? about Blue Slate turkeys ??

[VedaSue]

Hey all Hubby has baught me a beautiful Blue Slate Hen Turkey that is around 9 months old for my Christmas and she is the prettiest little thing !! Question though I have a couple of Black Spanish Turkeys a hen and a Tom and they are the same age as the Blue Slate but the Blue Slate is almost half the size as my Black Spanish Hen. And My Blue Slate seems to be hungry all the time is that just normal ? So are Blue Slates smaller than Black Spanish ? Just wondering I have never owned a Blue Slate before !! Thanks all !

 

[frank53061]

As you would know by already having Turkeys they are Pigs with feathers.
If you are sure that they are the same age and there is a big difference in there size and the new Slate is eating even more than the Turkeys you have it sounds like it was not fed well enough to reach its normal size.
Of course all Turkeys of diff rent breeds vary in size and even the ones of the same breed.
I have a Red Bourbon Hen that is Henzilla she is as big or bigger than my Toms.
Then I have Hens that vary in size all Red Bourbons.
I don't claim to be an expert by no means just trying to use logic.
Unless you know personally the seller of the Hen that you bought Her from and how she was taken care of this is a possibility.
I also would if you don't know how she was taken care of Worm her for her health as well as for the rest of your Birds.
If she was not fed as she should have give here all the feed she needs she may catch up in size or she maybe always small due to ether lack of feeding while she was young or her genetics.


I hope I was of help to you good luck.

 

[Lagerdogger]

I have two possible theories. the first is to agree with Frank that she may have been fed chicken feed her whole life and is fallen behind. The second is that an amateur breeder has been careless and allowed size to slip. This is easy to do, especially for small flock managers that don't have a lot of choices about who breeds with whom. I am guilty of this myself. I have bred small hens for color and not had the opportunity to choose larger or smaller hens. I have two lines, one dominated by a large royal palm hen, and one that is based on a tiny little golden narragansett. The offspring from the Narragansett side are noticeably smaller than the other side. I will eventually have to get some new material in the flock, and at that time, the GN line may disappear, unless I get a really cool tom out of it.

 

[VedaSue]

Thank you all for replying .
Well Hubby and I have come to the conclusion that the Blue Slate Hen is probably younger than the Black Spanish turkeys we have. She just looks and acts younger.
Her eating has slowed down thank goodness . And she has settled in nicely. My Black Spanish Hen has taken the role of mothering her for some reason but she does that with our chickens and Ducks as well.
We were worried about that little Blue Slate hen for about a week but then she straightened up with some good food, She loves my Homemade Suet Cakes !!
Thanks for the advice we have gotten her wormed.
Wow both of your turkeys sound awesome !!
Since I have gotten mine I love them. I let mine Free Range with my chickens and Ducks so about Noon my 2 Turkey Hens will come up on the porch and start pecking on the door wanting me to come and talk to them !
My hubby could not believe they would do that until he was at home to witness it !!
I am afraid I have them spoiled for sure.

Thanks again all and Take Care.