Heritage & Exhibition Turkey Thread

[augiedranch]

How do y'all get your turkeys ready for exhibition?

 

[augiedranch]

Wish I had time to read the comments on all 73 pages of this thread. That being said, does anyone have photo comparisons of heritage turkeys from SOP breeders compared to hatchery turkeys? I ordered 5 black poults from Purely Poultry but they shipped out of Lebanon, MO so I'm assuming they're from Cackle Hatchery. Obviously I won't be showing my turks but I do like good looking pets. I made the decision to order from a hatchery because the person who's black turkeys I fell in love with got some of their stock from a hatchery.

Thomas, Tyson, Nino, Pilgrim, and Tyson are from a hatchery.

 

[Missi]

Since I posted that, I bought 5 black Spanish poults through Purely Poultry but they shipped from Cackle Hatchery (Purely Poultry doesn't raise their own birds? What's their point, then?). They are now 13 weeks old. Most of them have feathers here & there with patterning or light colored. Guess I won't be posting in the exhibition turkey thread anymore

Why in the world would they advertise purebred birds if they obviously have recently had other breeds in their lineage? Can anyone answer this? Maybe I'll email the hatchery with this question & include photos.

 

[Missi]

One of my 13 week old black Spanish (ordered from Purely Poultry but shipped from Cackle Hatchery) with a bronze tail feather & faint lines in his flight feathers! What the heck?? If you're a professional company & say you're selling a certain breed, why sell mixes???

Anyhow, my 2 males aren't terrible but 2 of my 3 females are clearly mixed. I'll post them next...

 

[Missi]

Here are my 13 week old black Spanish females (ordered from Purely Poultry but shipped from Cackle Hatchery).

The female is front right. See the markings on her breast feathers & the gray/blue wing feathers? There is another female behind her with gray feathers. They also have lots of markings on their tail feathers.



Female front & center....all those gray feathers!

 

[Chaos18]

Is there an APA SOP for Heritage breed Sweetgrass turkeys?

 

[R2elk]

Is there an APA SOP for Heritage breed Sweetgrass turkeys?

Apparently not since it is not one of the 8 recognized varieties.

The American Poultry Association (APA) lists eight varieties of turkeys in its Standard of Perfection. Most were accepted into the Standard in the last half of the 19th century, with a few more recent additions. They are Black, Bronze, Narragansett, White Holland, Slate, Bourbon Red, Beltsville Small White, and Royal Palm. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy also recognizes other naturally mating color varieties that have not been accepted into the APA Standard, such as the Jersey Buff, White Midget, and others.

http://www.porterturkeys.com/heritageturkeydefined.htm

 

[bettymae83]

Can anyone ID this breed of turkey for me? This is what we want but I need to know the breed so I can order.

 

[memphis]

Go to Porters Heritage Breed Turkeys site. Very informative when trying to select or learn about heritage breeds.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Can anyone ID this breed of turkey for me? This is what we want but I need to know the breed so I can order.

I believe they are bronze