Sweetgrass & Lavender Palm mix

[obsidian73]

Anyone out there crossed a Lavender Palm Hen with a Sweetgrass Tom? My hen has hatched out 3 so far and at 7 weeks old they all have different color mixes. Any thoughts as to what they might look like will they stay the color they are now or will the change as they get older? I think the light colored one might end up being a Lavender Sweetgrass but beyond that I don't know.

 

[Bantambird]

Here is a blue sweetgrass hen telling off a sweetgrass tom, I'll have to sort for more pictures.

 

[obsidian73]

R2elk​

Thanks the first picture shows him and her both, These are the only 2 Turkeys I have so I know the poults are whatever they are. My tom looks to be more on the light side.

Bantambird​

Wow she is pretty. Is it possible to sex by the color? I have 2 that are distinctly darker as you can tell and one that is much lighter.

 

[obsidian73]

R2elk Hey thanks for the great information. The person I purchased these from had bought them from porters Turkeys. I was told the tom was a Sweetgrass and I believe my hen is a lavender palm based on her coloring. Would you agree with that or is it possible she is something different? That being said what is your opinion of the coloring of my poult's. Will they keep the colors they currently are or will they change a lot? There is not a lot of photos and things out there of blue sweetgrass to get any idea of.

 

[R2elk]

Is it possible to sex by the color?

The only sex links are with the Narragansett gene and the brown gene. They can cause enough variation at the hatch in certain matings that the offspring can be sexed once they are dry. There are also other matings that although they are sex linked, there is not enough difference in poult colors so they cannot be sexed until they have their mature feathers.

In the case of a Sweetgrass that is not carrying a Narragansett gene, you cannot sex by the color.

 

[obsidian73]

Just thought I would update this thread with some more recent photos. It looks like that 2 of them inherited papa's genes and one of them is a blue sweetgrass. Since they are now over 4 months old they all still seem to chirp, I have not seen any indication of a beard and none of them that ever strutted or gobbled. Do I have all hens?

 

[austria89]

Anyone out there crossed a Lavender Palm Hen with a Sweetgrass Tom? My hen has hatched out 3 so far and at 7 weeks old they all have different color mixes. Any thoughts as to what they might look like will they stay the color they are now or will the change as they get older? I think the light colored one might end up being a Lavender Sweetgrass but beyond that I don't know.

Your hen is not a Lavender Palm, but a Blue Palm (just heterozygous for slate Dd).
That's why you got non-slated offspring.

 

[austria89]

Austria, Thanks for the info. I will have to take your word for it, since that stuff is above my head, LOL. I was assuming she was a lavender based off of Porters description stating that they are a bit paler than slates, and the photo he shows of the blue has quite darker lines.

"Self Blue (Lavender)Palms will breed true bred to the same. These are a bit paler blue than the single slate gene type."


So do I have a true blue sweetgrass? Also my other 2 seems to be a good bit darker, does this mean they are just a cross or do they still stay a pure sweetgrass?

The most important difference between Lavender and Blue Palm is the expression of black.
A Lavender Palm doesn't have any black speckles. Yours does, so she's definitely not DD. Therefore, yours is just a Blue Palm.

Sweetgrass in generell do come in a big variety. They can almost show no brown color at all, or have an almost solid colored body. Mine are usually on the lighter spectrum.
As you can see, some single black speckles indicate the heterozygosity (Dd).

 

[R2elk]

Anyone out there crossed a Lavender Palm Hen with a Sweetgrass Tom? My hen has hatched out 3 so far and at 7 weeks old they all have different color mixes. Any thoughts as to what they might look like will they stay the color they are now or will the change as they get older? I think the light colored one might end up being a Lavender Sweetgrass but beyond that I don't know.

If there are no hidden recessive genes, the offspring from a Sweetgrass tom and a Lavender Palm will be Blue Sweetgrass hens and Blue Sweetgrass toms that are carrying a recessive Narragansett gene.

If the tom is a Sweetgrass, there is no way possible for one of the poults to be a Lavender Sweetgrass. The Slate gene is a dominant gene and only requires one gene to be present for the trait to be displayed. Without a slate gene from each parent, the offspring cannot have homozygous slate genes. They can only have the slate gene they received from the Lavender hen.

 

[R2elk]

R2elk Hey thanks for the great information. The person I purchased these from had bought them from porters Turkeys. I was told the tom was a Sweetgrass and I believe my hen is a lavender palm based on her coloring. Would you agree with that or is it possible she is something different? That being said what is your opinion of the coloring of my poult's. Will they keep the colors they currently are or will they change a lot? There is not a lot of photos and things out there of blue sweetgrass to get any idea of.

Even from Porter's, while unlikely it is possible for one of their toms to be carrying the recessive Narragansett gene. If your Sweetgrass tom has a hidden Narragansett gene, it adds the possibility of hatching Blue Palms.

Sweetgrass come in a variety of shades. My neighbor has a dark Sweetgrass tom

and I have a light colored Sweetgrass tom.

Blue Sweetgrass can also come in a variety of shades. I believe that @Bantambird has some pics of Blue Sweetgrass.

My experience is that poult colors change as they get their mature feathers. They can even change from year to year as the new feathers come in after a molt.