Hey turkey people !(pics)

[KrisRose]

My Tom is a BR and RP cross and is marked like your Tom. Several possibilities.
Porters is a great site for turkey pictures

! Had to stop looking. I could'nt make up my mind

.

 

[chickenannie]

Neither one is a Bourbon Red unless the Blue Slate is a crossbreed and has some BR in her (though I doubt it). Here's a pic of my BRs so you can see how different the coloring is... (these were young and old boys very happy to see a totally unsuspecting little hen. don't worry I saved her from them!)

 

[Frosty]

Blue Slate and Lilac aren't the same thing. And a lilac can have a red tint. Just wanted to mention that the ball looking things are called caruncles. A hen also has feathering going up on her head, and a very small snood. Beautiful birds! If you cross them, you will most likely get bronze.

 

[thetajmahalcoop]

I have a BR Tom and two Bronzes that i think are hens but not 100% sure, we've never had turkeys before and have changed our mind 10 times on their sexes but are now 100% sure about the BR Tom. When we bought the Bronzes as babies the guy said he ordered them from a catalog and I was thinking they can't breed...can bronzes breed with my BR tom? I need a Hen for the Tom to breed this spring but if I can do that with the bronzes I won't send them off to the butcher... can anyone help me? You all are so knowledgable! Thank you in advance!

 

[turkaholic]

Your BR tom, being a heritage breed or variety, should be able to breed your two bronze hens, whether or not they are standard variety or broad-breasted. If your tom was a broad-breasted bird, he would be too heavy and unable to mount any hen successfully. But broad-breasted hens can breed with any of the smaller heritage variety toms as far as I know. Hope this helps.

 

[thetajmahalcoop]

hmm....will have to what and SEE what happens (lol) if I can catch them in the act come spring.... so its ok to keep my bronze hens long term them? they're not like cornish hens where its cruel to keep them alive bc they get so fat? my bronze hens are quite ummm ROTUND and waddle when they walk

 

[turkaholic]

"Waddle when the walk" is a clear sign that your hens are of the broad-breasted variety.

I should have mentioned that. Rotund pretty much confirms it! The older they get, the more prone they are to developing leg probems.

I won't tell you what to do, but if it were me, I'd put those hens in the oven and get a couple of BR hens for your tom. This way you'll have heritage size birds and not some cross bred "mutts" that may or may not have leg problems down the road. BR are common enough that a little searching should lead you to someone who has birds to spare. If no BR, then any of the other heritage breeds can satisfy your tom this spring!

What ever you do, have fun!

 

[thetajmahalcoop]

thanks for the help, will plan on putting them in the oven soon (If they'll fit! ha ha)

 

[buck-wild-chick]

This thread is so old. lol

I lost my beautiful girl in Oct 09

 

[chickenannie]

That's sooo weird... how did it get started again? Sorry to bring this up for you again, WBC.
RIP.