Has anyone ever seen this on a turkey?

[DebbieF]

I hatched this turkey poult earlier this summer. I only have bronze, blue slate, narrs, black spanish turkeys, I've never seen a "crested turkey" before though.

 

[KAGU143]

'Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread, but I just stumbled across this topic by accident when I was searching for something else.

I'm the person who originally raised Miss Cresty, the light-colored crested hen whose photo ended up on Feathersite.
I tried everything (short of cloning) to get any sort of crested offspring from Miss Cresty but it never worked. She was perfectly fertile and had literally hundreds of babies during her lifetime, and they were sired by her grandfather, her father, her brothers, her sons, and even some of her sons who were also sired by her father, etc. In other words, they were so inbred that it's a wonder they didn't have extra heads or lizard teeth or something, but they were all fine and healthy - just ordinary pencilled turkeys, and none of them had the slightest trace of a crest. We sure gave it the good ol' college try, but to no avail. I still have many of her descendants and the crest mutation has never returned.

The consensus is that the crest mutation, at least the form of it that appeared in Miss Cresty, was a somatic mutation - ie: not inheritable.
She had a very long and productive life as a free range turkey, living almost into her teens, and now she resides in my deep freeze, carefully preserved as a potential taxidermy specimen.
Her crest became even larger and fluffier as she got older and it was very fortunate that she died when she was in good plumage. Even so ... RIP, silly girl.

I'm curious to know if the breeding results were just as frustrating with Debbie F's dark-colored hen? She surely had a DANDY crest on her and it would be neat if she was able to pass it on!

-Nancy

 

[zzGypsy]

FWIW, the crest in crested ducks is a single gene mutation with dominant expression that results in skull defects that cause some ducklings to die before hatch or shortly thereafter. it shows up in all sorts of breeds now (because people like the look) but I'd rather not have it in my gene pool. a pair of crested ducks produce 1/4 failed eggs/dead ducklings (two crested gene copies), 1/2 carriers with crests (one crested gene copy) and 1/4 non-crested non-carriers (two normal gene copies). breeding a crested to a non-crested should produce 1/2 carriers with crests, and 1/2 non-crested non-carriers.

if its the same sort of gene mutation as in ducks, that's part of the info you'll want to know before culling or breeding.

considering the popularity of crested ducks, it's worth contemplating the market for crested turkeys. if you breed poults for sale, it would be good to know if the gene behaves the same as the one in ducks.

 

[Breac]

I've never seen anything like that! I'd try try breeding him/her, if I were you.

 

[DebbieF]

I do plan to keep her, at first I thought it was some kind of tumor or growth, but it's just feathers.

 

[Lagerdogger]

It is interesting that all the responses so far are in favor of breeding that turkey and trying to continue the tufted trait. Certainly everyone can have their own opinion. If I hatched a bird like that, it would be the first on the freezer camp list. But then again, I don't like the "fancy" chickens, either.

But don't let what I think influence you. If you like the appearance of that turkey, by all means keep it. Just be careful breeding it, and if you ever distribute offspring, please be sure to let the new owners know that your line of turkeys carries such a trait so they are not surprised!

Have fun!

 

[Frosty]

I posted this to another group that I belong to, and somebody mentioned that there is a possibility that crested ducks are crested because the skull is deformed. They were wondering if the same might be true for turkeys.

And Laggerdogger, one reason I suggested breeding is because there could well be a market for crested turkeys. Personal preference or not, there are folks who would love something like that.

 

[Redcap]

Have You already made breeding trials?

Some more information in: The people's practical poultry book: a work on the breeds, breeding, rearing, and general management of poultry. William Lewis, 1871, pp. 77-78.

THE CRESTED TURKEY.​

​

A specimen of this turkey, the only one, we believe, ever exhibited in this country, was shown at the New York State Poultry Show in 1869, and attracted considerable attention; so much so, that we have deemed it not out of place to give an engraving of the head, showing the crest, in these pages, with what description we are able to gather of the same from eminent writers on natural history:—"Amongst the old writers on the natural history of birds," says Tegetmeier, "are to be found references to a singular breed of turkeys that were furnished with full crests of feathers."




