Miniature/bantam turkey?

[Amer]

@Amer I love them.

Also, yeah. I'd want to use the Midget Whites not only for size but for that cute round fatbirb look. (They're also supposed to be very friendly, and to lay larger eggs than other turkey varieties, also positives.)

I totally want a strain of mini-turkey where all or nearly all possible colours are in the population.

If a handful of bakyarders each made it a one-coop project and then swapped some birds back and forth we might be able to do a pretty good job...

Yeah, obviously not heavy breasted like a broad breasted white but not sacrificing fleshing for a small size. When I had bantam Buckeyes, I would still butcher them, and mini turkeys are a lot bigger than bantam Buckeyes.
Shorter thighs but strong, medium length shanks.
My other ideas for the standard for my birds at least would be a slightly cocked tail in the resting position. but that might be projecting d’Anvers too much.
I don’t know what color I would work on, but I would probably use a singular, non recognized color that is easy to maintain. If they are the same color then it is easier for me to perfect type. I have always been partial to the bronze that is found in Eastern Wild turkeys (aka German Bronze) but I don’t think that is found around here so I think I will have to settle for something else.

 

[SarahGfa]

Can ocellated wild turkey breed with heritage turkeys? These guys are only 10-11 lbs.

 

[R2elk]

Can ocellated wild turkey breed with heritage turkeys? These guys are only 10-11 lbs.

Yes there were hybrids made a long time ago. Did not say whether the offspring were fertile or sterile. Of course there is the really difficult problem of obtaining and keeping them alive.

 

[Amer]

Can ocellated wild turkey breed with heritage turkeys? These guys are only 10-11 lbs.

Apparently there was a project where occelated genetics were integrated into a strain of domestics, but it ended. Occelated are too expensive, high maintenance, and high-strung to be good for this project, though.

 

[SarahGfa]

Apparently there was a project where occelated genetics were integrated into a strain of domestics, but it ended. Occelated are too expensive, high maintenance, and high-strung to be good for this project, though.

ocellated hybrid should be lower maintenance (think of the red/green/grey junglefowl hybrids)

If a handful of bakyarders each made it a one-coop project and then swapped some birds back and forth we might be able to do a pretty good job...

I have a spare coop! If people can make shetland ponies and mini pigs and pigmy goats, how hard can it be to breed a teacup turkey. City folk will pay gobs of money for useless farm animals.

 

[Amer]

ocellated hybrid should be lower maintenance (think of the red/green/grey junglefowl hybrids)

I have a spare coop! If people can make shetland ponies and mini pigs and pigmy goats, how hard can it be to breed a teacup turkey. City folk will pay gobs of money for useless farm animals.

They are not comparable.
Occelated turkeys are very fragile and susceptible to disease and have no hardiness (being a jungle bird rather than a forest bird.) Also, they need a different diet. They are not the same species.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ocellated-turkeys.824750/post-26546197
Wild turkey hybrids are lower maintenance.

 

[SarahGfa]

They are not comparable.
Occelated turkeys are very fragile and susceptible to disease and have no hardiness (being a jungle bird rather than a forest bird.) Also, they need a different diet. They are not the same species.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ocellated-turkeys.824750/post-26546197
Wild turkey hybrids are lower maintenance.

What is not comparable? Purebred junglefowl are also jungle birds (hence the name), and very fragile and susceptible to disease. Grey and Green junglefowl are especially difficult to keep in captivity. But after hybridised with domestic chickens for a generation or two, they are lower maintenance than their wild ancestors. Why was the ocellated hybrid project not be the same way? I could not find any information about the project you mentioned.

 

[FloorCandy]

I have 3 midget whites and 6 bantam chickens. The turkeys are much larger than the chickens of course, but the turkeys are actually pretty small for turkeys, particularly the hens. My Tom isn’t even that much bigger than his ladies, but he’s always fluffed out and looks big.

They are all super friendly and love people, the girls try to take things out of my pockets, land on my back and shoulder if I’m leaning down, and they all recognize us from quite a distance by sight and sound. I thought my birds wouldn’t fly much but the girls constantly need to be higher. They all sleep on top of a small shed that I put into their aviary for indoor living in bad weather, but they just lay eggs inside it and stand/lay/sleep on top, so whoever asked about them flying, they do it and love it, and will fly into really high trees, but they come running at the sight of a mealworm bag haha.

The Tom looks big but if I carry him his body is sort of like a large duck with huge legs, way smaller than a Canada goose, and he weighs less than or similar to my French bulldogs. He has the huge breast area that the large food turkeys get, like if I closed my eyes and touched their chests I could easily pick him, the girls are proportioned more like normal birds. I’ve seen and held some large chickens at farms/ zoos/ friends homes, and my turkey hens are smaller than some large chicken roosters I’ve seen for sure.

Last point, I actually got the Turks as I call them (I actually need someone to feed my Turks when I go to Turkey later this year haha), because I can’t have a rooster. I have a neighbor who had chickens and one of our other neighbors made her get rid of her rooster. I hate being unable to propagate my own chicken population, we had a major flood and I ended up losing all of my quail, buying more hurt my soul you know, I wanna be self sufficient. My friend gave me the chicken eggs to hatch last year but she lost her roosters this year.

