Midget whites vs blue slate

[dustponds10]

Hello. I’m trying to decide between midget whites or blue slate. I’m wanting something that I can use annually for our families needs. Looking to raise and harvest 200 lbs of turkey a year. Does anyone have a preference? Temperament and hardiness. I live in Wyoming and it gets freaking cold. Like -25 for sure then not uncommon -30. Thanks.

 

[R2elk]

Hello. I’m trying to decide between midget whites or blue slate. I’m wanting something that I can use annually for our families needs. Looking to raise and harvest 200 lbs of turkey a year. Does anyone have a preference? Temperament and hardiness. I live in Wyoming and it gets freaking cold. Like -25 for sure then not uncommon -30. Thanks.

You are welcome to join us in the Wyoming Unite!!!! thread, current page.

If you manage to get real Midget Whites, you are looking at about a 12 lb. carcass from a mature tom. You can get a 20 lb. carcass from a mature Blue Slate tom.

My Blue Slates did well for me here in Wyoming but I currently have Sweetgrass.

Midget Whites will present a cleaner looking carcass because of the white feathers. If dressed when there are no pin feathers the Blue Slate carcass will look nearly as good.

Midget Whites will breed true. Blue Slates will not breed true. Blue Slate x Blue Slate will yield 50% Blue Slate, 25% Self Blue aka Lavender and 25% Black.

In order to avoid producing Blacks, I used a Self Blue tom over Blue Slate hens. That combination will produce 50% Blue Slate and 50% Self Blue.

You can also go the Self Blue route and they will breed true.

 

[dustponds10]

You are welcome to join us in the Wyoming Unite!!!! thread, current page.

If you manage to get real Midget Whites, you are looking at about a 12 lb. carcass from a mature tom. You can get a 20 lb. carcass from a mature Blue Slate tom.

My Blue Slates did well for me here in Wyoming but I currently have Sweetgrass.

Midget Whites will present a cleaner looking carcass because of the white feathers. If dressed when there are no pin feathers the Blue Slate carcass will look nearly as good.

Midget Whites will breed true. Blue Slates will not breed true. Blue Slate x Blue Slate will yield 50% Blue Slate, 25% Self Blue aka Lavender and 25% Black.

In order to avoid producing Blacks, I used a Self Blue tom over Blue Slate hens. That combination will produce 50% Blue Slate and 50% Self Blue.

You can also go the Self Blue route and they will breed true.

Thank you so much. I appreciate your advice. I don’t mind black I’m just wanting to raise them for meat. I’ll cull the blacks and keep blue/self blues as breeders. I guess eventually I’d have no blacks.

Anyways talk to me about your Sweetgrass. I have small kids and would prefer a docile temperament or smaller bird like the midget whites.

What part of Wyoming are you in. I’m in cokeville.

 

[R2elk]

Thank you so much. I appreciate your advice. I don’t mind black I’m just wanting to raise them for meat. I’ll cull the blacks and keep blue/self blues as breeders. I guess eventually I’d have no blacks.

Anyways talk to me about your Sweetgrass. I have small kids and would prefer a docile temperament or smaller bird like the midget whites.

What part of Wyoming are you in. I’m in Cokeville.

The Sweetgrass are the mellowest turkeys I have had. They are Bourbon Red sized. My old tom is 30 lbs. live weight.

I recommend that you avoid human imprinting your poults when you get them. They won't grow up people friendly but they also won't grow up thinking people are turkeys.

Another smaller bird are Royal Palms. They are more flighty as in with their lighter weight they are more likely to take to flying.

As long as you breed Blue Slate to Blue Slate there will always be black poults. Slates are BB Dd. The slate color gene is a dominant gene requiring only one copy of the gene for the color to be displayed.

If you want to raise 100% Blue Slates, you can breed a Black tom to Self Blue hens and all of the offspring will be Blue Slates. You could accomplish the same results by breeding a Self Blue tom to Black hens.

I am in central Wyoming just outside of Casper.

 

[dustponds10]

I’m not sure how long that drive is but I may be interested in some Sweet grass. Do you sell eggs, chicks, poulets?

 

[R2elk]

I’m not sure how long that drive is but I may be interested in some Sweet grass. Do you sell eggs, chicks, poults?

All of the above in season.

 

[dustponds10]

All of the above in season.

Ok I’ll look them up

 

[R2elk]

Ok I’ll look them up

Sweetgrass

There are a number of pictures of them in my R2elk album.