A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[Bantambird]

Showing turkeys is such a chore, if I try to bring turkeys from Montana to a show (outside Montana or mountain west), I have to get extra things because other states don't like Montana's testing parameters for NPIP in turkeys and I have to get a special health permit just to bring turkeys into turkey producing states. Transporting turkeys to states that are not mountain west states is obnoxious.

 

[Huntmaster]

Was able to get all my turkeys split up today into their breeding groups/pens. Always a job I dislike doing because the turkeys hate it, they see that net and they all instantly move to other end of pen's alarm putting and clucking up a storm every turkey on the farm on alert. They always know what that net means nothing good for them. So I always try to get it all done in same day as to not stress them over and over. Also like to have it done well before they start breeding/laying so they can calm down and get used to new pens and toms. Everything went well not too much stress on the birds or me. Separated into 9 different groups/varieties let the fun begin.

 

[Huntmaster]

All the birds look to be transitioning well this morning after yesterday's shake up. But did add a few extra feeders/waterers to the big open outdoor pen for all extra toms/jakes as some of the new young birds I added are staying away from the older. Didn't want any to be bullied away from feeders/waterers until they get their new pecking orders under control. But all looked good this morning

 

[I Like Turkeys]

First poults of 2023. Mother is a chocolate, but poults are looking a little too dark to be chocolates too. Beaks are also black.. Slightly disappointed, but she was mating with a black spanish tom the day before she got penned with other chocolates. My apologies for the glare of the incubator. I’ll double check their coloring once they’ve dried out and I can take them out, but last season i know the chocolate poults hatched out with brown beaks so it’s not looking likely that they’re chocolates.

 

[R2elk]

Mother is a chocolate, but poults are looking a little too dark to be chocolates too.

Breeding a Black tom to a Chocolate hen produces Black poults only. All the male poults (BB Ee) will carry a hidden recessive Chocolate (e) gene and all the female poults (BB E-) will not have the chocolate gene.

If you do it the other way, Chocolate tom with a Black hen, it will produce sex links. All the Black poults will be males (BB Ee) and all the Chocolate poults will be hens (BB e-).

Chocolate hens cannot pass their single Chocolate gene on to their daughters.

 

[I Like Turkeys]

Breeding a Black tom to a Chocolate hen produces Black poults only. All the male poults (BB Ee) will carry a hidden recessive Chocolate (e) gene and all the female poults (BB E-) will not have the chocolate gene.

If you do it the other way, Chocolate tom with a Black hen, it will produce sex links. All the Black poults will be males (BB Ee) and all the Chocolate poults will be hens (BB e-).

Chocolate hens cannot pass their single Chocolate gene on to their daughters.

I am aware of this, but thank you. This is sort of why i'm disappointed. Black males who carry the chocolate gene are not exactly a super exciting thing to want in a flock(for me, personally). There's 5 eggs left to hatch, and i'm honestly hoping that at least one was fathered by a chocolate. The mother was penned with only chocolate toms for weeks, and if she didn't breed with them once, and every egg was sired by my black tom, it'll just be an annoyance.

 

[R2elk]

I am aware of this, but thank you. This is sort of why i'm disappointed. Black males who carry the chocolate gene are not exactly a super exciting thing to want in a flock(for me, personally). There's 5 eggs left to hatch, and i'm honestly hoping that at least one was fathered by a chocolate. The mother was penned with only chocolate toms for weeks, and if she didn't breed with them once, and every egg was sired by my black tom, it'll just be an annoyance.

When breeding turkeys that produce a male carrying a hidden recessive gene, I eliminate those males from my breeding flock.

With Sweetgrass one of the ways to bring in new blood is by breeding a Sweetgrass tom with Royal Palm hens. It produces pure Sweetgrass hens and phenotypical Sweetgrass toms carrying the hidden Narragansett gene.

I eliminate toms produced by that mating from my breeding flock and keep only the hens for breeding purposes.

 

[Huntmaster]

Some of the birds this morning settled in after moving to their breeding pens.

 

[Huntmaster]

The first turkey eggs of the season are in the incubator! There were 11 in the first group. Hopefully they're fertilized and hatch good

Any sign your eggs are fertilized yet? Good luck with your early hatch.

 

[Molpet]

Separated into 9 different groups/varieties let the fun begin.

How big are the pens?