Anyway I assumed the turkeys would be more quiet than roosters, but they’re loud just in a different way. My Tom gobbles every time a plane goes over, or when kids scream, and every time a large truck drives by on the main road a few streets away, my neighbors teen daughter has a new bf with a loud diesel pickup truck, and if he comes or goes he gets a good gobble. Some of my neighbors gobble back at him. People have bbqs and they and their guests gobble to him haha. It’s funny and cool, but I feel a twinge of anxiety every time because I’m afraid someone will complain. My property is small but the town line runs thru it, technically my Turks are not in our town and the land they are on is not zoned as residential so technically the laws don’t apply there and they live inside a land loophole, as long as no one makes a noise complaint it’s fine and I can live below the radar. The gobbles are loud, but he never starts gobbling til after like 8-9 am, he doesn’t gobble ever in the dark, and as long as it’s not a constant danger he mostly gobbles once and goes back to his normal routine. We have wild turkeys in the area who also gobble, so if my neighbors made me get rid of him, they’d still hear gobbling sometimes.

Gobbling is a less abraisive sound than crowing, and if my Tom tries to scare me off because he’s in the mood or something, he just bumps me with his pillow chest and blows his nose at me. he doesn’t try to flog or peck. My Turks don’t damage ground or grass, they don’t even mix up their own bedding, if I didn’t have chickens I would need to turn their chips constantly because they have huge poops haha, but the chickens mix everything around.

Midget whites lay huge eggs! Larger than jumbo chicken eggs, and they have thick hard shells and thick membranes.

 

[Amer]

What is not comparable? Purebred junglefowl are also jungle birds (hence the name), and very fragile and susceptible to disease. Grey and Green junglefowl are especially difficult to keep in captivity. But after hybridised with domestic chickens for a generation or two, they are lower maintenance than their wild ancestors. Why was the ocellated hybrid project not be the same way? I could not find any information about the project you mentioned.

My friend told me about it, he said that pure occelated breeders didn’t like the idea of mixing them so the guy who did it stopped breeding them.
It was just a hobby project so there’s probably not information about it.
I think breeding hybrids is a great idea and a way to introduce new, colorful turkey varieties, but it is way more work and expense than necessary if you just want a pet mini turkey.

 

[Amer]

I have 3 midget whites and 6 bantam chickens. The turkeys are much larger than the chickens of course, but the turkeys are actually pretty small for turkeys, particularly the hens. My Tom isn’t even that much bigger than his ladies, but he’s always fluffed out and looks big.

They are all super friendly and love people, the girls try to take things out of my pockets, land on my back and shoulder if I’m leaning down, and they all recognize us from quite a distance by sight and sound. I thought my birds wouldn’t fly much but the girls constantly need to be higher. They all sleep on top of a small shed that I put into their aviary for indoor living in bad weather, but they just lay eggs inside it and stand/lay/sleep on top, so whoever asked about them flying, they do it and love it, and will fly into really high trees, but they come running at the sight of a mealworm bag haha.

The Tom looks big but if I carry him his body is sort of like a large duck with huge legs, way smaller than a Canada goose, and he weighs less than or similar to my French bulldogs. He has the huge breast area that the large food turkeys get, like if I closed my eyes and touched their chests I could easily pick him, the girls are proportioned more like normal birds. I’ve seen and held some large chickens at farms/ zoos/ friends homes, and my turkey hens are smaller than some large chicken roosters I’ve seen for sure.

Last point, I actually got the Turks as I call them (I actually need someone to feed my Turks when I go to Turkey later this year haha), because I can’t have a rooster. I have a neighbor who had chickens and one of our other neighbors made her get rid of her rooster. I hate being unable to propagate my own chicken population, we had a major flood and I ended up losing all of my quail, buying more hurt my soul you know, I wanna be self sufficient. My friend gave me the chicken eggs to hatch last year but she lost her roosters this year.

Anyway I assumed the turkeys would be more quiet than roosters, but they’re loud just in a different way. My Tom gobbles every time a plane goes over, or when kids scream, and every time a large truck drives by on the main road a few streets away, my neighbors teen daughter has a new bf with a loud diesel pickup truck, and if he comes or goes he gets a good gobble. Some of my neighbors gobble back at him. People have bbqs and they and their guests gobble to him haha. It’s funny and cool, but I feel a twinge of anxiety every time because I’m afraid someone will complain. My property is small but the town line runs thru it, technically my Turks are not in our town and the land they are on is not zoned as residential so technically the laws don’t apply there and they live inside a land loophole, as long as no one makes a noise complaint it’s fine and I can live below the radar. The gobbles are loud, but he never starts gobbling til after like 8-9 am, he doesn’t gobble ever in the dark, and as long as it’s not a constant danger he mostly gobbles once and goes back to his normal routine. We have wild turkeys in the area who also gobble, so if my neighbors made me get rid of him, they’d still hear gobbling sometimes.

Gobbling is a less abraisive sound than crowing, and if my Tom tries to scare me off because he’s in the mood or something, he just bumps me with his pillow chest and blows his nose at me. he doesn’t try to flog or peck. My Turks don’t damage ground or grass, they don’t even mix up their own bedding, if I didn’t have chickens I would need to turn their chips constantly because they have huge poops haha, but the chickens mix everything around.

Midget whites lay huge eggs! Larger than jumbo chicken eggs, and they have thick hard shells and thick membranes.

That’s cool! I thought if I lived in a residential area I would probably get turkey hens instead of regular hens because they are so sweet.