Turkey Talk for 2014

[memphis]

Those babies are darling! And loved the stories. Just what I needed after a rough day at work!! Thanks!

 

[RockerHen]

I've got a color question.

Obviously this guy is bronze, he has the green/gold shimmery feathers which I love so very much. I had two identical brothers, but I sold the other.



What color is this? He is the product of a royal palm mother and a royal palm/bourbon red father. He was the only one to hatch this color. In the sun, his color washes out into a dull black with chocolate tints. In the shade he is a bluish black. The tips of his tail feathers are bright white, the bronze boys' are a slight brown tint. Also, the stripes on his tail and primary wing feathers look very faded and are barely visible, unlike the well-defined stripes of the bronze boys. He's probably not any known color, I suppose, but is an interesting color whatever he is. However, I prefer the 'colorful' bronze much more, so this guy will probably be slaughtered with the rest of the excess young toms soon.

 

[SilkieSensation]

DeLorean looks like he may actually be lavender. I would need to see pux of him now to be certain. When you breed 2 blue slates, you get 3 color possibilities: black, blue slate & lavender (self-blue). When you breed blue to lavender you get blue & lavender & when you breed 2 lavenders you get all lavender. With the orher colors you have there are additional color variations possible. I raise slates & palms so have done some research.

 

[Sydney Acres]

DeLorean looks like he may actually be lavender. I would need to see pux of him now to be certain. When you breed 2 blue slates, you get 3 color possibilities: black, blue slate & lavender (self-blue). When you breed blue to lavender you get blue & lavender & when you breed 2 lavenders you get all lavender. With the orher colors you have there are additional color variations possible. I raise slates & palms so have done some research.

He is closer to lavender than many blue slates, but still has some splash on him. I'll get some recent pictures posted soon.

 

[chickadoodles]

My friend just sent me some pictures that she took when the group was less than a week old. I forgot how tiny they were! Will need to get some current pictures posted soon. They are now 31 weeks old.
(Sorry they're in random order -- this is my first posting of pictures to BYC and haven't figured out how to move them around yet.)

This is Isabella. She is a Spanish Black, and is now 11.0 pounds. She was always a goofy, bouncy, happy poult from day one, and remains that way today. She is everyone's favorite (husband, best friend, and both toms) despite her limited eyesight and mild neurological issues that prevent her from having fine motor control while eating, and sometimes missing important social cues. You just can't stop smiling when she runs up to greet you, chirping wildly, then hops and bounces around you in circles with her head bobbing up and down, like a dog begging you to play with her.

This is Stanford. She is a heritage Bronze, and is now 10.9 pounds. She was the first one to fly out of the brooder, the first to fly out of the yard, the first to do almost anything. She was a very interactive, social, and fearless poult, but as a teenager she prefers to be quite independent. She is the most wild-like of all the birds, the first to spot a predator, makes the most noise, and will bite quite hard if reached for after she has gone to her roost. But during the daytime she is sweet when handled or carried, although she prefers to just follow you around without all that physical contact.

This is another picture of Isabella (sorry, tried to get them in order but couldn't make it work).

This is DeLorean. He is a Blue Slate, and is now 18.1 pounds. When he was 3 days old he tried to squeeze through some 1X2 wire in his brooder and got stuck, and ended up with abrasions over much of his body as he struggled to free himself. Well, we started calling him "Road Rash," but that was unbecoming of a proud tom, so when we saw him stretch out those long beautiful wings the first time we changed it to DeLorean, after the beautiful silver car with gull wing doors.

Also DeLorean.

My favorite picture of DeLorean. He would fall asleep in my hand as soon as I picked him up at that age. It was as if he needed the peace and quite away from the rowdy bunch.

This is Victoria. She is a Blue Slate, and is now 10.0 pounds. She and Stanford are the ringleaders for getting into trouble, over fences, chasing deer, etc. She has never been much of a social bird, despite being handled extensively as a poult. But she's not flighty or anxious or aggressive. She just doesn't like physical affection, and turns away whenever she is petted.



Another picture of Victoria.



Another picture of Victoria, showing her "angel wings," which were always held away from her body. I was originally quite concerned about this, but as she molted into longer wings the feather position tightened, and now her wings are normal, and quite functional.

This is Dorthea. She is a Spanish Black, and is now 10.4 pounds. She was a bit of a squirrelly poult, which is why none of these pictures are in focus. She wasn't anxious or antisocial so much as she just didn't want to be held. But there was something about her -- she was compact but perfect. She was only 54 grams in this picture, but she was well fleshed for her age, and she had a physical symmetry about her that made you just stare and smile. Everything was in perfect balance, nothing was too big or too small or gangly or sticking out awkwardly. She was a perfect little miniature. And amazingly, she has remained that way throughout her growth. There's no goofy pictures of her tucked away. She's all beauty. But sometime in the last 3-4 months she decided that cuddling was wonderful, and bedtime isn't right if she can't tuck her head under my chin for a few minutes as she goes to sleep.






My friend didn't get any good pictures of Camilla, the always anxious, hyperactive Royal Palm, who is now 9.0 pounds and beautiful, even if she does hate to be handled, or Francis, the largest of the group from day one. He is now 25.4 pounds, always on display, protects Isabella from the wrath of her social mistakes, and is the sweetest boy I've ever had. He is also tall enough to go through the waist-level pockets of my coat, and crafty enough to use a light touch so I don't notice his head in my pocket right away. But when he goes to bed there's nothing he likes more than to have his neck and head and snood rubbed as he goes to sleep

Hope you all enjoyed the baby pictures.

They are all so adorable! I can hardly wait to get my new little poults! They are so much fun

 

[TexasLisa]

Sydney Acres, those are incredible pictures of the babies. Your description of each bird made me want to come and visit you. Who wouldn't want Dorthea snuggling under your chin or having the rapscallion Francis going through your pockets. Absolutely delightful!

Lisa

 

[DaisyMeadow]

How big an area is it?

Sorry so late to reply. The fence is about 70 by 70. So it's a formidable area to fence for poultry.

 

[Smithyard Farm]

I've got a color question.

Obviously this guy is bronze, he has the green/gold shimmery feathers which I love so very much. I had two identical brothers, but I sold the other.



What color is this? He is the product of a royal palm mother and a royal palm/bourbon red father. He was the only one to hatch this color. In the sun, his color washes out into a dull black with chocolate tints. In the shade he is a bluish black. The tips of his tail feathers are bright white, the bronze boys' are a slight brown tint. Also, the stripes on his tail and primary wing feathers look very faded and are barely visible, unlike the well-defined stripes of the bronze boys. He's probably not any known color, I suppose, but is an interesting color whatever he is. However, I prefer the 'colorful' bronze much more, so this guy will probably be slaughtered with the rest of the excess young toms soon.

 

[popsicle]

Can somebody help me with a quick question... I have a Mottled Chocolate tom with three hens one of each: Mottled Chocolate, Penciled Red Palm and a crossbred (looks like a dark grey?). If I keep them together, and they hatch poults, will I be able to tell the pure Mottled Chocolate, or will the other hens produce the white-faced-brown poults?

 

[SilkieSensation]

Can somebody help me with a quick question... I have a Mottled Chocolate tom with three hens one of each: Mottled Chocolate, Penciled Red Palm and a crossbred (looks like a dark grey?).  If I keep them together, and they hatch poults, will I be able to tell the pure Mottled Chocolate, or will the other hens produce the white-faced-brown poults?

Try Porter's website for genetics combinations, but I'm guessing the other hens can produce chocolate especially if they could be carrying it.