variety (BB).

Personally, I don't don't worry about eye color. Most people never look close enough at a turkey to realize what color its eyes are.

 

[I Like Turkeys]

If your black hen with brown eyes is not barred, she is likely carrying the Black winged bronze gene (Bb1). Barred Black (Bb) could have brown eyes. Most of what I am seeing in hatcheries being sold as Spanish Blacks are Barred Blacks. As far as the APA goes, they only recognize the Black variety (BB).

Personally, I don't don't worry about eye color. Most people never look close enough at a turkey to realize what color its eyes are.

I hadn’t considered black winged bronze, probably right. I do know hatcheries sell barred blacks, I got quite a few from mcmurray with very clear barring, one even had a gray tail oddly enough. The tom I have paired with the brown-eyed hen seems to homozygous black though, based on previous breedings with other hens.
I ask this out of curiosity, have you shown turkeys before? Even with blue eyes, do they do well? I know the general competition for turkeys is slim so winning might come easier, but i’d still like to breed birds as close to the standard as possible.

 

[R2elk]

I hadn’t considered black winged bronze, probably right. I do know hatcheries sell barred blacks, I got quite a few from mcmurray with very clear barring, one even had a gray tail oddly enough. The tom I have paired with the brown-eyed hen seems to homozygous black though, based on previous breedings with other hens.
I ask this out of curiosity, have you shown turkeys before? Even with blue eyes, do they do well? I know the general competition for turkeys is slim so winning might come easier, but i’d still like to breed birds as close to the standard as possible.

I do not show anything. I did sell a blue eyed Blue Slate jake that the buyer showed at our State Fair. He won Grand Champion Turkey for her.

I have been told that a black showing gray leakage may be carrying a recessive Narragansett gene.