Competition

[PastorTerri2014]

What breed of turkey does best in competition? I don't want them used for market, strictly show. I would also like it to be a good breeder.

 

[PalmRoyal]

Well, this is my personal opinion, so do not hold it very highly. Where I live, everyone has Blue Slates, so blue Slates seem to do well at the county fair. I raise Royal Palms and every judge I talk to is not very found of Palms. The reason being is that they are bred solely as an exhibition bird, but are judged on a meat bird standard (that and it is very hard to find a bird with proper coloration). However, Bronze is a beautiful bird as well and I think if more people had them locally, they would easily beat out the Slates. If you want smaller birds, look into Midget Whites maybe.
All of that being said, you should get whatever you like the most. My Royal Palms are not great birds, by standard, but I still love them to death as pets and still show them none-the-less. I take my male to meet and greets and walk him on a leash and everything. So many people stop me and ask if they can pet him and ask so many different questions about him. For me, my turkeys are pets and raise awareness about life on a farm and I always sneak in that they are a less common heritage breed in a world overran with mutant Broad Breasted Whites. So, just get whatever you think is pretty and work to improve it, not whatever wins the most.

Just remember, if you are buying a breed because it shows the best, that you can buy it and still get the crappiest animals in the show.

 

[PastorTerri2014]

I currently have bbb. I love them but I was told they could only be shown for market. I'm taking a couple of them to the fair this year under market but I want a breed that I can keep as pets and do well at the shows with. I'll check into the slates.

 

[PalmRoyal]

Slates would be good market turkeys as well. You could become very self sustaining if you bred your own market turkeys. Like I said though, if you are getting them as pets, the do your research and get something that fits your lifestyle best and what you like the most. If they are just pets, then maybe look into a smaller breed of turkey so they do not consume as much food.

 

[ivan3]

You might take a gander at Kevin Porter's site (he posts here, occasionally) as it has specifics on just about every variety and photos of each. Narri's/Bourbons/Slates are all in the same wt. neighborhood. http://www.porterturkeys.com/ We enjoy the Royals & Slates and the `non-conformational' issue of unassigned assignations... oh, woe, the Standard of Perfection.

 

[Lagerdogger]

I really like red bronzes which are simply the cross between standard bronze and bourbon red. Another really attractive bird with a name I can never remember is black crossed with bourbon red. These birds can't be shown as standard breeds at the fair, but if you want pets, you can do whatever you want. If you start with royal palm and bourbon red, you can get all kinds of colors in the second generation. The variety is fun.

Is you really want fair birds, I think you will be limited to the eight (or is it nine? Are midgets and white holland both in the sop?) standards. Pick a color you like and start hatching. If you decide to change later, it's not hard to switch.