Ellie Mae's Babies - pics of parents colors :)

[KatyTheChickenLady]

OK, I know most of you are tired of newbie "I'VE GOT BABIES" POSTS . . . and I tried to refrain BUT I COULDN'T STAND IT

Ellie Mae was sold to me as a Blue Slate, back before I knew what a BSL looked like

so that's what we refer to her as. She is much more of a blue color than she looks in the pictures, she is very pretty and our favorite. She was bred by my only Tom who is a Blue Slate X Black Spanish - as I was told.
Her three babies are all colored differently one Chocolate, One Black and Yellow, and one sort of Calicoey . . . anyone smarter than me (that's most) care to venture what they might be grown up?

 

[Lagerdogger]

Wow! what an interesting combimation of genes you have going.

First off, neither of your adult turkeys looks blue slate, even if they are bluer than they appear. They both seem to have palm patterning, but the close one has barred wings. However, one of the adults is carrying a black gene because the black with the yellow face looks like a black spanish and the brown with the yellow face looks like a black spanish with a red gene. The calico looking one looks like a red bronze/golden narragansett poult. So what we know is that both of your adults have a bronze-based gene. We also know that at least one adults is carrying a red gene (seen in the brown poult and the mottled poult. But there are some strange things going on. First, at least one adult is carrying a Black-based gene. This gene is dominant over the bronze-based gene, so if you crossed a black with a bronze, the poults would all look black. But neither adult looks black, or even pure slate (which can be black based). So where is the black gene coming from???

Unfortunately, I do not know what happens to a black based bird when you add palm and narragansett genes, but without more information, I'm guessing that that is what is going on with your adult birds.

Some better pictures that show some color would be very interesting, including both birds in profile, out of the sun to avoid the strong contrast of white and dark feathers (like the top picture), but in enough light to see the blue.

 

[chickenlover96]

nice turkeys i have a bunch of wild turkey chicks cant wait to see if i have any hens that will sit

 

[CrazyWestTexasFarmGirl]

Your hen looks just like my Narraganset hen from what I can see....
If your tom isnt the same coloration thats where your multicoloring is coming from.
The multicolored poult looks like my Nary poults.

What fun to have all the colors though!
We are currently hopibng our hen is hiding a nest... she disapeared yesterday and hasnt come out to eat.

Hopefully she pops up in a month with a batch of brats!

 

[kuntrygirl]

What you have are GORGEOUS babies !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

here are the parents:

The tom "Amos" out of a Blue Slate hen and a Black Spanish Tom

the Hen "Ellie Mae" I was told she was a blue slate - didn't know any better - the people also had Royal Palms. Her blue does not photograph very well but she is definately blue in person.

the other hen my sweetgrass/calico - she has 3 black and yellow babies, 2 chocolate, & 4 calicoy just like Ellie Mae

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

laggerdogger - thanks for your reply! I love it when experts tellme things about my birds I would never have imagined. My whole family had fun reading your response and speculating about our birds . . . We would assume that the black gene came from our tom who is 1/2 Black Spanish???

 

[Lagerdogger]

Fun birds to try to figure out.

First, your "other hen" looks like it is probably a calico, which is a royal palm with a single red gene. A sweetgrass is a royal palm without any narragansett genes, and while they look similar, yours looks more calico.

Second, Ellie May is a gorgeous looking bird, and appears to be a Narragansett with a blue gene? I like it!

Your tom, however, is the mystery. A blus slate X black will produce either blue slates or blacks. SInce your tom is neither, it cannot be from a cross of pure blue slate and pure black. But we can be pretty sure that he is carrying a red gene. For one, there is little contrast between the tips of the tail coverts and the tail, and little contrast between the tail band and the tail. Second, the wing coverts and the secondaries have a gold hue. Both of these traits tend to occur with the presence of a single red gene in a bronze-based turkey. A red bronze is easily produced by crossing bourbon red and standard bronze. He seems a little dark, but he isn't black. This is the confusing part. And maybe its only confusing to me because I don't raise black turkeys myself. If the tom is carrying a black gene and a standard bronze gene, I would expect the tom to look black, because black is dominant of bronze, like brown eyes over blue in people. But he has to have a black because your poults have such obvious black patterning (the light faced ones). So apparently, if you have a single black gene, and a number of other genes, you don't have to look black. I don't think he has a blue gene.

So anyway, your tom appears to be heterozygous black (one black-based gene and one bronze-based gene) with a red gene and maybe some other hidden stuff. Ellie May is Narragansett with a blue gene. I think the brown poults with light faces (that you call chocolate) will grow up to look like your tom. The black ones with the light faces lack the red gene, and will probably look like blacks. I have only seen one of the mottled poults. It appeares to have the red gene. You should have light and dark mottled poults, the light ones with the red gene and the dark ones without a red gene. The mottled poults did not get the black gene. They also have a single Narragansett gene (assuming the tom is not carrying narragansett). Dark mottled poults will grow into bronze toms or narragansett hens and light mottled poults will grow into red bronze toms or golden narragansett hens.

 

[TV]

Ellie Mae is gorgeous, WOW!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

soooo much info! I guess the question now will be what to keep for breeding next year. Amos has turned so agressive, he is going to have to go. The Calico is going tback to the people I bought her from (they miss her). So that leaves my Ellie Mae (my blue?)and my red bourbon hen who has yet to set for the year and pick of the babies come fall I guess. Should be an interesting year.