Thus Albin, in his " Natural History of Birds," published in 1731, describes a single specimen, belonging to a Mr. Cornellyson of Chelmsford. He wrote as follows:—"The back and upper sides of the wings are of a dusky, yellowish brown, the breast, belly, thighs, and under sides of the wings white, the feathers on the lower part of the belly and thighs were edged with black; the tail white, the extreme feathers of which were scalloped near the ends with black, the next circular row scalloped with a dusky yellow; the legs flesh color, having only the rudiments of spurs; the claws dusky."



Temminck, in his "Histoire naturelle generale des pigeons et des gallinaces" published at Amsterdam in 1813, says:—" The crested turkey is only a variety or sport of nature in this species, differing only in the possession of a feathered crest, which is sometimes white, sometimes black. These crested turkeys are very rare. Mademoiselle Backer, in her magnificent menagerie near the Hague, had a breed of crested turkeys of a beautiful Isabelle yellow, inclining to chestnut; all had full crests of pure white."
The Rev. E. S. Dixon, in his work entitled "The Dove-cote and the Aviary, 1851" quotes the above passage from Temminck, and another from the work of Lieut. Byam, descriptive of a race of crested wild turkeys in Mexico. The extract from Mr. Byam I will not quote, as it is quite evident that the bird described by him was not a turkey, but a curassow. The conclusion that Mr. Dixon arrived at was, that there must have been a wild race of crested turkeys from which the crested birds described by Albin and Temminck had descended. I need hardly state that there is not the slightest possible foundation for such an opinion, nor for believing in the existence of wild crested fowls, which is also maintained by the writer. Crested turkeys are a variety, not a species; but it is singular that a variety that was so much admired many years since should have passed out of sight, at least so far as Europe is concerned."
It is singular that this particular variety of an American species should now be utterly unknown in its native country, lost entirely in Europe, and only recovered from Africa. When could the breed have been taken there, and how came it to be preserved among the semi-savage tribes of the interior, while it was lost to the civilized races of Europe? Of the origin of this crested breed nothing is now known, but those who are acquainted with the theory of analogous variation, as propounded by Darwin, will have no difficulty in understanding how such a breed could originate, seeing that several allied genera of crested birds, such as Pavo, Lopophorus, etc., exist.

 

[KAGU143]

To be honest, I never noticed any effects from the inbreeding at all - either positive or negative. I think they might be slightly smaller than they were at first, but I'm not 100% sure. I value hardiness, clear, contrasting patterns, good plumage and multiple beards (if all else is equal) over dressed weight, so I consider a slight size reduction to be a positive trait.
Their fertility is still good and I have never seen any crooked toes or other signs of genetic weakness. These crazy turkeys are quite friendly but they have a wide independent streak, meaning that they routinely fly out of the yard and go roaming through the woods or begging for goodies at my neighbors' houses. (My neighbors think it's funny so they pamper them.)
While they are at large they are subject to all sorts of danger, like mean dogs, coyotes, etc, so Nature has been pretty steadily sorting out the dimmer bulbs in the flock as well as the poor or reluctant fliers.

I don't know how long it takes for inbreeding depression to appear, but I got the original 2 founders of the Penciled Turkey strain back in 2001 and haven't seen any signs of it yet.
I sent some eggs to the Porters the next year after I got my first ones and I know that they've been breeding them ever since as well (although they call them Penciled Palms) and as far as I know they haven't had any problems either, although I think they may have out-crossed theirs to some other breeds.

 

[Brunog]

I hatched this turkey poult earlier this summer. I only have bronze, blue slate, narrs, black spanish turkeys, I've never seen a "crested turkey" before thou

I am writing an article on the crested turkey. Do you have more news on this animal or on its offspring or on its fertility. Where are you from?
Bruno Goddeeris
Bosstraat 43
3060 Bertem Belgium