Turkey Poults!

[Petra_Farms]

We bought these turkey poults at a local feed store. The black ones we got in an assorted heritage bin and we’re assuming they are Black Spanish turkeys, but are still unsure because they have some brown feather development recently and most black Spanish Turkeys I see don’t have that. What do you guys think?

Also wondering what everyone’s thoughts are on gender, I’m pretty sure the black beaked one is a boy as he keeps strutting for my feet, and the other one we assume is a girl. The black beaked one is also getting some feather loss on his neck already. The other one also struts but only in response to the black beaked one, it’s also for a shorter time, and (she?) will go lay down in front of him after.

They’re currently just turning a month old and the black beaked one is named Sonnet and the non-black beaked one is Nantucket, we originally were going to butcher them but have decided to keep them as pets. The white one in the back is Isidore and he’ll be going up for auction at my local county fair. These pictures are from a week ago so they’ve all gotten a bit bigger since

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They do look to be blacks. They are a bit young to tell sex, although if the one is displaying already the odds are it's a male. You can generally tell the sex by 4 months or so.

 

[Petra_Farms]

They do look to be blacks. They are a bit young to tell sex, although if the one is displaying already the odds are it's a male. You can generally tell the sex by 4 months or so.

Thanks for moving my post! I assumed that the breed/sex ID forum was for all poultry, I’ll make sure to check before posting next time!

On that note though, I’m happy they’re probably blacks! I love the iridescent sheen of their feathers. Just bit worried that they’ll turn out to be meat turkeys, even though their growth rate and where we bought them says otherwise. Do you know if there’s a specific way to tell meat turkeys from heritage turkeys?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks for moving my post! I assumed that the breed/sex ID forum was for all poultry, I’ll make sure to check before posting next time!

On that note though, I’m happy they’re probably blacks! I love the iridescent sheen of their feathers. Just bit worried that they’ll turn out to be meat turkeys, even though their growth rate and where we bought them says otherwise. Do you know if there’s a specific way to tell meat turkeys from heritage turkeys?

Blacks are generally a heritage breed, so you should be okay. Broad breasted usually are white or bronze.

 

[Petra_Farms]

Blacks are generally a heritage breed, so you should be okay. Broad breasted usually are white or bronze.

Okay thanks! That makes me less stressed cause we’ll be keeping them as pets and I don’t want them to have health issues

 

[R2elk]

We bought these turkey poults at a local feed store. The black ones we got in an assorted heritage bin and we’re assuming they are Black Spanish turkeys, but are still unsure because they have some brown feather development recently and most black Spanish Turkeys I see don’t have that. What do you guys think?

Also wondering what everyone’s thoughts are on gender, I’m pretty sure the black beaked one is a boy as he keeps strutting for my feet, and the other one we assume is a girl. The black beaked one is also getting some feather loss on his neck already. The other one also struts but only in response to the black beaked one, it’s also for a shorter time, and (she?) will go lay down in front of him after.

They’re currently just turning a month old and the black beaked one is named Sonnet and the non-black beaked one is Nantucket, we originally were going to butcher them but have decided to keep them as pets. The white one in the back is Isidore and he’ll be going up for auction at my local county fair. These pictures are from a week ago so they’ve all gotten a bit bigger since

What some hatcheries are selling as "Black Spanish turkeys" are a mixed lot. Many are Barred Blacks and because there are not homozygous for their traits, they cannot breed true.

As far as the APA is concerned, there is no such thing as a Spanish Black. They only recognize Black turkeys as a variety.

At this time your poults are too young to say if they are or aren't pure Blacks.

It is unlikely that they are broad breasted.

They are far too young to sex from photos.

 

[Petra_Farms]

What some hatcheries are selling as "Black Spanish turkeys" are a mixed lot. Many are Barred Blacks and because there are not homozygous for their traits, they cannot breed true.

As far as the APA is concerned, there is no such thing as a Spanish Black. They only recognize Black turkeys as a variety.

At this time your poults are too young to say if they are or aren't pure Blacks.

It is unlikely that they are broad breasted.

They are far too young to sex from photos.

