differences in eggs

[skyehunter85]

i am wondering if anyone has pictures of eggs from specific breeds of turkeys.... google really wasnt super helpful. i have heritage bronze, bourbon reds and royal palms and i just started hatching turkeys. so far they all look like bronzes... i am hoping someone has pics of the differences in eggs for different breeds, ( if there are any) so that i can gauge what i have... thanx in advance

 

[R2elk]

i am wondering if anyone has pictures of eggs from specific breeds of turkeys.... google really wasn't super helpful. i have heritage bronze, bourbon reds and royal palms and i just started hatching turkeys. so far they all look like bronzes... i am hoping someone has pics of the differences in eggs for different breeds, ( if there are any) so that i can gauge what i have... thanx in advance

Turkeys are all one breed with numerous varieties available. Sometimes (a person who knows their individual turkeys very well and pays very close attention to details) can tell specific eggs apart. Do not expect to be able tell Bronze eggs, Bourbon Red eggs or Royal Palm eggs apart from each other.

If you are running all your turkeys together, it is understandable that the poults look similar. If you have your turkeys separated according to variety, you can check at Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys to see what the different poults look like. If not, learn to use the Turkey Color Calculator to try to figure out what varieties you have created.

 

[skyehunter85]

All of my turkeys are together. I have a heritage bronze Tom's, 4 heritage bonze hens, 2 bourbon red Tom's and 2 bourbon red hens, a Royal Palm pair, and 3 Narragansett hens.

So far the poults I've hatched have all looked like heritage bronze poults. With the acception of 2 that have a silver tint to them. I have looked up what each breed poults look like, and my eggs do have some distinct differences in appearance, but I am not certain I can tell the difference as to which they belong to.

 

[R2elk]

All of my turkeys are together. I have a heritage bronze Tom's, 4 heritage bonze hens, 2 bourbon red Tom's and 2 bourbon red hens, a Royal Palm pair, and 3 Narragansett hens.

So far the poults I've hatched have all looked like heritage bronze poults. With the exception of 2 that have a silver tint to them. I have looked up what each breed poults look like, and my eggs do have some distinct differences in appearance, but I am not certain I can tell the difference as to which they belong to.

Individual hens can lay eggs that have enough difference in them that those particular eggs can be distinguished from other eggs. These differences can occur and be noticeable even if the hens that laid them are of the same variety.

Since you have all your turkeys running together, don't expect to be able to tell whether your poults are purebred or not by looking at them. Too many of the different color varieties look too similar. If the Bronze tom mated with the Narragansett hens, the poults will all look like bronze poults and the hens produced from such a mating will be pure Bronze but any males produced will look like a Bronze but won't be pure since they will be carrying a hidden Narragansett gene.

You have many color combinations possible that there are no poult photos to view and many of them will look very similar when first hatched. Some of them will look similar when adults also.

 

[skyehunter85]

It won't let me upload pics, says they are too big.

 

[skyehunter85]

My babies seem to look more like a Narragansett bronze cross.

 

[R2elk]

My babies seem to look more like a Narragansett bronze cross.

There is no difference between a Bronze poult and a Bronze Narragansett poult. A Bronze tom crossed with a Narragansett hen produces pure Bronze hens and Bronze toms that carry the hidden recessive Narragansett gene.

 

[skyehunter85]

Here are some pics of what I've hatched this week

 

[skyehunter85]

Ok.. good to know. So then whatever the tom is, that is what the poults will be?

 

[R2elk]

Ok.. good to know. So then whatever the tom is, that is what the poults will be?

No, that is how it works in that particular instance. If a Bronze tom breeds a Bourbon Red hen all the offspring are Red Bronze. If a Bourbon Red tom breeds a Bronze hen all of the offspring are Red Bronze.

If a Bourbon Red tom breeds a Royal Palm hen all the offspring will be Red Bronze except the females will carry the hidden recessive Black Winged Bronze gene and the males will be carrying that plus the hidden recessive Narragansett gene. If the Royal Palm tom breeds a Bourbon Red hen the female offspring will be Golden Narragansett carrying a hidden recessive Black Winged Bronze gene and all the males will be Red Bronze carrying that same gene plus a hidden recessive Narragansett gene.

You have many more possibilities available with your different possible combinations. Learn to use Porter's Turkey Color Calculator and you can waste lots of time trying to figure out what you might get.