Colour Question

[CheekyMare]

I picked up a hen from a small village last week(just driving by and the colour caught my eye)

Once we got her home she was pretty dingy so gave her a bath.

She cleaned up pretty good.

I'm curious as to what colour both my hens are.

 

[Lagerdogger]

The darker gray one is a Narragansett. It is a bronze based bird with two recessive Narragansett genes (go figure).

The other turkey has one or more blue genes. Blue genes are dominant so it only takes one to show blue. However, how the blue is expressed and what pattern depend on lots of other things...is the turkey black based, bronze-based, or black-winged bronze base. Does it have one or two blue genes. I have never raised blue turkeys, so I am not good at telling those things apart. However, the black feathers on the back are probably an important clue as to which type of blue turkey you have. Blue palm is not out of the question.

You can tease out the possibilities by breeding the blue hen top something else, and seeing what you get. For instance, lets say it is a blue palm with one blue gene (not saying it is, mind you). If you crossed that with a standard bronze tom, all offspring would have a bronze based gene and a black-winged bronze gene. Since bronze is dominant to black-winged bronze, they would all look bronze based, most of which have barred wings. They would all have a single gray gene, and would look like they did not have the gray gene, so none would look like palms. They would all get "not Narragansett" genes from the tom, and Narragansett genes from the hen, and would not look like Narragansetts. Finally, if the hen only had one blue gene and one not blue gene, half would look blue and half would not. The half that did not would look like standard bronze. This would be true whether or not the hen had the gray genes or not, and whether the hen had Narragansett genes or not. You would need a second generation to start testing for those.

There are many other breeding possiblities that would help start to figure out what the genetics of your blue turkey are. Unfortunately with one hen, you have to gueass and try one thing at a time. Maybe it's enough to know it carries at least one blue gene.

 

[Lagerdogger]

The darker gray one is a Narragansett. It is a bronze based bird with two recessive Narragansett genes (go figure).

The other turkey has one or more blue genes. Blue genes are dominant so it only takes one to show blue. However, how the blue is expressed and what pattern depend on lots of other things...is the turkey black based, bronze-based, or black-winged bronze base. Does it have one or two blue genes. I have never raised blue turkeys, so I am not good at telling those things apart. However, the black feathers on the back are probably an important clue as to which type of blue turkey you have. Blue palm is not out of the question.

You can tease out the possibilities by breeding the blue hen top something else, and seeing what you get. For instance, lets say it is a blue palm with one blue gene (not saying it is, mind you). If you crossed that with a standard bronze tom, all offspring would have a bronze based gene and a black-winged bronze gene. Since bronze is dominant to black-winged bronze, they would all look bronze based, most of which have barred wings. They would all have a single gray gene, and would look like they did not have the gray gene, so none would look like palms. They would all get "not Narragansett" genes from the tom, and Narragansett genes from the hen, and would not look like Narragansetts. Finally, if the hen only had one blue gene and one not blue gene, half would look blue and half would not. The half that did not would look like standard bronze. This would be true whether or not the hen had the gray genes or not, and whether the hen had Narragansett genes or not. You would need a second generation to start testing for those.

There are many other breeding possiblities that would help start to figure out what the genetics of your blue turkey are. Unfortunately with one hen, you have to gueass and try one thing at a time. Maybe it's enough to know it carries at least one blue gene.

 

[CheekyMare]

Well I guess we'll see what I get. She requested the services of my Tom yesterday for the first time so I 'spect we'll see eggs shortly. I guess she likes the food here.
Here's a few of my Tom.

He's a very nice Tom. Not in that he's friendly, but he's very calm and not aggressive at all. Even now I can pick him up and carry him places when I need to and he's always cool with it.

 

[CheekyMare]

And thank you very much for all the info. I love my turkeys but the colour genetics are even more complicated than in chickens lol!

 

[CheekyMare]

Went to Mexico on. 4 day vacation and got back yesterday. The hen was missing. I was devastated. The boys were out searching for her last night but no sign and again this morning.

Close to noon I looked out of my bedroom window and spotted her bedded down in tall grass on a hill obviously brooding a nest.
In a thunderstorm.

We took the eggs which I doubt are good and she went back to set so we moved her into the stable.

If the eggs candle good in a week or so I'll put them back under her if she stays setting. If not I'll put her back with the Tom and make sure we collect the eggs next time.

 

[CheekyMare]

This is one of the juvenile toms the Naragansett hen produced in January. So I'm guessing by the barring on the wing feathers he is carrying one Naragansett gene?