Thank you! I didn’t know that because I’m new to the turkey side of poultry keeping. It sounds a lot like Doodles though and how they’ll never be able to breed true due to their coat!

I have a feeling they’ll be those barred black turkeys because of the brown development (I only included one photo of it at the end). I probably should clarify though, they weren’t sold to us as Spanish Blacks specifically, we just bought them as random heritage turkeys. I also don’t trust the supply stores to give us purebred turkeys 24/7 with how many mixed chicken breeds they sell.

For turkey sexing could you possibly explain why you have to sex turkeys later than chickens? Is it due to the lack of difference in the feathers, or just that turkeys take longer to mature?

And one last thing, sorry for all the questions. Could you possibly point me to some good websites to do some more research on turkeys and turkey keeping in general? I also would love to look more into turkeys showmanship and breeding. I’m a bit lost in respect to finding places to research more about them. I know there’s info out there somewhere, but it’s a lot harder to find than with chickens.

Thanks!

 

[R2elk]

For turkey sexing could you possibly explain why you have to sex turkeys later than chickens? Is it due to the lack of difference in the feathers, or just that turkeys take longer to mature?

For me, I can usually sex my turkeys by the time they are a month old but I am not looking at photos, I am watching them in person and have both genders to compare to each other.

For sexing them from photos the things that stand out don't happen until they are at least 3 months old and in the case of a late developing tom, not until 6 months old. There is also the very poor quality of the photos people submit wanting their turkeys sexed. It is very rare that someone submits in focus, no motion blur images of each individual from 1. a full front view, 2. a full side view and 3. a photo from above and behind that clearly shows the back of the neck and top of the head.

People submit photos of them holding the wing out with the feathers spread apart. That type of photo is meaningless for sexing poults.

For those that can't wait and must know the sex of their poults now, there are at least 2 sites that do DNA sexing from a feather sample or a blood sample. The last time I looked, they wanted $20 to $25 per test.

Could you possibly point me to some good websites to do some more research on turkeys and turkey keeping in general? I also would love to look more into turkeys showmanship and breeding. I’m a bit lost in respect to finding places to research more about them. I know there’s info out there somewhere, but it’s a lot harder to find than with chickens.

The only site I trust is Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys. You can learn a lot about Heritage turkeys there including how to predict possible mating outcomes using Porter's Turkey Color calculator.

@Bantambird may be able to help with your show questions.

 

[Bantambird]

Thank you! I didn’t know that because I’m new to the turkey side of poultry keeping. It sounds a lot like Doodles though and how they’ll never be able to breed true due to their coat!

I have a feeling they’ll be those barred black turkeys because of the brown development (I only included one photo of it at the end). I probably should clarify though, they weren’t sold to us as Spanish Blacks specifically, we just bought them as random heritage turkeys. I also don’t trust the supply stores to give us purebred turkeys 24/7 with how many mixed chicken breeds they sell.

For turkey sexing could you possibly explain why you have to sex turkeys later than chickens? Is it due to the lack of difference in the feathers, or just that turkeys take longer to mature?

And one last thing, sorry for all the questions. Could you possibly point me to some good websites to do some more research on turkeys and turkey keeping in general? I also would love to look more into turkeys showmanship and breeding. I’m a bit lost in respect to finding places to research more about them. I know there’s info out there somewhere, but it’s a lot harder to find than with chickens.

Thanks!

Turkey showmanship varies depending on the region and if anyone actually knows anything about turkey showmanship, to be honest. Most judges really only know about the broad breasted turkeys, and only if they are meat or carcass judging. In an APA show, it is all up to judge's preference anyways. You can train turkeys pretty easily. They are food motivated and are very lovey ( especially the hens, be careful imprinting toms can become a nuisance) and my daughter trained her show turkey to do several tricks on the show table, mostly pertaining to sitting and staying. You can pretty much train them same as dogs as long as you have their favorite treats. Around here, some judges won't even let the kids bring their turkeys out of the cages, others want the turkeys presented on the table. I have seen a video where the broad breasted birds are walked similarly to pigs, with tapping sticks. You might ask your local extension agent about what your local fair does with turkeys, and if there is a local turkey showman, I would ask them.